NFL Fans Outraged On London Super Bowl

The NFL is working on ways to internationalize American Football.  American football has been widely available, both on TV and live, and in the UK. Football was first broadcast on a regular basis starting back in 1982 and was one of the most viewed sports for 10 years. Fans who viewed the games got the chance to see some of the great players, such as Walter Payton when annual pre-season games were held at Wembley from 1986-1983.

Currently, the Sky network shows NFL games live during the season. Last season the New Orleans Saints met the San Diego Chargers. In 2007, the New York Giants met the Miami Dolphins. The 2008 Saints-Chargers game was viewed by over 85,000 fans.

The city of London is submitting a bid to host the National Football League's 2014 Super Bowl championship game. London is already the site of the 2012 Summer Olympics and is attempting to secure the 2018 World Cup. Hosting the Super Bowl would mean $520 million of lost income for a US host city.

The economic downturns are having a critical impact on everyday Americans who are struggling to maintain or find jobs in an increasingly difficult environment. NFL fans are taxpayers that provide the revenue needed to operate essential local government services.

It’s well understood that we need to maximize the creation of American jobs and restoring the economic vitality of our communities.  News of the Super Bowl going overseas, when American football fans are struggling is outrageous. The timing could not be worse. 

I wonder if the NFL knows that a locally owned independent business returns approximately 80% of each dollar spent back to the community. Local, independent businesses assist the community through a “multiplier effect”: one dollar spent at a locally owned business will return five times that amount within the community through employees’ wages, and purchases of materials and supplies at other independent businesses. In addition, these businesses will turn that dollar back into the community through school funding, social services, and contributions to local non-profit organizations.

The Super Bowl had a $468 million economic impact in South Florida when it was last played here in 2007. The city of Detroit received an impact of roughly, $261 million in 2008--which is a significant impact for the region. Direct impact for local small business is estimated at $30 to $90 million.

Host cities hold other events Super Bowl weekend to increase business. Detroit's big event was the Motown Winter Blast, a festival that included ice-skating, sledding, concerts, restaurant specials, and other events. And Miami created the NFL Experience, an interactive football event, as well as concerts, art shows, a beach volleyball tournament, and more. All of the events create thousands of temporary jobs, which are needed, and will continue to be needed in US cities.

The small businesses are truly the backbone of a community. Millions of fans coast to coast are employed by them. The NFL should think about how to maximize the creation of American jobs and how to better their efforts of restoring economic growth and opportunities to the fans and communities that support them. The NFL can create more jobs and help keep Americans employed.

The bottom line is this. The NFL is a good organization, and does financially support communities in the US; however they are not doing as much as they should. It’s bad enough regular season games are played out of the US, and the home teams local business owners loose out on lost business. Then publicly acknowledging the potential of millions of American dollars going overseas and not back into the communities and the small businesses that support them is disappointing at this point in time.

Millions of fans just like me look forward to enjoy the game either at the stadium or at home with our rally hats on, desperately praying for a win on Sunday. No matter what’s going on in our lives, even if were struggling to make ends meet, the game sweeps us to place of euphoria. American football belongs here, and should be played here. Others can enjoy it on television, or at they are more than welcome to come to the game. The game in witch America is home team.