An NFL International Football League?

With all the hullabaloo around the possibility of the NFL hosting a Super Bowl in London and the idea of even starting a franchise, there are some gripes and groans that I feel I must (as a Brit) share with the NFL Universe.

There are many facets of the NFL that I, as a fan, would like to have tweaked and changed, as with all fans, I'm sure (overtime scoring, 18 games instead of 16, etc).

One change I had never really considered was the addition of a London franchise to the already large line-up. 

I have pondered for quite some time about what I think of this idea and I have read Jason La Canfora's article on NFL.com discussing the prospect.

I've even posed the question to Vic Carucci on NFL chat, who said "I see too many complicating factors in travel and the general business arrangement." To an extent, I agree with this viewpoint, but thought it was worth further examination.

Now, the first thing that pops into my head when i think about it is a team name. I cannot shake the idea that the name would be incredibly cringe inducing, a British stereotype no doubt. The London Bulldogs? the Monarchs? Or how about the Crumpets, Big Ben's, or Bobbies? Ridiculous, right?

On a more serious note, one aspect that makes this business venture a bit unrealistic is the travel situation.

My brother pointed out to me that the Patriots travelling to London is no different of a distance to the Patriots travelling to Oakland.

Now, this seems logical, and if this was the case for all teams then I could perhaps understand it. But what happens when, for example, the Chargers face a London franchise and vice versa?

The flights to and from would result in jet lag and would no doubt affect the performance of teams to a degree.

If everything was to go ahead, which players would be willing to relocate to London?

More importantly, would the British public take to them? I don't mean to sound cynical, but the British public may find it difficult to root for a group of Americans living in London with no real links to the city.

Would the NFL implement a training facility to cultivate British talent prior to this or would they leave it to the team?

If left to the franchise, the outlook looks bleak, as the standard of British American Football players cannot live up to the large amount of players coming through from the U.S. College system.

Would the London franchise look more to them, as their talent is greater, and forget about homegrown prospects? This is worth concern, because if there's nothing British about a British team, I think it may fall flat. 

If the NFL plans to simply relocate a struggling franchise, then the question remains the same. How do you make that team British and get local fans interested? Picking them up and placing them in London is not something the British public will simply accept openly. 

Am I right or wrong about these gripes? Let me know what you think.