Totally out of nowhere late last night on Twitter, I saw a tweet that the New England Patriots would face the St. Louis Rams in London, England next season.
When I went to bed, I hoped that bad dream would disappear but sadly the teams confirmed it today. The Patriots and Rams will play on October 28, 2012 at London's famed Wembley Stadium.
This will be the second time in four seasons that New England will travel to the UK, after they went there in October 2009 and trounced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There are only a few things that the NFL as a whole has been wrong about in the last decade: Thursday night games and this joke of a trip to England. Take it from somebody that studied abroad in college: nobody in Europe, the UK or England gives a shit about the NFL. They don't understand it and they never will.
So what's the point of the NFL still making that trip every year? Well like everything in pro sports (and life), it revolves around money and expanding markets. I also read this morning that apparently St. Louis is locked into London games for the next three seasons. Haha I guess people in Europe and the UK can't get enough of Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson and new Rams head coach Jeff Fisher.
Next season's game will count as a home game for St. Louis so New England will still have its usual eight home games in 2012. However with the time changes and travel times, the games in London are much more of a burden and a novelty to teams than a reward for the players and coaches.
“We are honored to be selected for this year’s game and eager to return,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in an NFL press release. “We had such a great experience during our last visit to London. We are proud to have great support from our fans when we are on the road. The United Kingdom is home to some of our most passionate Patriots fans, including the UKPatriots, who are among our most active fan clubs overall, not just overseas. We look forward to another memorable experience.”
There are rumors of the NFL permanently moving a franchise to the UK or Europe which is insane. The NBA has had similar rumors in the last few years and I have to say, give me a break. An exhibition game or trip here or there is one thing but moving a team there? Haha that is such a joke, I don't even know what to say.
If you need me, I'll be saving up my pounds (English currency) to get to London next October for that Pats-Rams game (two days before my birthday!).
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