Ozzy Neav

Unlike most sports, football has developed into a religion of sorts for many Europeans. A cruel mistress at times, football has ended marriages, plunged die hard fans into bankruptcy and is the source of more tears and frustration than any other event in the world. Football can also be an angel of mercy and is often rightfully credited with providing unity, camaraderie and tears of joy. For better or worse, football is the pinnacle of daily culture for the majority of Europeans. It has been in the past, certainly is in the present, but what about the future? American Football is on the verge of European expansion and the results may be far more devastating than anyone believes.

From a financial perspective, European football leagues cannot compete with the National Football League. (NFL) Just to impress upon those who do not understand the magnitude of the situation, the NFL is larger and wealthier than the Premiership, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga combined. The NFL’s business model relies heavily on something called a luxury box. A luxury box is a private suite that is geared towards large corporations who are often the only entities that can afford such lavish amenities. With Europe housing a successful corporate community, it would appear as if this model can function with relative prosperity.

The vast riches of the NFL also allow owners to function at a loss for a lengthy period of time during the expansion transition. With the European consumer being on par financially with their American counterparts, NFL owners envision mountains of Euros that are just waiting to line their already bulging pockets.

The NFL employs a salary cap model that is at the heart of its financial and professional prosperity. With no single team maintaining league dominance for decades at a time and incredible and surprising team accomplishments every season, American Football has drawn excitement from many small markets. Imagine a league where Man. United won’t be the only show in town for the next century and a league where Blackpool could more than theoretically win the Premiership in the next five years. So maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but you get the point. Granted, like all American sports, there is lack of relegation excitement that we Europeans have come to an enjoy, unless of course yours is the team fighting against relegation, but Americans have proven themselves to be master showmen, where often the surrounding events of a fixture are more important than what takes place on the pitch.

The logistics and infrastructure in Europe are also primed for an NFL invasion. For one, the larger stadiums are only slightly smaller than the American Football standard. With a bit of simple expansion, Europe will have many stadiums large enough for new NFL teams to call home. Some critics of this new reality have claimed that the travel time required for American based clubs to play in Europe is too large a hurdle to overcome. To many wiser sports analysts, that is shocking ignorance. The NFL season is 17 weeks long, with each team playing a total of 16 games. Even teams located on the U.S. West Coast shouldn’t have a problem visiting Europe once a season. For example: the San Diego Chargers could fly to London and play one match, stay in Europe and play in Berlin the following week and head back home. They could then enjoy a week off as all NFL teams do once a season and then continue their regular schedule. Let’s not forget that the days of three hour flights from Los Angeles and Rome are not far away, so traveling will only become easier and more feasible with time.

On their own, European football leagues cannot compete with the NFL. Without some political protection, the NFL will storm the gates of Europe and proceed to bash down the front doors with their Yankee boots. Some would argue that free enterprise is the foundation of democracy and that even in sport, changes should be allowed to evolve naturally. Yet it is profoundly important that culture not be treated like business, or it will wither away. Football is our culture and it should be protected and cherished.

When the Americans eventually bring their version of the beautiful game to our backyard, they will do so with a very competitive and malicious edge. Almost over night we will find our cities littered with American Football academies, an abundance of television advertisements and big money contracts that will make European footballers look like paupers. The NFL will not wait for us to embrace their version of the great game, but rather, they will ram it down our throats and attempt to make us alter our sport and cultural preferences. For those of you who believe that this doomsday scenario will never materialise, I offer this response: Be afraid…. be very afraid.