# NFL games in London: locals or expats? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 5, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580 "2015-10-05T02:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/21 "2015-10-06T04:34:44Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Some baseball players have to go live in Canada, whether they want to or not. There’s a tremendous difference between relocating to Canada north of the American border and England 4000 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/22 "2015-10-06T13:05:03Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Full time team? Getting support for a club which plays an unknown sport in a city which is already saturated with different types of very popular sports teams. It’s still a better market than Jacksonville. > [@russian\_heel](#): > > There’s a tremendous difference between relocating to Canada north of the American border and England 4000 miles away. Other than the length of the plane ride home? What aspects are you thinking of? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/23 "2015-10-06T18:32:43Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > The NFL rotates it’s schedule, so the Jag would have to play the NFC west and AFC West every four years (although not the same year). Half of those would be road games. They also play a team from the AFC West every year, and Houston twice a year. So it’s not always an east coast to London flight. Minor correction: The Jags play the NFC West every four years, and the AFC West every three years. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Or the league could put their Western road games in consecutive weeks, so they could just stay out there. That would indeed solve many problems. Good thinking. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/24 "2015-10-06T20:11:37Z")
The University of Hawaii has a similar travel problem, but [they don’t seem to try to schedule around i](http://hawaiiathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=football)t by clustering their games etc. They’re not good this year but they have been in the recent past. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/25 "2015-10-06T21:48:01Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The University of Hawaii has a similar travel problem, but [they don’t seem to try to schedule around i](http://hawaiiathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=football)t by clustering their games etc. They’re not good this year but they have been in the recent past. In fairness, this year they play exactly one team in the Eastern time zone. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/26 "2015-10-06T21:50:40Z")
They usually don’t even play that many; in 2013 they played Navy in Annapolis but otherwise they haven’t visited this time zone since 2011. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/27 "2015-10-07T00:53:33Z")
[A video on this topic that I like](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XmyBZRASZU) on the feasibility of the Jaguars moving to London. The dl;dw: it’s not hopeless, but unlikely. Another drawback: if they keep the name, we’ll have to get used to the convoluted British pronunciation. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Some baseball players have to go live in Canada, whether they want to or not. Well considering that an MLB season has about 10x the number of games of NFL, it’s (potentially) worse for baseball. Although they make it easier by playing in the same city for a few games, it’s still more travel than football. > [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > You can’t typically drink beer at Wembley? 😕 I think dry stadiums are pretty common at the college level in the US. I spent too long once trying to find beer at Memorial Stadium (Cal), and it was made more difficult that the employees were completely unaware. Meanwhile in line some students knew better and had gin in water bottles :o ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/28 "2015-10-07T01:45:39Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > There’s a tremendous difference between relocating to Canada north of the American border and England 4000 miles away. And let’s face it, culturally there’s not a lot of difference. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/29 "2015-10-07T02:27:24Z")
True - to this Yank, London doesn’t feel any more foreign than Montreal, probably less. The climate is milder, too. A Southern kid might have a harder time adjusting to Green Bay. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > They usually don’t even play that many; in 2013 they played Navy in Annapolis but otherwise they haven’t visited this time zone since 2011. Hawaii just visited Ohio State a few weeks ago, and will play at Wisconsin later. Maybe they just never go to class? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/30 "2015-10-07T03:24:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Los Angeles to New York is five hours. New York to London is eight. But yeah, if there’s a bye the following week I don’t see what the big deal is (though you can’t give everyone who plays in London a bye unless they are on a bye themselves in week 1). You wouldn’t even need the bye. Have the team play MNF the next week. Only needs to happen 8 times a year. The problem will be with the London Jaguars traveling but hey, you chose to have the island all to yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/31 "2015-10-07T15:13:53Z")
Something that I haven’t seen mentioned, London is a huge, wealthy, cosmopolitan city. Many players would much rather play there with all the culture, nightlife, women and endorsement opportunities over playing in the small market NFL cities like Green Bay, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Indianapolis or Minneapolis. Some of the rust belt cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh might not that high on the list either. Remember, it’s not all about proximity for some of these guys. I also wouldn’t be shocked if league minimum guys and UDFAs would choose London simply as an opportunity to live abroad, kind of like an international work-study program. There was never a shortage of players in NFL Europe after all. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/32 "2015-10-07T15:19:49Z")
That’s pretty much what I was saying with “beats Green Bay.” Though I’ll point out that Jacksonville is a surprisingly large, cosmopolitan city, and certainly has more attractive women (if not culture, nighlife or endorsement opportunities) than the majority of NFL cities. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/33 "2015-10-07T17:24:45Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Something that I haven’t seen mentioned, London is a huge, wealthy, cosmopolitan city. Many players would much rather play there with all the culture, nightlife, women and endorsement opportunities over playing in the small market NFL cities like Green Bay, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Indianapolis or Minneapolis. Some of the rust belt cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh might not that high on the list either. Remember, it’s not all about proximity for some of these guys. > > I also wouldn’t be shocked if league minimum guys and UDFAs would choose London simply as an opportunity to live abroad, kind of like an international work-study program. There was never a shortage of players in NFL Europe after all. Do most players really choose what team they’re going to based on the city? The league minimum and UDFA guys will pretty much go to whoever takes them. The only ones who really get a choice are the big money free agents. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580/34 "2015-10-07T17:30:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Jacksonville … certainly has more attractive women They’re more lightly clad than in Green Bay, at least. Which is enough, of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-in-london-locals-or-expats/733580.md?page=1)