by Digger

The NFL regular season returns to London in 2008. In 2006, a sold out Wembley Stadium (81,176 fans) hosted the New York Giants vs Miami Dolphins.

Both NFL and U.K. officials deemed the game a success. According to NFL.com, as a result of the game, American Football viewers in U.K. grew by 40%. This is tremendous news for NFL popularity as the game continues to market itself beyond our borders.

Regular season games outside of the U.S. will become the norm as the NFL's International Series will seek hosts world wide. In 2005, the largest ever regular season NFL crowd watched Arizona beat San Francisco before 103,467 prying eyes.

This was a great marketing ploy for the league. Increasing viewership around the globe will certainly generate millions in revenues for all parties. New tv contracts, team and league merchandise, sponsors and the like will all take advantage of this new opportunity.

As a huge football fan... what I'd like to see... is better games. The Giants vs the lowly Dolphins (1-15 this year) and the weak Cardinals/49ers should not be teams representing our country. Much better choices could be made from game play matchups to marketing possibilities. The most obvious, "America's Team" Dallas Cowboys. Or how about storied Champions such as Pittsburgh Steelers or current Champion Indianapolis Colts. So many teams who play the game the way it's meant to be played should be representing our sport. Afterall, these games should mean more than just revenues. It's about promoting our sport not only for viewership but also as a tool to increase enthusiasm for watching, learning and playing the game.

So far so good. Perhaps NFL Europe can be revived. If not, maybe this current format will suit all just fine.