Wembley set for 2nd NFL game !!

I find it interesting that the NFL chose these two teams to go to England/UK/Britain/London to play in a game. The New Orleans Saints are one of the main reasons that New Orleans is being held together and to take away a home game from them is just absurd. The San Diego Chargers are appox 5 to 6 thousand miles away from London, certainly an extremely far trip for them and almost half a day on a plane.
The choice of the Giants and Dolphins was good because they are both east coast teams and a reasonable distance from England, though it seems unfair that the Giants were not home team because last year they recieved an extra "home" game against the Saints.

 

personally i think it's great for the league, although i agree that taking a home game away from the saints (although not really) is probably not the greatest thing for the city, but it is definitely great for the sport. outside of the us, everyone thinks a football is round and you definitely don't catch and throw it, . i think the league is setting itself up for expansion in the next couple of years.

 

Home field advantage is pretty important for American football. The most obvious reason is crowd noise, which can pump up the home team but also hamper the other team's ability to call signals on the field. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the rules, but the team on offense can't move from their stances prior to the start of each play. If they do, they're penalized. The play is started when the quarterback calls out signals to pu the ball in play, and with a loud stadium it's harder to hear and easier to commit a "false start". Also, there's the overall benefit of being in your home town. Even home teams spend the night before a game together in a hotel, but at least they didn't have to get on a plane and travel to get there. While weather seems like it would be a major factor, it usually evens out. Cold doesn't lend itself to a home team the way you'd think since most players have played in it in the past, plus it doesn't get really cold until the last couple games of the year. On top of that, the players are so damn tough that they barely feel the elements. One of things most non-Americans don't realize is how enormous our football players are.

Are you guys sure that New Orleans is losing a home game?

 

As a fan of both football leagues, I hope I can bring light to this situation. In the NFL, HFA(Home field advantage) has little bearing on the game if at all, all it helps with is getting the team momentum. This has to do with American fans having much less enthusiasm towards our football then the English/British towards their football.

For instance, the New York Giants, reigning Super Bowl champions went 3-5 at home, certainly a very bad home record. Somehow the Giants were able to win 11 straight away games (including SB). Somehow HFA didn't help them at all.

In the Premiership, HFA is extremely apparent. Chelsea rarely, if ever, loses at Stamford Bridge. Some teams haven't won at Old Trafford in decades. Emirates has only recorded two or three losses in around 50 games.
Compare this, Manchester United has 37 points from 13 games at home (12-1-0) and have only allowed 3 goals. Whereas they have 21 points from 12 games away (6-3-3)

 

Yeah, they're playing the Chargers in London.

 

But do they take a home game away from both teams, or does the NFL determine one of the teams to be "home" and only take one from them? If they wanted to be fair, they would count this as an "away" game for both teams.

 

It counts as a home game for the Saints only, just as it counted as a home game for the Fins this year and an away game for the Jints.
Unfortunately, at times the NFL lacks common sense and takes away a home game from NO.

 

That makes no sense whatsoever. Any idea if the teams receive any benefit/money for playing overseas? That's kind of a big deal for the Saints, especially playing in the Superdome.

 

Why not Giants vs Patriots?

 

Giants already played an over seas game, and plus a match up like this would actually make sense (which the NFL seems to lack at times).
P.S. There is a rotation in the NFL scheldule, and the GMEN aren't set to play the Pats next season.

 

See, I knew I should have looked up the schedule. lol

 

taking a home game from New Orleans is not absurd and New Orleans is not being held together by the Saints. While it would have been better for the city to lose a away game instead of a home game, this will give New Orleans lots of free publicity that cannot be bought for any amount of money. it will also help the Saints organization through presumably increased ticket prices and merchandise sales to "fans" in the UK .

 

Very true, it can also help increase the tourism in NO with more UK people visiting there. I'm still baffled though, taking away an NO home game and making SD fly 6000 miles away from home.

 

You're absolutely right about the boost in PR and merchandise sales to some extent. But ultimately a game like this can have a negative effect on the season, and like I said the Saints have a lot to gain from playing in their dome. Making the playoffs will do far more for their image and jersey sales than playing in Wembley and going 8-8.