NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Thrilled About International Games
For 17 years the NFL has traveled overseas to showcase their product. And the tradition will continue this season. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was on Good Morning Football today and was thrilled to talk about the international games. As we know, the first NFL game was played in São Paulo Brazil in Week 1 featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. But the international matchups will ramp up this Sunday in London starting with the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Jets. He believes the awareness and popularity of the game has continued to grow and expand since the international outreach began.
“My perspective goes back to the ’90s,” Goodell said. “We went to Japan, we went to Berlin — what you saw were fans that didn’t really understand the game. Now, you go over to London and you have a hard time telling whether you’re in London or whether you’re in the Meadowlands. The fans there are sophisticated; they understand the game, they appreciate the game. And for me, that’s what I think gives us so much confidence that our game can be a global game.”
“When we were down in Brazil a few weeks ago, it was the same thing,” he said. “A lot of enthusiasm, excitement over the game, and I believe great potential. So, we’ll be back there, I’m sure. We’re going to continue to grow. I think we’ll und up going to 16 (international) games at some point in time. The owners have already authorized us in going to eight, but I’m confident, particularly if we can do the restructuring of the season, that we would get to 16 at some point.”
I’m curious as to what he means by “restructuring of the season.” Is an expanded schedule already in the works?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Thrilled About International Games
Goodell told the Good Morning Football crew that the international experience has been good for everyone involved:
“I went to Jordan Mailata because, to me, that was the best one: How was the trip? How was the plane? Everything was great. And the coaches were good, the players were great; everybody felt like this was a great trip. It was not disruptive, they were able to prepare properly. When they got back, I went back and checked afterwards, everybody recovered really well and that’s an 11-hour trip for these guys.”
The international schedule is:
Jets-Vikings this Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Week 6 will begin the Jacksonville Jaguars’ two-game stay Oct. 13 against the Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; Oct. 20 against the Patriots at Wembley Stadium.
Week 10 wrap up at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, for the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers Nov. 10
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