Is NFL Europe just a bad joke?

xm15e3

I just saw an NFL Europe game last weekend, and couldn't they had a fare number of people in the stands.

I had thought the entire concept was a flash in the pan gimmick, probably a tax write-off for some sports execs....but it doesn't seem to be going away.

Do any REAL Europeans actually pay attention to it? Does the average European grasp the basic rules to the game, do enough actually care to? Is it played at the amateur level?

I really can't see how this will work with soccer as big as it is and without a college system to "build" full grown players.

Anyway, I'm just curious.

Here's the link to their cheerleader gallery...they need to work on this part...

http://www.nfleurope.com/photos/2002/cheergallery.html

suppafly

Do any REAL Europeans actually pay attention to it? Does the average European grasp the basic rules to the game, do enough actually care to? Is it played at the amateur level?

well i now that the big fat guys r supposed to try and block, so that the Quarterback has time to find one of his receivers. Also that when u get taken down its called a down, and u get like 3/4 of them or something?? also i don't think it really matters where u tackle someone or even if they don't have the ball!!!!! I don't find it particularly interesting really. I saw it on there the other day and i watched a for a small bit, but i thought it was fairly crappy really!

I really can't see how this will work with soccer as big as it is and without a college system to "build" full grown players.

Afaik as i know, the players that don't make or what not go there and join those teams, form the american system and they they do pretty good or whatever and get scouted and selected for an NFL team back in the US. So basically i think its like an college ball thing, cuz i think that supposedly where they get selected, so if u don't u got to NFL europe or something.

kmart6

N.F.L Europe isnt a joke most of the players come over from major franchises in America to stay fit.It is also a breeding ground for Europeans to be spotted by the American tems

suppafly

yeah thats basically what i said in a very round about and mispelt way!:D

stira64

as far as i have heard NFL europe is ****e. but i wouldnt know, as i dont have sky sports. it is probably crap compared to the NFL, but it is still a lot better than the irish league that i play in.
anyway dont knock american football cos it is a great sport, once you get into it. the fact that there are SIX football teams in ireland (each with about twenty players) is a testament to how much fun the game really is!

kmart6

How the f**k can you say NFL Euorpe is s***e when the majority of players are from the American NFL.They have a few Europeans on each team who have either been drafted or that are going to be drafted

stira64

i never actually said i believe it is crap. the reason i have this impression of it is that i play football and my teammates who have sky watch it and they tell me its crap. and in fairness, they should know!

frood4t2

Yeah, it's crap.

It's football players trying to make it into the NFL... i believe that their jerseys have a small logo of the NFL team who has the player's playing rights. As such, it's not quite the quality of NFL or good college football.

Hairy Homer

I wasn't aware of its existence but if it's anything like the World League of American Football that was around about 10 years ago it's an utter crock, and I speak as someone who used to go to watch the London Monarchs take on such illustrious opposition as the Frankfurt Galaxy and the Barcelona Dragons.

Americans haven't a rat's ass clue how to evangelise a sport in foreign countries, for which small relief some thanks. It's enough that we've taken to their fast food, their dress sense, their popular music, their cinema and (to a lesser extent) their literature. Thankfully, sport is one small area of popular culture that the yanks just cannot impose on the rest of the world. (I could go on ad nauseum but this is not the place. )

Fair play to those who are sufficiently interested to set up their own teams and play for the fun of it in public parks around the world but they are a tiny minority.

Besides, we have a game in this country that is just like American football in terms of:

its pace - a series of set-piece plays which take about a minute to set up and a few seconds to execute;

its dependency on good captaincy - half the battle is how you set the field at the start of each play;

its fetish for statistics - name a player or a position and there are more statistical indicators for their prowess than the governor of a central bank has to worry about when reporting on the economy. And there are fans who memorise them all as well;

its potential for violence - necessitating body armour to be worn;

its length of duration - of indeterminate length but basically goes on all day;

its contrast between simple objectives and labyrinthine complexity when it comes to executing them that makes watching such an incomprehensible chore for the uninitiated......

.....

it's called cricket.

stira64

i disagree about us copying their clothing style. yanks are hardly the best dressed people in the world. all they wear is GAP, TOMMY , and crap labels like that. basically about as much imagination as an elvis impersonator.