editorials letters features contact links

After a summer of rest, Stato is back. I've got a site loaded with NFL and (eventually) WL/NFL Europe/whatever they decide to call it and Arena Football picks. Here it is.

But that's not the point of this dispatch. I've been thinking about the WL (old habits die hard), and focusing on how to make it more popular. There are three main groups that must be brought in, the NFL Snobs in Europe, American fans (most of which are NFL snobs), and people that haven't heard of the game. The first two groups are the groups that I target with this idea. Here it is:

The NFL European Challenge!


If the league schedules an open week before the World Bowl, then it could arrange to have the four teams that aren't in the Bowl to host an exhibition game (with all allocated players playing for the WL) with an NFL team. I'll be blunt (coincidence?) and say that the NFL teams would probably win. NFL Snobs in the respective cities would flock to the game. I mean, let's face it, I don't expect an American Bowl for some time in Amsterdam, for instance. If the WL team has a good outing, then, maybe, just maybe, some of the NFL Snobs would open their eyes and see games. All the regular WL fans would show up, and I'd expect the game to draw lots of people. The 4 games could be televised on the regular NFL networks (including Channel 4) and, in so doing, would make some Americans fans of the WL.

Envision: "[NFL on NBC theme music rolls] Hello, everyone. Murrayfield, in Edinburgh, Scotland, home of the Scottish Rugby Union and the World League team, the Scottish Claymores, who today face Jimmy Johnson's Miami Dolphins in the first ever NFL European Challenge. I'm Dick Enberg, with Phil Simms and Paul Maguire, and this is the NFL on NBC. The Dolphins come into Scotland after a great season, losing in the playoffs to the New England Patriots, winners of the Super Bowl. This is the first stop on the road to the Super Bowl for this team..."

How many people wouldn't come out to the game, if only to see Dan Marino and Jimmy Johnson?

Exactly, lots of people would. The game would be included in both team's season tickets, with a special section of the stadium reserved for Dolphins fans. The tourism would pump money into the local economy, the Claymores would convert some fans on both sides of the pond, all would be right with the world.

So here are my preview matchups:

The teams in the World Bowl would not play, so the TV schedule would not be finalized until the week before. Here is the TV schedule:
Day US Broadcast Time US Network European Time (BST/CET) LIVE or on TAPE
Saturday 1 Eastern/10 Pacific NBC 6 / 7 LIVE
Sunday 1 Eastern/10 Pacific FOX 6 / 7 LIVE
Sunday 4 Eastern/10 Pacific ESPN 6 / 7 TAPE
Monday 9 Eastern/6 Pacific ABC 6 / 7 TAPE

Levi Ramsey

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1