The SIG Column – 26 October

As the NFL circus hits London this weekend for the first ever regular
season game held outside the US, Drew Barrand, head of media at the Sport
Industry Group, debates in this week’s SIG Column as to whether American sport
can really catch on in the UK…

The ‘pond’ between the UK and the US has never been crossed with such
regularity by the sporting fraternity. And despite popular opinion, the majority
of these journeys cannot be apportioned to David Beckham’s personal quest for
the record number of air miles ever gathered by a single passenger.

In the last six weeks, London has played host to three of the big four US
sports franchises. Exhibition games staged at The O2 Arena by ice hockey’s NHL
and basketball’s NBA leagues are to be followed this weekend by the first ever
regular season NFL game to be played outside of the Americas.

For those not familiar with the American sporting vernacular, this
essentially means that Sunday’s American Football game between the New York
Giants and the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium is a competitive contest with
points at stake as opposed to being merely a promotional sideshow.

All we need now is for Lord’s to host a Major League Baseball game and London
would have its very own full house of US sport.

Ignoring for a moment whether the MCC would actually agree to the New York
Yankees building a mound in the middle of the ‘home of cricket’, there is little
doubt that the Americans see huge potential for their sporting franchises in
cosmopolitan London.

Judging by the initial reaction, you can see where they are coming from. The
NHL and NBA games filled the substantial surroundings of The O2 to the rafters
while this Sunday’s NFL game sold out to its 90,000 capacity in under 48 hours.

All of this proves that one-off spectacles of US sport will draw in the
British crowds. However it is worth asking the question what the fans are coming
to see.

The demise of NFL’s European league after well over a decade of struggling to
keep its head above water proved beyond doubt that mediocre standards of US
sport won’t cut the mustard.

The NFL’s new plan is to put on the best of the best in front of British
sport fans, hoping that the foremost displays that the sport has to offer is
what they want to see. This is fairly basic sporting logic. After all, World
Cups are understandably more of an attraction than top of the table clashes in
the Blue Square Premier.

But these theories are based on the fact that British fans are actually
interested in the sport itself. It is probably closer to the truth to say that
it is the spectacle of American sport that holds the real attraction for the UK.
A one-off special to borrow a broadcasting term.

To develop long-term loyalty and interaction with a sport, the contest itself
must become all important. If the US sport franchises can develop this level of
attachment amongst fans in this country then their substantial financial
investment will have born fruit.

This is no easy task for many reasons not least of which is the sheer volume
of sports that British fans pledge allegiance too. There is a huge level of hard
graft for US sport to do if they are going to cross this substantial hurdle and
the odds are quite frankly stacked against them.

That said they can comfort themselves with the fact that the razzmatazz
spectacle of US sport is enough to bring in the crowds once a year. From a
solely financial perspective however, once a year may not be enough.