Playing In London Next Season

[Shawn`]

[quote name='Raven-In-ATL' date='15 January 2010 - 04:05 PM' timestamp='1263593144' post='341786']
Clearly London is the new gateway to the Super Bowl
[/quote]

Just ask the Patriots this season after they beat the bucs.

[Brit_Ravens_Fan]

Obversely i would like it if the ravens played in London but i can understand were you guys are coming from if you are season ticket holders and i would not like it if they took a home game from the Ravens you cant beat M&T.

Goodell needs to add a extra game (take a pre season game away)and then none of us lose out.

But people who are saying we don't pay are dues really don't understand us international fans i pay all kinds to watch the Ravens on gamepass and satellite i buy as much merchandise as i can and sit up till 5 am if we play the late game so you cant say we are not committed to the Ravens.

Saying all that at the end of the day i would prefer to travel to Baltimore than to London to see the Ravens

[Awesomo]

i live in Finland and i know im am as big of a fan that all of you americans are. i stay up on school nights to watch ravens games that starts 2.00 am over here. i know it is the BALTIMORE ravens but still i think that they should reward there european fans. i cant fly to baltimore every sunday but i could fly to london once a year.
if you are a ravens fan that gets to see the ravens play every week or even once a year can you imagen how it feels to not get to see ray lewis dance live at m&t stadion and be apart of the ravens family?
i will fly to new york next december so i pray to God that the ravens jets game will be then.

GOOOO RAVENS

[cm06mrs]

[quote name='mdrsharon' date='15 January 2010 - 04:46 PM' timestamp='1263592015' post='341767']
In Brian Billick's book he talks about how much teams hate playing on those Thursday night games because it takes the team's schedule totally out of whack.
Playing across the pond would really throw things off for who knows how many weeks.
It is a bad idea.
His book is really good , though, he talks about the Ravens alot.
[/quote]

does playing in london really throw your schedule out of whack?

a flight from baltimore to london is about the same length of time as baltimore to LA
the game kicks off at the same time pretty much

there shouldn't really be any difference between a west coast game and a london game as long as you keep your players on eastern time

[quote name='JohnJohnson' date='15 January 2010 - 06:04 PM' timestamp='1263596648' post='341822']
Does it even sell out in London? How many fans are there? I guess it could be interesting for them to see the game, but I doubt they care that much.
[/quote]


the game sells out in seconds

trust me

there is a market over here.

[cursona pirate]

i could care less i don't want it to be considered a home game

[JohnJohnson]

The whole safety argument is kind of ridiculous, don't pay any attention to that.

There are a few concerns that fans might have about their team. Thursday night games are already hard, and it IS a longer flight to London than for a normal away game (and we're one of the closest). Besides, our home games already sell out, and I'm not sure that the Ravens make much money directly from the game. Sure, more people might buy merchandise or watch our games internationally, and that's certainly worth something. I would love to see more international fans, but are there significantly more Dolphins, Giants, Saints, Chargers, Buccaneers, Patriots fans because they have played in London? I'm sure that the game itself is exciting for the fans, especially because for many of them it's a new experience. I just wonder how much the games themselves affect team loyalty. Of course, if the Ravens went over there it would probably be a much more physical game than previous ones, and they might earn a reputation and more fans than a typical team would. It's all somewhat unclear as far as the long run benefits to the team, but there would be some concern leading up to the game. I'm not 100% opposed, but you should understand that it is about money for the NFL. I bet tickets aren't very cheap!

[rayrayven]

[quote name='Alexir' date='16 January 2010 - 10:26 AM' timestamp='1263655593' post='342063']
And besides Chelsea and Manchester United have come over to America to play soccer. [/quote]


Don't forget Manchester United is owned by Malcolm Glazer - who also owns Tampa Bay Bucs.

[Ravnet]

[quote name='rayrayven' date='16 January 2010 - 04:01 PM' timestamp='1263675700' post='342284']
Don't forget Manchester United is owned by Malcolm Glazer - who also owns Tampa Bay Bucs.
[/quote]

That's not why Premier League teams come over to the U.S.; they travel here because almost every devoted soccer fan in America has an international team, usually one of the top four in the PL, as top tier soccer is nonexistent in the U.S., yet a market does exist, and thus they cater to those fans.

[Rinbee]

[quote name='Ravnet' date='16 January 2010 - 02:35 AM' timestamp='1263627349' post='341991']
Exposure = more fans = more money. More money = the ability to build/keep up-to-date facilities like "The Castle" at Owings Mills, one of the best training grounds in the NFL which gives our players advantages over the competition.

Furthermore, money allows us to bring in the best coaching talent through overpaying and giving the best college coordinators or NFL position coaches offers they wouldn't be able to refuse.

I could list other benefits of having money like the Cowboys or Redskins, but you should get the point. I understand that those two franchises are not models of success, but their problem is that they're poorly managed, and we're well run.

Not only that, but having a larger fanbase like the Steelers raises the prestige of the franchise, which means something as being a fan is basically about bragging rights and taking pride in the history/state of your organization; an expansive group of followers also binds together fans as they feel that they're part of a "nation."

Obviously Goodell is looking to make money out of these games, but if we can benefit greatly from them, then why not partake?



That is clearly not feasible for so many reasons.



You're right, that was unnecessarily catty, but I feel like people are either a.) being selfish/ignorant about not "sharing" the game, and/or, most importantly, b.) overlooking the potential benefits for the future of our franchise for the pros/cons of one game in one season.
[/quote]


Do you really believe the Ravens would see much of the money from that one game? And having a wider fan base means nothing to the local economy, including the Ravens. The first consideration should always be the local fan base and city which make it possible for the team to even exist. Nothing should be taken away from us. Anything over and above that would be acceptable, but I still do not agree with the Goodels's international good will policy. You can talk about big attendance for the games in England, but remember that one game is a novelty. Off course it will sell out quickly. That's not a guage of how well a franchise would succeed.