That's the same way soccer was seen here for decades. How's that Premiere League viewership doing in the states? It's huge now! Aaron Rodgers sporting a Man City jersey this week on the McAfee show.
For what I've seen the biggest obstacle to growing the fan base among Europeans is that they don't know the rules. It's impossible to follow the NFL if you don't understand down and distance. What a pass is, and how you score.
With all the effort the NFL has put in, the growing understanding of how the "silly game" works has made tones of fans across the pond.
And the whole "they wear pads it's a soft game" erodes very quickly. You'd probably be shocked by the amount of "European reacts to NFL biggest hits" videos there are on YT.