Prepare For The Bills To Go International Regularly

[JP51]

1 minute ago, sunshynman said:

But the sure play a mean pinball.

Indeed, standing like a statue, looking forward at the machine... 

[eball]

Why does everyone hate this so much?  Aside from potentially losing one home game in a season, what is the downside?  The international games are fun to watch, they're on at odd times which is kind of cool...I don't get all of the hate.

 

[Coach Tuesday]

Traveling internationally to see the Bills is an absolute blast and I can’t wait to do it again.  

[JP51]

2 minutes ago, eball said:

Why does everyone hate this so much?  Aside from potentially losing one home game in a season, what is the downside?  The international games are fun to watch, they're on at odd times which is kind of cool...I don't get all of the hate.

 

Never really thought about this... I like it... So, I don't hate them per se... I am happy to see a 9 am game and extend my football watching on Sunday...  but speaking for me... its a bit of over exposure... like too much... what is the end goal... to have teams in Europe? I am not sure I would want that... I dont like what the travel does to my home team... its a big trip with lag both ways...  happy to play a team coming back from say Germany the week before...  so hate, no... but when it involves the Bills especially when we lose a home game for it...  just not a fan..  I think the fact it is for the money and they are putting "our" sport on the road for more money.. that kinda rubs me the wrong way.... 

 

But to your point, I do wonder what the players think about it... like ... dude that was cool got to go to ... France or Germany ... Brazil whatever and see cool stuff...  or are they like ... I hate this.. thats a long a$$ flight living for a week in a hotel room ... blah blah... I suspect its a mix... but I do wonder if its an over all net positive or neg for them. 

[RyanC883]

2 thoughts: 

 

If they could get the Colosseum in Rome sturdy enough to hold a game, that would be amazing, 

 

With the Bills having a new stadium, hopefully/likely it's an away game that gets moved.  

[Artem Lipatov]

16 hours ago, Lost said:

Bills home game in Russia 2027

I would finally watch Bills game alive. I'm the biggest Russian fan of Bills since Kelly era. I watched Bills  games online only

[Gregg]

1 hour ago, eball said:

Why does everyone hate this so much?  Aside from potentially losing one home game in a season, what is the downside?  The international games are fun to watch, they're on at odd times which is kind of cool...I don't get all of the hate.

 

 

I think the hate comes from the fact that the Bills seem to lose these games. If they played at 9:00 in the morning and won, then it would be great as Bills fans could sit back and watch all the other games without stress knowing the Bills already won their game. But if they lose which they have then it sucks.

[US Egg]

41 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

If they could get the Colosseum in Rome sturdy enough to hold a game, that would be amazing, 

Only if it’s Gladiator rules. Bears vs. Lions

[teef]

i don't see the concern with this either.  we all knew it was coming, and it sets up a potentially fun trip.

[corta765]

12 hours ago, Aussie Joe said:

The last line is the main issue …could see players being visibly disappointed when drafted by an international team, and then breaking their necks to get out of Dodge as quick as they can come free agency .,

 

Even London is tough …especially for them, having to travel to the US for half their games .,.. We all complain here about the Bills having to travel once every couple of years - imagine doing it 8 times a year ...

 

Maybe by 2040 there is a leap in air travel that can halve the travel times ….its still a big ask even if that was the case …

 

Yep. I read Peter Kings thoughts a year or two ago when he did FMIA about teams abroad. Basically the player apathy of going abroad and travel issues are real. As much as the NFL wants a franchise there it is a very tough egg to figure out and IF it comes to pass it probably is London.

1 hour ago, eball said:

Why does everyone hate this so much?  Aside from potentially losing one home game in a season, what is the downside?  The international games are fun to watch, they're on at odd times which is kind of cool...I don't get all of the hate.

 

 

I don't mind the games abroad but the issues with the field and competitive disadvantage in terms of travel is real when some teams don't go abroad. Once every team has a game abroad I think that part will quiet down, but the field issues you have see in England and Brazil reallyyyy need to be fixed. Buffalo effectively lost 3 starters in 2023 in one game. Yes freak injuries, but the field conditions were a real factor same as Brazil with GB/PHI.

 

Other than that I really do enjoy football all day and it is kind of fun having that to watch.

[Freddie's Dead]

@corta765, love you bro', but with all due respect, get the ***** outta here with this idea of the Bills going international.  We're not JAX, we just take our turn like everybody else.  One every three or four years is just fine.

[corta765]

2 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

@corta765, love you bro', but with all due respect, get the ***** outta here with this idea of the Bills going international.  We're not JAX, we just take our turn like everybody else.  One every three or four years is just fine.

My point is expect every other year. The NFLs goal is going to be send half the league abroad every year and if the 18th game is added then everyone goes abroad once. This year as is I believe 13 teams will go out of the US, so we already are close to the 16 number.

 

Everyone will take their turn its just going to shorten from every 4 years to every other.

[BarleyNY]

2 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I don’t understand the problem? Doesn’t every business try to make as much money as they can? If there’s a market for it and money to be made, why wouldn’t they try to expand? I work for a large company (10k employees & $3B revenue). We had a call with the CEO yesterday and all it was about was growth. Isn’t that the goal of a business Are we saying that a business should say, “nah I’m good? I don’t want more money.” I just don’t understand the outrage (not just from you). No one has an issue when my company roles out new initiatives designed to drive revenue. I really, really, really struggle with growing the game being a “problem.”

 

While I agree with that in principle, there is always the risk of greed getting the better of a business. Any number of missteps, including a focus on short term gain at the expense of long term success, is not uncommon in the general business world. Fans who love the sport or their team simply don’t want to see the league make a major misstep and damage the product. 

 

I don’t think that international games are a problem and I’m sure they boost revenue. But expansion if oft discussed. That would be bad for the league IMO. Despite paydays that have hit $60M/year and are climbing, the NFL can’t find 32 quality QBs. So as it stands every team added would be one without a good QB. I don’t see how adding a handful of uncompetitive teams wouldn’t hurt the league. 

[ddaryl]

I don't find international games any more fun to watch then a game played here,  and have zero interest in traveling abroad to see a football game. If I travel abroad I plan on seeing the sites not a football game. 

I don't understand why the game has to go international either. I think/really hope the NFLs greed bites them in the ass. Its worn on me and I've already reduced time and money I'm willing to invest in the league. 

[frostbitmic]

Every team having an international game every year is likely the plan.

[CoudyBills]

15 hours ago, teef said:

It would be nice to push a child down the stairs in another country. 

Attend a soccer game anywhere outside the US...

[Captain Hindsight]

1 hour ago, eball said:

Why does everyone hate this so much?  Aside from potentially losing one home game in a season, what is the downside?  The international games are fun to watch, they're on at odd times which is kind of cool...I don't get all of the hate.

 

Only reason it bothers me is that in the last game in London against Jacksonville, they were basically used as an experiment and came out jetlagged, flat and lost a game, that under more equal conditions they might have won.

 

The talk about a game in Australia is utterly ridiculous. My uncle lives in Canberra and we joke that he lives in the future because the time zone is so different. Its a 33 hour flight from Buffalo. Asking these guys to spend over a day traveling is wrong. Each game is already so important and the NFL does ***** like this

[corta765]

5 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Only reason it bothers me is that in the last game in London against Jacksonville, they were basically used as an experiment and came out jetlagged, flat and lost a game, that under more equal conditions they might have won.

 

The talk about a game in Australia is utterly ridiculous. My uncle lives in Canberra and we joke that he lives in the future because the time zone is so different. Its a 33 hour flight from Buffalo. Asking these guys to spend over a day traveling is wrong. Each game is already so important and the NFL does ***** like this

My guess is it will be west coast teams out of the gate and then if they were to do games with east coast teams they would play on TNF then have extra rest and time to travel for Australia and then probably have a bye week after or MNF game to add rest. 

[Kirby Jackson]

36 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

 

While I agree with that in principle, there is always the risk of greed getting the better of a business. Any number of missteps, including a focus on short term gain at the expense of long term success, is not uncommon in the general business world. Fans who love the sport or their team simply don’t want to see the league make a major misstep and damage the product. 

 

I don’t think that international games are a problem and I’m sure they boost revenue. But expansion if oft discussed. That would be bad for the league IMO. Despite paydays that have hit $60M/year and are climbing, the NFL can’t find 32 quality QBs. So as it stands every team added would be one without a good QB. I don’t see how adding a handful of uncompetitive teams wouldn’t hurt the league. 

The data doesn’t show any regression. The numbers continue to increase. Why worry about, “yeah but what if it starts to plateau and decline?” It’s actually more likely that, “what if it takes off in those countries and the revenues grow exponentially?” 
 

It is a bit of a frustrating conversation for me because it doesn’t make sense. EVERY FOR PROFIT BUSINESS HAS A GOAL OF MAKING AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE. Why some want this business to be different is mind-numbing. If the interest wanes and the money slows, change will happen. Until then, expect continued revenue expansion by going into new markets, new networks, new timeslots, and more games. The DEMAND is there so the NFL owes it to their owners and players to maximize the revenue.

Edited 16 hours ago by Kirby Jackson

[Augie]

2 hours ago, eball said:

Why does everyone hate this so much?  Aside from potentially losing one home game in a season, what is the downside?  The international games are fun to watch, they're on at odd times which is kind of cool...I don't get all of the hate.

 

 

It was inherently unfair to play a Bills “home game” in London against a Jags team that has been establishing a fan base in London since 2013. It is unconscionable that the Jags had been in London for an entire week to get acclimated before the Bills arrived to play there in Roger’s little “experiment”. I’m sorry, Goodell cannot come back from that in my mind. The integrity of the game should come before expanding markets. 

 

I know a lot of people will disagree, but I don’t care. Every game matters, don’t screw with them. 

 

EDIT: While I’m at it, why doesn’t the NFL make sure the playing surfaces are safe and acceptable. Von Miller said the field at Tottenham was the worst he had ever played on. We had quite a few injuries on that field. 

 

 

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Edited 15 hours ago by Augie