There are few things soccer and American football have in common, despite sharing names, but perhaps the biggest and most important similarity is the lucrative business empires that both sports can spawn, and the necessity of having a large-capacity multipurpose stadium.
Both are newer concepts to the world of football, as only in the last 20 years have soccer teams branched out into becoming global brands in their own right.
Stadiums now host far more than just matches, and with soccer on the rise in the US and the NFL on the rise in the UK, more and more sides are hosting American Football on English soil.
The stats are in and the NFL has been on the rise for some time now, with games being hosted on British soil since 2007.
Close to two decades later, prevalent English soccer teams are setting up lucrative deals to host matches.
One such side is Tottenham Hotspur, who recently extended their lucrative deal with the NFL to host games up to the 2029/30 season. Most recently they hosted the matchup between the Ravens and the Titans. The Titans upset the NFL odds with a 24-16 victory over one of the favourites to win the Super Bowl.
This agreement has pushed the club to new financial and commercial peaks, extending their brand awareness beyond just football fans, while simultaneously diversifying forms pf revenue.
But while sponsorship, promotion and hosting matches all help build public interest in the sport over the pond, the best way to attract fans falls beyond investment.
The best way to win over new fans is to most great games, which is never a guarantee in any sport.
When we look back at some of London’s best games, we can see early on why the sport has captured many English hearts. Only a year into the then experiment of hosting matches in London (2008), The New Orleans Saints vs The San Diego Chargers marked an incredible affair, that no doubt played a huge hand in its increase in popularity.
The Saints looked to be cruising, holding a 37-20 lead early in the fourth quarter, but keen to show a new audience what they were about.
The Chargers mounted an incredible fight back to take it to 37-32, before Philipp Rivers threw a costly interception to Jonathan Vilma, letting New Orleans hold on to the win despite San Diego having all the momentum.
The quality of the games early on in the NFL’s foray overseas was integral to helping build popularity in a sport that before then was written off by most of the British public.
Today the games are just as exciting and intense
Last year, New Orleans once again found themselves involved in a spellbinding match, this time on the losing end.
The game went down to a succession of kicks. Saints kicker Will Lutz tied up the score from 60 yards to make it 25-25 with less than two minutes left, resulting in a frenetic final minute.
Just over a minute later, the Vikings regained the lead from 47 yards.
Just 24 seconds remained, which was just enough time for one last Saints opportunity.
61 yards out Lutz had another chance to be the hero. No time remained to gain any more yards, leaving it up to him to save The Saints.
Victory was decided by the finest of margins. Lutz’s kick came as close as you can get, hitting both posts and bouncing clear to give the Vikings a precious win.
Games like that did more than any investment or advertising could do for the sport, as American Football showed it could be just as incredible as Soccer.
With 6 weeks to go, The Philadelphia Eagles are most bookies’ favourites, with 5/1 odds, but The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers can share the same 5/1 odds.
The Eagles are many individual favourites off the back of their 9-1 record so far, boasting the best record in the NFL.
But it’s more than just the wins The Eagles have racked up, it’s how they’ve achieved them.
Their most recent game vs the Kansas City Chiefs on the 21st was a doozy.
After a tight first quarter, both sides scoring 7 a piece, Kansas romped into a 17-10 lead.
With The Eagles facing a first loss since their disappointing performance against the New York Jets in game week 6, The Eagles steeled their resolve, shutting Kansas out while scoring 14 points, 7 in each remaining quarter.
Thanks to a great Jalen Hurts performance on offense, and an impenetrable second-half defense, The Eagles saw out a victory over one of their main Super Bowl rivals
