Football (North America: NFL, CFL, Arena Football, minor leagues)

[Buck87]

Denver Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

[ET21]

Panthers-Pats. However thank you Arizona for beating the village of Green Bay.

[jbnv]

Panthers-Pats.

Barf. Only thing I can root for in that is Charles Tillman (fellow Ragin' Cajun) having a great game against the Patriots.

[Buck87]

On the topic of Major League Football, they have announced that their 3 day draft process starts on Wednesday January 27.....but they still haven't announced which cities are getting franchises

[texaskdog]

On the topic of Major League Football, they have announced that their 3 day draft process starts on Wednesday January 27.....but they still haven't announced which cities are getting franchises

My bet would be Austin, Birmingham, Las Vegas, Memphis, Orlando, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio.  5 of these cities were WFL/USFL cities.  Austin, Las Vegas, and Sacramento are up and coming cities that have no NFL or MLB team.  Saint Louis would be an excellent market but not only are they an MLB city they are a baseball city, plus the market was just vacated. 

[Desert Man]

Go win SB 50, Manning and the Broncos, but beware the 15-1 Panthers! and Watson's ability to make more than one touchdown. The Pats' chances of repeating were..."deflated" (ROFL!). The Panthers' 3rd NFC title game and 2nd SB appearance is good team history for 20 seasons they existed.

Good to know the Rams returned to L.A. for the 2016 season, but not sure the Chargers or Raiders want to play where they have a local rival. They want a new stadium...and be the only NFL team around in a new sports market. My suggestion for the Raiders is to share Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara where the SF 49ers play, but the Raiders and 49ers have to agree on a settlement they both approve of.

[Buck87]

MLFB currently is in the midst of their 3 day draft process despite not having announced the teams and locations. What they are doing is using the head coaches names instead of team names.

Here is the league's stated reason for the delay in the teams being announced: http://www.mlfbmedia.com/examiner-one-on-one-mlfb-franchise-cities/

Though it was pointed out on the MLFB Facebook page (in comments that have since disappeared) that the MLFB has filed trademarks for the following 8 names: Alabama Airborne, Arkansas Attack, Florida Fusion, Northwest Empire, Ohio Union, Oklahoma Nation, Texas Independence & Utah Stand.

[jbnv]

Though it was pointed out on the MLFB Facebook page (in comments that have since disappeared) that the MLFB has filed trademarks for the following 8 names: Alabama Airborne, Arkansas Attack, Florida Fusion, Northwest Empire, Ohio Union, Oklahoma Nation, Texas Independence & Utah Stand.

How tangible.

[Big John]

Though it was pointed out on the MLFB Facebook page (in comments that have since disappeared) that the MLFB has filed trademarks for the following 8 names: Alabama Airborne, Arkansas Attack, Florida Fusion, Northwest Empire, Ohio Union, Oklahoma Nation, Texas Independence & Utah Stand.

How tangible.

And none of them end with an "s".

[Pete from Boston]

Though it was pointed out on the MLFB Facebook page (in comments that have since disappeared) that the MLFB has filed trademarks for the following 8 names: Alabama Airborne, Arkansas Attack, Florida Fusion, Northwest Empire, Ohio Union, Oklahoma Nation, Texas Independence & Utah Stand.

How tangible.

And none of them end with an "s".

Really interesting–these are hardcore college football markets.  I guess they're aiming for where there's a demonstrated excitement about football, but they're going to test just how much football mature, well-exploited markets will bear.

[triplemultiplex]

Though it was pointed out on the MLFB Facebook page (in comments that have since disappeared) that the MLFB has filed trademarks for the following 8 names: Alabama Airborne, Arkansas Attack, Florida Fusion, Northwest Empire, Ohio Union, Oklahoma Nation, Texas Independence & Utah Stand.

Those are soccer team names.

[Pete from Boston]

Though it was pointed out on the MLFB Facebook page (in comments that have since disappeared) that the MLFB has filed trademarks for the following 8 names: Alabama Airborne, Arkansas Attack, Florida Fusion, Northwest Empire, Ohio Union, Oklahoma Nation, Texas Independence & Utah Stand.

Those are soccer team names.

Those are World Football League names.

I love this line from their website:

"MLFB's strategically placed spring / summer season will fill a critical need for outdoor football at that time of the year when sports content is in high demand."

Critical need!  Ha!

I have seen very few ventures that have this much to say about themselves while saying so little specific.

[triplemultiplex]

MLFB's best chance for success: cut a dirt-cheap deal with the CW or one of the rudimentary basic cable channels like TBS for broadcast rights.  That would maximize their exposure.
They need to follow the model of recent internet successes.  Give it away for nothing (or almost nothing) until you get established.  Then start charging real money or selling real ads.  It worked for Facebook.  It worked for Hulu.  It worked for Pandora.

[Pete from Boston]

Their PR boasts of a deal with some sports channel called ASN.  I'm sure if they're on a household name like ASN, they have nothing to worry about.

[tchafe1978]

ASN is the American Sports Network. Right now from them, what I see is they show usually mid-major level college basketball and football games, and some college hockey. Usually the arenas are 3/4 empty and you can actually hear the ball bouncing and the shoes squeaking on the court. In my area, the games are on a secondary digital channel of the local Fox affiliate, 47.3. I'm sure the new MLFB will gain huuuge exposure.

[bing101]

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/03/465387338/american-football-catches-on-in-china-league-champion-crowned


Now the Chinese has their own version of the NFL.

[The Nature Boy]

People are burned out on football after the Super Bowl and really don't want to watch something that they'd call "minor league." The XFL had a decent chance at success, they were on NBC, UPN and TNN but that folded after a year.

[Pete from Boston]

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/03/465387338/american-football-catches-on-in-china-league-champion-crowned


Now the Chinese has their own version of the NFL.

How does one say "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" in Mandarin?

I somewhat understand the U.S.'s engrained history and culture of football begetting a slow acceptance of the reality plaguing football players, but I'm surprised folks without that history wouldn't look at it more warily.  Score one for NFL marketing.

[bing101]

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/03/465387338/american-football-catches-on-in-china-league-champion-crowned


Now the Chinese has their own version of the NFL.

How does one say "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" in Mandarin?

I somewhat understand the U.S.'s engrained history and culture of football begetting a slow acceptance of the reality plaguing football players, but I'm surprised folks without that history wouldn't look at it more warily.  Score one for NFL marketing.

Well the Chinese version of Roger Goodell is making the attempt to spread the Chinese edition of the NFL in the country.

[Pete from Boston]

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/03/465387338/american-football-catches-on-in-china-league-champion-crowned


Now the Chinese has their own version of the NFL.

How does one say "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" in Mandarin?

I somewhat understand the U.S.'s engrained history and culture of football begetting a slow acceptance of the reality plaguing football players, but I'm surprised folks without that history wouldn't look at it more warily.  Score one for NFL marketing.

Well the Chinese version of Roger Goodell is making the attempt to spread the Chinese edition of the NFL in the country.

My guess, though, is that the NFL's global marketing really celebrates the excitement of the game without the healthy counterpoint of scrutiny that exists here.  Like so much else of our culture that gets exported, people will learn one way or another that it's not all fun and games.

[triplemultiplex]

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/03/465387338/american-football-catches-on-in-china-league-champion-crowned


Now the Chinese has their own version of the NFL.

Now those are some team names people can get behind.  I would totally root for the "Pandamen" or the "Combat Orcas."  That's awesome!  They'll sell so much merch if that sport catches on even a little.  I can just see logos that have a Killer Whale dressed like a Navy SEAL and Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder when he wore that panda skin in the jungle.
Team names should be concrete nouns, not adjectives or abstract nouns.  The MLFB will fail because they simply because they don't understand this basic concept of naming teams.  People expect vicious animal names or hard-ass job titles; preferably with local flavor.

[bing101]

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/06/surely-but-slowly-nfl-inching-forward-on-permanent-london-franchise


UK in the Mix for the NFL and Mexico.


http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/super-bowl-50-mexico-city-oakland-raiders-houston-texans-enrique-garay-020516

[Desert Man]

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/06/surely-but-slowly-nfl-inching-forward-on-permanent-london-franchise


UK in the Mix for the NFL and Mexico.


http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/super-bowl-50-mexico-city-oakland-raiders-houston-texans-enrique-garay-020516

If the NFL expands internationally, they can put a team each in Canada (most likely Toronto), Mexico (Mexico City or Monterrey), the UK (London has the best chances) and another European Union team (located in Germany). The NFL plays on a weekly schedule in their teams' 17-game season, enough time to get over jet lag if they play 6-9 time zones away from home. The NFL held exhibition games in Japan before, like the Tokyo Dome. And there's a following of the NFL in Oceania or Australasia. Honolulu, Hawaii long had the Pro Bowl game, but they weren't viewed an ideal place for a regular season NFL team. Already in the US, St. Louis lost the Rams, San Diego and Oakland might relocate to L.A. and Las Vegas seeks a NFL team, which defeats the purpose of international expansion. 

[jbnv]

Expansion poses a mathematical problem. There currently are 32 teams: four teams for each of four divisions in two conferences. If the league adds teams, they will have to do so in a way that preserves the mathematical balance.

The league could add four teams and realign into two conferences with three divisions each with six teams each. That would accommodate London, Mexico City, Toronto and one more team. I think this is more likely to happen than for  London, Mexico City, and Toronto to all get existing teams,.

Currently each team plays each team in its division twice (home and away), each team in a different division in the same conference, each team in one division in the other conference, and two other teams, for 16 games per team per season. In the expanded, realigned league, each team would play 10 games within the division and most likely the other 6 games among a divisional rotation.

[Stephane Dumas]

The league could add four teams and realign into two conferences with three divisions each with six teams each. That would accommodate London, Mexico City, Toronto and one more team. I think this is more likely to happen than for  London, Mexico City, and Toronto to all get existing teams,.

I guess if the NFL allow a concession to Toronto, I wonder what'll be the fate of CFL's Toronto Argonauts? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Argonauts Come to think of it, it might have a big impact on the whole CFL.