I had the pleasure last weekend of attending the NFL regular season game at Wembley Stadium between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Bucaneers.
All the fun of the fair was on show. Toni Braxton sang the national anthem. Calvin Harris warmed up the crowd. The Tamba Bay cheerleaders drew camera flash after camera flash from the hoards and there were even fireworks inside the stadium as the teams appeared on the field.
Watching all of this pomp and ceremony made me wonder. Could Irish sport learn from this multi-million dollar industry? I am positive it could.
The match day experience at an NFL game is more family friendly than some GAA and rugby day outs. The glitz and the glam are to be seen to be believed. However, the ‘show’ that goes with the NFL is purely a smoke and mirror exercise.
You see, the best thing about Irish sport is that the sports we play are true sporting contests. The sports we adore stand up for themselves.
Our diet of hurling, football, soccer and rugby is more sporting excitement than any one American sports fan could take.
The NFL games are stopped for TV breaks. Players literally stand on the field until the adverts are over. Is this really a sport or is it just a TV drama?
The likes of VISA, Gatorade and Bud throw millions at the NFL, but is it just because you cannot but, watch their ads? I’ll take a Munster hurling final or Munster Magners league game any day over an NFL game.
The sad thing is that Irish sports and sports teams will never make the same impact on the globe as US teams. Money talks and we don’t have enough of it here. We can learn about marketing and product brands, but we should not forget either that our sports are better and more exciting. We may not have the brands or contracts, but we also don’t have the huge egos and pay packets to pay for.
So, What can we take from the NFL?
Honestly? Cheerleaders and Pizza…
