Down Under Football: Would It Work?

At his press conference before the NFL concluded its International Series by subjecting the unsuspecting German fans to Giants-Panthers, Roger Goodell teased some of the upcoming international locales the NFL is thinking about.  So far, there's been games in Canada, Mexico and Germany, along with London, where they've set up a semi-permanent presence.  This year marked the first time the NFL played in Brazil, and Munich is already on the docket for next season.

Goodell indicated that Dublin, which has hosted a number of college games already, is a likely addition that will happen pretty soon.  There's also interest in Berlin, which has the 70,000-seat Olympiastadion and was the home of an NFL Europe team.  It would be the third different city in Germany to host an NFL regular season game, along with Munich and Frankfurt (which also both had NFL Europe teams).

Several other European markets will probably be in the mix for future games, as well.  It also seems like a good bet that the NFL will return to Brazil, but this time in Rio de Janeiro.  And I'm sure the NFL would like to further expand its international presence by tapping into other areas of the world.  Places like Australia, which is something they've already been thinking about.

I'll admit that was the most surprising thing to come out of Goodell's press conference.  I get why the NFL is interested in Australia, but was shocked to hear that there have already been preliminary talks, which is an indication that they're serious about it.  Although, there are some big logistical hurdles that would have to be overcome in order to make playing a game in Australia a reality.

One of the things about the European games that works so well is the favorable time zone.  The European games are able to be showcased since they all have that exclusive 9:30 AM Eastern TV window.  And games in Mexico or Brazil are easy since they're in the same time zone as the U.S.  Mexico City games are usually put on Monday night, while that Eagles-Packers game in Sao Paulo was on that special Friday night.

The time difference between the United States and Australia isn't convenient for anybody, though.  Depending on the time of year, Australia is either 14 or 16 hours ahead of the East Coast.  The West Coast is almost an entire day behind Australia!  So, the times that would work best for Americans are either in the middle of the night or early morning in Australia and vice versa.  (The Super Bowl kicks off at 10:30 AM Monday in Australia.)  That's obviously not ideal for either side, especially since the whole point is to expand the NFL's reach and expose the game to new fans.

With those time concerns in mind, that really limits the NFL's options for when it could schedule a game in Australia.  The 9:30 AM kickoff used for the European games is out since that's 1:30 AM in Australia.  Although, playing in one of the primetime slots certainly could work.  Sunday Night Football starts at 12:30 on Monday afternoon in Australia, while the Monday night game is at noon on Tuesday.  (Ditto with the Thursday night game on Friday afternoon.)

Those really seem like the only two options.  Except how convenient would it be for the game to start at noon on Monday or Tuesday?  Would they still go?  Sure!  Is it ideal?  No!  And the far more convenient options (a Friday night/Saturday afternoon or Saturday night/Sunday afternoon game) are really pretty much non-starters.

It was only because of a loophole in the NFL's antitrust exemption that they were able to schedule the Eagles-Packers game in Sao Paulo on a Friday night.  There were five Fridays in September this year and the provision in the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 specifies that the NFL can't broadcast a game starting with the second Friday in September.  That'll also be the case next year (when there won't be a game in Australia), but the next opportunity after that won't be until 2029.  Would the league really want to wait five years before its first Australia game?  (They're obviously not playing on a Saturday night during college football season.)

So, that pretty much leaves playing a Sunday night/Monday afternoon or Monday night/Tuesday afternoon game.  I guess they could theoretically schedule a Thursday night/Friday afternoon game in Australia, but you're not making teams fly that far on a short week.  Which brings me to my next point.  When do you schedule a game in Australia so as not to cause a major disruption for the two teams playing?

There were concerns about the distance leading into the Eagles-Packers game in Sao Paulo, which is one of the reasons why they settled on Week 1.  Australia is nearly twice as far as Brazil!  So, following their own lead and scheduling the game for Week 1 would make sense...until you consider they'd immediately fly 10,000 miles back and play again in Week 2.  You can't do that.  They'd have to have their bye week after.  I'd imagine the NFLPA (and likely both teams) would insist on that.  Which means later in the season.  How late, though?

Later in the season would also work better for whichever stadium in Australia is selected since the Australian Football League and National Rugby League seasons both conclude in October.  So, what I can realistically see is a game in Sydney or Melbourne (or maybe even Brisbane since they're hosting the 2032 Olympics and the NFL would love to see flag football included in those Games) on a Sunday night/Monday afternoon at the end of October/beginning of November.  Realistically, that's the only thing that makes sense.

Although, another option that's been floated and is intriguing would be to hold the Pro Bowl Games Down Under.  That, frankly, I think is the best idea of them all.  Let the players have fun hanging out in Australia for a week (no need to worry about guys opting out with phantom "injuries"), and there's the freedom to schedule it basically whenever the NFL wants.  There's nothing going on in the week between the Conference Championships and Super Bowl, so they could easily do Saturday night/Sunday afternoon.

Regardless, it looks like an NFL game in Australia is a done deal.  It's only a matter of when.  These logistics will be figured out and they'll choose between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for the location.  Or maybe it'll be two of them.  Maybe all three.  Because once the NFL goes to Australia for the first time, you know there's no way they won't go back again!