Uh, oh.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/blaine-gabbert-ruled-week-2-jaguars-ask-tim-203438944--nfl.html (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/blaine-gabbert-ruled-week-2-jaguars-ask-tim-203438944--nfl.html)
Just look at how empty the stadium got during the 28-2 blowout loss in Week 1 of the new NFL season!
For those of you who aren't North American, Tim Tebow was a highly decorated/honoured U.S. college (American) football quarterback who has failed to 'stick' with a pro team after the draft. He won the top honour in college football, The Heisman Award, and led his Jacksonville, Florida-based university team to one or two national championships (I can't remember the number). It is said of him, "All he does is win." But he's become a lightning rod of sorts to sports fans, based in part on the showiness of his Christian faith. And, well, other things. For instance, he's a virgin, saving himself for marriage. Ahem. He often makes a showing of a quick silent prayer on field. That sort of thing. I'm not making any comments in that department. But it's been fodder for polarizing positions among fans. And he has an ungainly throwing motion when he passes the football. Sometimes it looks like a wounded duck floating toward the receiver. It ain't pretty. Sometimes he can't hit a barn. Other times he threads a needle. But he is a natural leader on the field, and teammates tend to love him. And as rushing quarterbacks go (that's when they run with the ball for yardage, instead of passing the ball), he's top notch. Anyway, he was just cut by the New England Patriots NFL team, and is looking for a team to make him an offer to play quarterback, even if just as a backup. Hence, the press speculation about the Jacksonville Jaguars possibly acquiring him. He still has a huge fan base in Jacksonville and 200 miles in every direction from that city based on his college exploits. Tebow stories tend to suck all of the oxygen out of the room. A distraction Khan and coaching staff don't need right now as they try to right the ship. A distracted Khan is an owner paying less attention to Fulham.
Just because I have a new Step father 051 I really don't care what his other kids get up to..
The way he has been treated has been nothing short of disgraceful. Done absolutely nothing wrong for either Denver or The Jets (where he never got a chance to shine) and was never going to dethrone Brady at New England.
Purely for jersey sales, The Jaguars should have drafted him back in 2010 when they had the chance, maybe that's why they want to sign him now, sell the jerseys and push the attendances up. Give him the starting QB role and he will thrive in the AFC South
What has any of this got to do with Fulham or football at all
Quote from: epsomraver on September 10, 2013, 11:21:19 PM
What has any of this got to do with Fulham or football at all
Oh, the Fulham owner also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars.
They're an NFL team.
Epsom, Tebow is media circus all his own. Kahn owns both teams. Kahn's Jaguars are currently considered the worst team in the NFL. I think it's unfair that the team is stuck with that label so early into the season (Week 1), but there you have it. The Jaguars represent the far bigger investment to-date in Khan's pro sports portfolio. And if the team continues to do poorly, if it keeps losing, then it will divert the owner's attention away from Fulham and what matters to you and me and the rest of the FofF board. If, for whatever reason, the Jags decide to offer hometown-boy-done-good a contract, then it will likely create a whirlwind of attention and debate and noise which further detracts attention on Fulham. I want quiet and success for the Jags, only because it means Khan can turn his attention (and money) to Fulham. Hope that makes sense.
As per the previous thread about Jaguars, this one will be moved to the Overseas Exiles Forum shortly.
We all know that Khan owns both teams, but the General Discussion Forum is basically for Fulham related posts only. MLS, NFL, etc, etc are posted to the exiles forum.
Thanks,
I could care less about the Jaguars. The post was clearly tied to Fulham. We vie for the owner's limited attention and available funds. A Jaguars losing streak and a media circus over a FAMOUS lightning rod player relating to the Jags is only apt to distract our owner from focusing on 1. Jol; 2. how our team is doing; 3. talent acquistion discussions that arise; 4. the stadium and grounds; and so on. Am I the only one that sees that? I don't think so. But, fine, do what you want.
Jags' fans plan big rally to persuade management to give Tebow a contract:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/la-sp-sn-tim-tebow-jaguars-rally-20130916,0,791048.story?track=rss (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/la-sp-sn-tim-tebow-jaguars-rally-20130916,0,791048.story?track=rss)
Quote from: epsomraver on September 10, 2013, 11:21:19 PM
What has any of this got to do with Fulham or football at all
This sort of thread is why this forum was started. Go on back to the big house with the rest of the
proper Fulham fans.
Well, the bring-Tebow-to-Jacksonville crowd had their rally and only a handful showed up. However, in the process of reading that new report, I stumbled upon a reader comments section full of the same assertions: The team's home game attendance figures continue to be very disappointing; and the team's performance is abysmal. I haven't seen a Jaguars game on TV yet. Who can give us a first person account of home game attendance and quality of play? I have a sneaking suspicion that the NFL convinced Kahn of a plan to permanently relocate the team within the next xx years to London, that the move would somehow be more lucrative than staying put in impoverished Jacksonville, that Khan would in the first wave of internationalists bringing the game to a larger fan base. If so, I think it's a doomed premise. But if I'm right, then I wonder if the plan included converting the Cottage into a multipurpose facility... No, certainly this is just fevered imaginings with absolutely no possibility of fruition, right?
There is no chance the Cottage could be a multi use facility. The NFL needs crowds in excess of 50k to be viable. Besides, the good folks of SW6 would grab their torches and pitch forks if an attempt was made to do so & rightfully so. That & the travel time/jet lag would kill a team. You fly from Frisco to London, play a game and fly back for a game the next Sunday? When do you prep? My concern is that an owner who seems to satisfied with poor on field performances with the Jags will be the same with the Whites. Problem is that poor performances in the EPL are punished by relegation.
A lot remains to be seen.
Barring the exhibition matches that they are slated to be the 'home' team for up to 2016, I doubt bringing any NFL team permanently to the UK would pan out honestly, as there are very few who make up such a fan base that would sustain anything more than those currently scheduled matches.
I guess there is always a novelty value, but once that has worn off, the revenue-to-expenditure would fall off dramatically for anything regular.
Quote from: Logicalman on September 18, 2013, 09:46:36 PM
Barring the exhibition matches that they are slated to be the 'home' team for up to 2016, I doubt bringing any NFL team permanently to the UK would pan out honestly, as there are very few who make up such a fan base that would sustain anything more than those currently scheduled matches.
I guess there is always a novelty value, but once that has worn off, the revenue-to-expenditure would fall off dramatically for anything regular.
Some have said the same about soccer in 'merka.
Quote from: YankeeJim on September 18, 2013, 10:21:43 PM
Quote from: Logicalman on September 18, 2013, 09:46:36 PM
Barring the exhibition matches that they are slated to be the 'home' team for up to 2016, I doubt bringing any NFL team permanently to the UK would pan out honestly, as there are very few who make up such a fan base that would sustain anything more than those currently scheduled matches.
I guess there is always a novelty value, but once that has worn off, the revenue-to-expenditure would fall off dramatically for anything regular.
Some have said the same about soccer in 'merka.
.. and they might well be right!
This is all old ground that we went over. I agree that NFL teams in the U.K. don't make sense. But the league seems committed to making it happen. Therefore, since Khan owns both teams, and since the Jaguars look to be playing to a poorly filled stadium, and is reported to have the worst team in the NFL, the Jaguars would seem to be the likely choice for a team to uproot and move. They don't have decades of storied tradition. They don't have an entrenched and fiercely loyal fan base. And the NFL isn't staging games in London as nothing more than a novelty act, or to cater to expatriates. There is more going on here. We just don't have the details.
It seems then that either Khan and/or the US powers-that-be, believe this can be a money-maker. Personally I believe that they will have the same issues, perhaps even more, that soccer faced when trying to get a foothold in the US, perhaps even facing a more entrenched public against importing sports from the US.
Obviously the advertisers will look upon this opportunity with some Branston (sorry - relish), until they see the response, which might not be the same as it is over here, at any level. If those that believe they can just up and move teams to wherever they want and expect success, then they need to review the history of the MK Dons. I recall that move, just a decade ago or so, the boycott and furor that ensued took the owners by surprise then.
We wait to see the plans.
NFL Europe never attracted more than a trickle of support. You would think its complete failure would discourage the powers that be from trying to expand to Europe.
I am a season ticket holder and there first home game sold 60,000 tickets they may be a crap team but they still seal tickets and they are not moving he spending piles of money on the stadium here, they will not sign Tebow GM said they never will, so have a nice day.
Quote from: dino1828 on September 23, 2013, 06:01:56 AM
I am a season ticket holder and there first home game sold 60,000 tickets they may be a crap team but they still seal tickets and they are not moving he spending piles of money on the stadium here, they will not sign Tebow GM said they never will, so have a nice day.
So, what is your overall opinion of Khan as it relates to spending on teams he owns? Is he someone that will stick with Fulham through the harder years?
Quote from: Logicalman on September 23, 2013, 12:59:16 PM
Quote from: dino1828 on September 23, 2013, 06:01:56 AM
I am a season ticket holder and there first home game sold 60,000 tickets they may be a crap team but they still seal tickets and they are not moving he spending piles of money on the stadium here, they will not sign Tebow GM said they never will, so have a nice day.
So, what is your overall opinion of Khan as it relates to spending on teams he owns? Is he someone that will stick with Fulham through the harder years?
He's owned the Jags for less than 2 seasons, how is anybody supposed to have an impression like that?
Quote from: AmericanJames on September 25, 2013, 09:13:13 AM
Quote from: Logicalman on September 23, 2013, 12:59:16 PM
Quote from: dino1828 on September 23, 2013, 06:01:56 AM
I am a season ticket holder and there first home game sold 60,000 tickets they may be a crap team but they still seal tickets and they are not moving he spending piles of money on the stadium here, they will not sign Tebow GM said they never will, so have a nice day.
So, what is your overall opinion of Khan as it relates to spending on teams he owns? Is he someone that will stick with Fulham through the harder years?
He's owned the Jags for less than 2 seasons, how is anybody supposed to have an impression like that?
Well, I would guess, depending on the immediate needs of the club, whether Khan has made good on any initial promises, or is just in a holding pattern. It might provide some insight into how he does business in terms of sports teams.
Two interesting articles (both of them are few months old) about the NFL's plan to create a London-based NFL team. The second one suggests the natural target demographic are rugby fans, as that sport seems closest to American football. The topic of where the London stadium would be keeps popping up. And so does the Jacksonville Jaguars.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1674573-how-can-the-nfl-realistically-expand-to-europe (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1674573-how-can-the-nfl-realistically-expand-to-europe)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/how-nfl-can-expand-abroad-london_n_2016085.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/how-nfl-can-expand-abroad-london_n_2016085.html)
Posted on Yahoo! five hours ago:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/nfl-try-force-team-london-players-always-hate-133324012--nfl.html (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/nfl-try-force-team-london-players-always-hate-133324012--nfl.html)
The only way I can see any of the NFL players agreeing to this would be the same way the Prem players go in the opposite direction into MLS, when they are in the twilight of their career, or are just not fit/classy enough to remain first pick in the squad, and their pay suffers.
I guess the only reason Jason Kelce might like it is because perhaps he keeps thinking he likes the English accent (I promise you, if you speak with that accent over here, that's all you seem to hear - every day!), or he likes (as that great actor Dennis Farina once said) "fish, chips, cup o' tea, bad food, worse weather, Mary f*****g Poppins ... London!" - classic 064.gif
The net net of all of these articles, to me, is that the NFL resolutely believes in expanding its franchise with an NFL Europe conference which would likely play amongst itself, pre-playoffs, with occasional games against stateside teams to minimize jet lag issues. And the number one European franchise location to NFL leadership appears to be London. And key to such plans to establish a beach head there is settling on an initial stadium, a base of operations. Taking a poor U.S.=based team, a poor new team with no tradition, easily uprootable, and moving it to London as part of, say, an initial four-team NFL Europe conference, all appears likely part of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's plans. But which team? Seems to point to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Why buy Fulham, Mr. Khan? Don't you have your hands full with the worse team in the NFL? Why take on Fulham with all of its debt? A midtable team that loses money almost every year. Why? What's so attractive to you about London-based Fulham? Why didn't you pump more money into Fulham for player improvements over the summer? Posters have speculated that the Cottage grounds won't work as that London stadium for the Jaguars. That the natives will grab their pitchforks and riot. That if you touch one brick of that beautiful picturesque place, there will be blood. Metaphorically speaking, of course. That there is no room for an NFL stadium there. That there isn't enough seating capacity. Still, I wonder. Khan is a billionaire. Perhaps someone sold him on an expansion story. Perhaps someone said he'd have the full and complete backing and financial support of the league if he did such and such, moving the Jaguars to London, to SW London. Not today, Not next year. But maybe in five years, as the league works in the background on developmental issues. Is it all so far fetched given what we've been reading in the press?
On Yahoo! today, the headline reads, "No London Fans For This NFL Team." It's definitely worth a read:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--football-thursday--can--madden--video-game-do-more-to-help-nfl-establish-london-based-team-than-the-jaguars--044421358.html (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--football-thursday--can--madden--video-game-do-more-to-help-nfl-establish-london-based-team-than-the-jaguars--044421358.html)
