The Super Bowl is watched by a billion people worldwide!
Bollocks. You will likely encounter that obnoxious piece of bombast at some point during the next week. The Super Bowl is available for viewing worldwide and has a potential audience of over a billion people, but in fact, it is only watched in significant portion by around 90-100 million people, perhaps 140 if you count folks who just tune in for a brief period; the halftime shenanigans for instance. Of the total viewership, figure 97-98% is in the U.S. and Canada.
The NFL has what might be referred to as the Reverse Soccer Problem. Whereas soccer (or more properly, Metric Football) can't seem to get its hooks into the U.S., apart from the Canadian Football League, professional football can't get any traction in the greater world.
Yes, I know about NFL Europa: Lame. It should actually be called NFL Germany, since five of the six teams are in Deutschland, teams in Spain and England having collapsed. Outside Germany, football (non-metric) was a failure. Even in Germany, they are struggling with mediocre attendance (averaging under 20,000 per game), although its status as a development league for the NFL gives it a solid financial shield against complete disaster.
So with Europe off, the NFL has now targeted China. Makes sense, doesn't it? China is the market everyone in every industry is after, right? A couple of weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal ran a (subscribers only) feature on the NFL's efforts in the Middle Kingdom:
The league spent much of last year holding tryouts and training camps to find two Chinese kickers qualified to attempt field goals on a pro squad. Next summer, the country will host its first NFL game when the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots meet for an exhibition game—dubbed the China Bowl—in Beijing's Workers Stadium. And to help the public make sense of the game they call "olive ball," the NFL has supported the efforts of 11 academics who have created a 300-page "American Football Encyclopedia."Here's a sample of the translation of football lingo the academics came up with:"When you don't understand the rules, it just looks like big men running around wrestling," says China-born Kevin Mo...
• Blitz = Lightning war against the QB (Nice to know you can always fall back on the Nazis for inspiration.)
• Hail Mary Pass = Miracle long pass (Who knew Captain Obvious was a Chinese academic?)
• Onside kick = Gambling kickoff (Now we'll never get a team in Vegas.)
• Play action = Pass after fake run (That should make the play-by-play simple.)
• Pocket = Protection arc ("Ah ha! Our enemies are waging a lightning war against the QB! Quickly! Reinforce the protection arc!" Note: always to be spoken out of lip sync.)
• Punt = Give it up and kick it back (Implying there would be a Fake give it up and kick it back.)
• Sack = Capture the commander in chief (Somebody better call Jack Bauer for a rescue.)
Article comments
1 - alessandro nicolo
Great piece, David. Lotsa good info. The translation bit was funny. I would add one tiny thing: while it is true CFL rosters are filled with American born players, football at a grass roots level in Canada (especially in Quebec) is growing. I hear Mexico has taken a liking to the game it seems only natural they would be the third country. But for now, at the junior ranks Canada is the only country that rivals America. In fact, they've won back to back World Titles. It shouldn't surprise many since Canadians have been playing football as early as the 19th century and have contributed to the development of the game. Another issue is the small population.
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
YOU CANNOT PREVENT AMAZING FUN MYSTIC SLANT ROUTE PASSES OF TOM BRADY!!! ^_^
3 - david mazzotta
All right, who gave Sussman caffeine?
Alessandro - I had no idea that Canada was so strong in the juniors. I wonder why it doesn't translate to college or pro. Interestingly, the NFL maintains a Canada specifc site where, among other things, they list all the Canadian players in the NFL Currently there are 14, of which 3 are on practice squads.
4 - Tinkerbell
Me and the Liz (dog) are gonna root for the Corn-Fed-One. It's his time.
And can someone please give Sussman his daily allotment of Xanax?
5 - alessandro nicolo
It's the same in baseball. Up to 18 years old Canada produces fine talent but beyond that we don't develop further. The only ones who squeeze through are the Nash's, Walker's and Morneau's of this world. I suspect it comes down to two things: money and commitment. There are other subtle considerations but that would take too long.
6 - Gary Garland
Actually, baseball was wildly popular in Japan long before the first pro league came along in 1936 and the sport has been played in Japan since the 19th century. MLB all star teams toured there many times before the war, the most famous being in 1934, when Babe Ruth came over with Lou Gehrig, Earl Averill and others and it was the impetus from that that helped create the current pro league. So baseball isn't just a postwar phenomenon in Japan. Check out my website and you'll see what I mean.
7 - RJ Elliott
ALL YOUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF BELONG TO US!!!
8 - RJ Elliott
And, yes, that was horribly unoriginal.
Great article, David. Go Colts!
9 - alessandro nicolo
Dave, make that three world junior titles in a row. Canada beat USA 23-13. Mexico beat Japan 25-17 for the bronze medal. Panama and France took part this year in the six team tournament.
10 - david mazzotta
Well, there you are. Total Colts domination as expected. Look at the stats and the score could have easily been a lot more lopsided. Congrats to Dungy and Peyton above all.
A hearfelt thanks to all my readers. You guys rock one and all.
See you in September.
11 - david mazzotta
Oh, by the way -- I'll be spending the rest of the year trying to get the image of Prince behind that sheet play with his, um, guitar, out of my head.