Super Bowl Heading To London?

Well, it looks like the ’68 VW bus might eventually have to float. Our friends in England have pointed out to us a report suggesting that talks are underway to send the Super Bowl to London. “We’ve spoken on what it would take to host and for us to bring it over,” NFL events vice-president Frank Supovitz said Thursday. “The city has all the facilities needed, and in great quantity.” It’s something that has been mentioned in the past, perhaps as a trial balloon. For the first time, it now looks and feels like something that could possibly happen. “We have had very substantive conversations with the city of London,” Supovitz said. “We’ve got to the point of exploring the bid document.” So when would it occur? “It won’t happen in the next three or four years because we know where the Super Bowls will be, but these are exciting opportunities for us,” Supovitz said. In our view, it won’t happen for several more years beyond that, at the earliest. The U.S. audience is still getting comfortable with the notion of regular-season games being exported to London and other countries. The Super Bowl is a very different issue. It’s part of our collective American experience and identity. Put simply, it’s ours. And many will believe it belongs here. That said, we’re not opposed to it. For purely selfish purposes, we fully support the globalization of the sport. And a Super Bowl in London could be critical to the expansion of the sport beyond our borders -- perhaps as signficant as the ’58 championship game was to moving the NFL from a click above pro wrestling into full and complete legitimacy on the pro sports landscape. So count us in for a London Super Bowl. And don’t be shocked if it becomes one of the most-hyped sporting events of all time.