The NFL has a powerful ally in London: the mayor.
London Mayor Boris Johnson performed the coin toss before Sunday’s Cowboys-Jaguars game, and he said Wednesday on Late Show with David Letterman that he thinks there’s an enormous appetite for the NFL in London.
“It’s fantastic, and I can’t tell you how overjoyed people of London are to see NFL,” Johnson said. “I was at the stadium, Wembley the other day -- our national stadium -- and it was full to the rafters, 85,000 people. We’ve got lots of Americans in London, but these were Brits, and they understood it, too.”
Johnson admitted that he personally is more of a rugby fan and finds the starts and stops of American football frustrating, but he said that in London there’s a “general enthusiasm for all things American,” and that includes the NFL.
NFL owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell have made it clear that they’re enthusiastic about expanding their presence in London. Johnson’s comments are music to the NFL’s ears.