Patriots-Bucs London Game Expected To Sell Out, But Buzz Lacking

NFL Officials Not Trying To Turn Sunday's Game Into Super Bowl-Style Event

Sunday's Patriots-Buccaneers Int'l Series game at Wembley Stadium, the league's third regular-season game to be played in London, "represents the culmination of seven months of planning and preparation for a showpiece that more resembles a Super Bowl than a simple regular season contest," according to Mark Woods of ESPNBOSTON.com. NFL U.K. officials are "confident that the overseas adventure will be sold out at the 85,000-capacity Wembley Stadium." Sir Elton John "has been enlisted as the Patriots honorary captain," while the pregame show will feature singers Calvin Harris and Katherine Jenkins (ESPNBOSTON.com, 10/20). But FOXSPORTS.com's Alex Marvez wrote while the London game was "once a ballyhooed event," Patriots-Buccaneers is a "mere blip on the league radar." The game is "all fizz." It is "easy to blame the unattractive matchup" -- the Patriots are 4-2 while the Bucs are 0-6 -- but the "last two NFL matchups staged across the pond were surrounded by pomp and circumstance regardless of team records." The Chargers-Saints game last year "delivered," but for that game, "both teams also spent a week practicing" in the U.K. The Patriots and Buccaneers "aren't arriving in London" until Friday (FOXSPORTS.com, 10/22). NFL VP/Int'l and Head of Int'l Business Chris Parsons said there is "no extra hoopla" for Patriots-Buccaneers. Parsons: "We don't try and make it like a Super Bowl, with extra events. It is in a different town, but (teams) have everything they need to be consistent" (BOSTON HERALD, 10/23).

WORTH THE HASSLE? In Boston, Monique Walker notes the Patriots were scheduled to arrive in London Friday morning, while the Buccaneers were getting in later in the day. One benefit of "spending a week in London would be giving the players plenty of time to adjust to the time difference," but that would mean "moving the entire operation overseas." The team would have to "find a facility that could host meetings, video, and other preparation materials." Patriots coach Bill Belichick: "We felt like this was what was best for us, to get our preparation done here and then make the move on Thursday" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/23). CSN Chicago's Mike North said, "You're playing for the New England Patriots or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Where's the fine print that says, 'Oh by the way, you're going to take a nine- or 10-hour plane ride to go play in London and it's going to be a home game?'" ("Monsters in the Morning," CSN Chicago, 10/23). 

GLAZERS' B-TEAM: In St. Petersburg, Gary Shelton wrote the Buccaneers are "about to take their embarrassment global," as they have "turned into the Glazers' B team." The Buccaneers "have become a reason for Manchester United fans to look at each other and say, 'Well, at least they spend their money on our roster.'" Shelton: "Isn't the purpose of this game to show an international audience what a wonderful blend of size and speed, and of grace and violence, this sport can be when it's played well? So why transport a team across an ocean when it can't display any of that?" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 10/21).