The Jaguars beat the Colts yesterday at Wembley Stadium in London, and Colts Owner Jim Irsay on Saturday said his goal is to "find the right owner and the right team" to be placed in London permanently, according to George Bremer of the Anderson HERALD BULLETIN (TWITTER.com, 10/1). Meanwhile, NFL Exec VP/Int'l Mark Waller said that it is "possible a team could play twice abroad in the same season and that his group continues to seek more volunteers to sacrifice a traditional home game to go to London." CBSSPORTS.com's Jason La Canfora noted NFL Int'l, in conjunction with the league's London ownership committee, is also "continuing to try to sort out some potentially tricky hypotheticals as well, particularly as it pertains to playoff football." Waller said that the league has not yet "reached a stage where it is presenting formal ideas about the particulars of a potential London based team to the NFLPA." But Waller is "pleased with the momentum that continues to build inside the league office and with owners about a potential franchise in London" (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/2).
PERMANENT FIXTURE? In Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel wrote the NFL is "not coming to London, not with a permanent franchise." Doyel: "Please ignore anyone who insists otherwise." Expansion to London "can’t happen" without the NFLPA accepting it, and the union "almost surely would not." Doyel: "An NFL owner could find players willing to live in England and fly back and forth for 16 games. ... An NFL owner might even find 53 players willing to do it. But 53 good players?" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/2).
