Fans in London saw last week's Chargers-Titans game go down to the wire GETTY IMAGES
The NFL's final London game of '18 on Sunday features Eagles-Jaguars, a matchup "about as high profile as you can get," which for fans abroad is a "sign that the league isn’t opposed to giving them the very best games possible" in its Int'l Series, according to Dan Wetzel of YAHOO SPORTS. The Rams and Chiefs will meeting in Mexico City on Nov. 19 for "MNF," arguably the "best, and most anticipated, game of the regular season." It would "surprise no one if it’s a Super Bowl preview." NFL Exec VP/Int'l Mark Waller said of the league's efforts, “It shows fans how committed we are to the agenda. Teams are willing to give home dates for games of that caliber. Fans know that it matters.” Wetzel noted ticket demand, merchandising sales and TV viewership have "all grown internationally, not just for the game staged locally, but for regular ones back in the U.S." StubHub "declared the Eagles-Jags game as this season’s most in-demand ticket for a regular-season game and has compared it to a Beyonce concert." It is "easy to see how this could move to eight international games a year (a full home slate), with expansion to more contests in Mexico or even other locales such as mainland Europe or Brazil, where the NFL is very popular." For the Chiefs-Rams game, both teams "see it as a chance to not just build a fan base in Mexico City, but connect with Mexican-American communities back home" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/25).
FLY EAGLES FLY? In Philadelphia, Les Bowen notes Eagles-Jags marks the NFL's third and final U.K. game of the season, and brings the Eagles fan base that "considers itself the league's most fervent." NFL U.K Managing Dir Alistair Kirkwood said that he "hopes to set an attendance record Sunday for an NFL game" at Wembley Stadium. The current mark is 84,922, but Kirkwood said that the league has "freed up some restricted-view seats it doesn't normally try to sell and is looking to hit 85,000." He said, "I expect a lot of Eagles fans from across Europe, and the U.K., as well as coming over from Pennsylvania" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/26).
