NFL in London

National Football League in London

NFL international series

NFL London Viewings

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The 2022 NFL is officially underway, and the big football energy as palpable across the UK with the promise of 3 homes games, a German game, and no COVID!

As a group that has hosted NFL viewing parties across the UK for the past 15 years, we are often asked ‘where are the best places to watch the NFL in the UK’?

Normally we work with pubs, bars and venues to host wicked, weekly NFL parties across the city, however this year is a bit different.
While we will be promoting some great NFL events around the International games, we won’t be supporting weekly NFL London viewings for a few reasons this season.

Pub Chains

As you may have noticed living in Britain over the past decade, that the number of independent, local pubs has dropped substantially.

Even if an independent pub or small chain of them does well, it’s only a matter of time before the big boys buy them up, and rip apart the uniqueness of the pub to maximise operating efficiency.

We have always enjoyed working with independent pubs, as they are limited to do more for their customers and not laden down by corporate double-speak or ridiculous growth projections.

Making matters worse is that many of these large pub chains ‘promise’ to show the NFL, in many cases it’s up to a manager-who might decide to keep the 8-0 beating of Man City of Villa on the screen, because ‘4 lads in the corner are watching it’, ignoring the 70 NFL fans queuing for the 6pm game.

These large pub chains don’t care about your NFL viewing experience, and constantly drill at us the need to ‘increase foot traffic weekly to show corporate that this is working’, while at the same time serving football food that tastes like someone went dumpster-diving at Iceland.

These pubs have also jacked their prices up ‘in line with the cost of living’, which we’re sorry-no one should be paying over £7 for a pint.

The pub industry has been struggling heavily post Covid, with Sunday nights taking a particularly big hit.
Getting a pub to stay open late has been like…well, trying to get a London pub to stay open late on a Sunday.

We have also had to recently shy away from late night Sundays in Leicester Square, Soho and Piccadilly Circus areas due to the rise in robberies, stabbings and assaults.
If you are going to be out LATE at night in these areas, be very careful, do not travel alone, nor under the influence.
Last year was very bad for some of our NFL fans in that area-so caution is cool!

Cost of Living

Smell that? Things are getting expensive again-as the cost of living crisis is making things way more expensive.

People and pubs alike are struggling, with pubs having to jack their prices to afford their bills, while the eye-balls of the nation are trying to focus on the thermostat to combat the heating crisis.

With a ’round’ of pints doubling over the past 5 years, we thought it would be better to point out the value NFL places, rather than trying to funnel fans into a maelstrom of minimum spends, deposits, and set menus that fell out of the fryer.

World Cup

Did we mention that every pub we talked to also said that they would only play the NFL after the World Cup was done? No-well there’s that.

With the World Cup crossing over to the NFL for the first time ever, British pubs couldn’t give a toss about your American football fascination. The trophy is coming home! (spoiler alert-it isn’t).

World Cup games will feature heavily on Sundays as, as well as culminating in a final a week before Christmas, effectively choking the NFL into TV submission.

So if you’re making plans to watch the NFL in November/ December-make sure to check that it hasn’t been given a yellow card.

Places to Go

Just because we aren’t working with venues, doesn’t mean that there aren’t places that will show the games.

It is highly unlikely that venues will show the 9pm game in its entirety, and no way that you are able to watch the 1:30am game in public.

That being said, there are casinos in Mayfair and Stratford that are open 24 hrs, and you might be able to get them to throw on Sky sports for a laugh.

We have also been informed by many venues that NFL Gamepass is no longer available for commercial sale, meaning that for many venues-the NFL just isn’t worth it.

There are NO pubs in London that show all the games every week anymore.
Sorry-the times they are a changing.

Social NFL

That being said, many of us have taken the pub online-preferring to stay at home, or a friend’s and shit-talk their fantasy fans from the safety of their phone.

If you’re looking to join some of our group chats across NFL, and Betting, just get in touch!

We’ll also let you know about events that we have on for the London games, Thanksgiving and the playoffs.

It’s great to have the NFL back everyone!

If you do have a venue that is showing the NFL every Sunday, please let us know!

 

 

Week 1 Picks

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After a long, long wait-the NFL is finally here, and we couldn’t be more excited!

COVID is long gone, the ballsy hot days of summer are a mere scar from the sunburns, and everything is coming up pumpkin spice.
It’s NFL time!

Wade and Ryan are back at it, making their predictions in our Week 1 Picks podcast.

Make sure you listen to it over, and over to get all the nuggets of information distilled by the boys.

Among some of the things and games the boys talk about in this podcast includes:

Eagles (-5) vs Lions +48.5

Has everyone had a big gulpy slurp of Dan Campbell juice from Hard Knocks? Be careful, it’s full of caffeine!

HBO and the smooth voice of Liev Schreiber once again lulled us into believing that slick editing and inspirational music would help make a 3 win team better.
Only the season will tell.

What was telling was how the Eagles were able to make the playoffs in a ‘re-building’ year. Jalen Hurts and the Philly running game were able to put together a respectable season last year, and they only look to get better with some key additions to make for a deeper push this year.

Detroit has been Hard Knocking it, but they still have Jared Goff and a QB bench that even the Steelers could look down on.
Great running game, improved D, but you still gotta score.

Ryan likes the Lions to lickety-split the Eagles. He thinks that the running game and speedy receivers will be too much for the Eagles.

Wade is big on Philly, and thinks that this game will show that Detroit is not the motor city that people are hyping it up to be this season.

Ryan- Lions 23 Eagles 20
Wade-Eagles 31 Lions 24

Browns vs Panthers (1.5) +42.5

These lines have shifted quicker than an earthquake at a California cocaine party.

It started with the Browns being favoured, moved to the Panthers, had no line, was even and last was at 1.5 points for the Browns.

All eyes on Baker, as Mayfield hosts his former team in an ego battle like no other.
Matt Rhule needs a win here-not only to keep his job safe, but to also not lose the fans to start the season.
Christian McC is back, and Robbie Anderson might have the playmaker he needs to gash the backfield with incredible plays.

The Browns have been rubbed down, iced, and given a little moisturiser to start their season, as all eyes and hands have been rubbing down Deshaun.
Facing the ire of their fans, and the league, the Browns have opted to let Brissett take the reigns of a very capable Cleveland team.

Ryan has Baker and the boys laying a little beating on Cleveland, with revenge hot on his mind for week 1.

Wade on the other hand thinks that the Browns and the pressure might be a bit much for Baker in week 1, with Chubb and Hunt doing most of the work for the Browns.
He also sees loads of turnovers in a sloppy game.

Ryan-Panthers 28-Browns 20
Wade-Browns 24 Panthers 20

Raiders vs Chargers (3.5) +52

Lock up your china mom, the boys are battling it out in the living room tonight!

The AFC West battle starts out in fine form, as the LA Chargers and their fanless stadium host the under the influence Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s Carr vs Herbert in a showdown, throw down!

Vegas has blown many wads over the past few years, having many of their draft picks burn up quickly in the desert sun.
Through attrition the Raiders have found their squad, adding in Devante Adams as well as some O line pieces to give Derek a wee bit more time.
Don’t forget about Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs as well.

The LA Chargers were a thrill to watch last year, as Justin Herbert challenged Joe Burrow for newbie QB you wish was on your fantasy.
LA added Mack to the D, as well as giving Herbert some supporting tools for a longer distance drive into the playoffs this year.

Ryan likes the Chargers to win, but doesn’t think that Vegas will be an easy opponent.
Too much talent on both sides to allow the Raiders to keep it close.

Wade also thinks that this AFC doozy will be close, with the Chargers having that extra spark for victory. There will be plenty of fantasy points in this one.

Ryan-Chargers 30 Raiders 27
Wade-Chargers 33 Raiders 30

Week 1

Let’s not forget that it’s week 1, so whatever you thought you knew is most likely wrong.

No one really knows what the heck is going on until week 5, so at least find solace in that if you suck a big stone in week 1.

 

 

AFC/NFC Preview

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Well NFL darlings, it’s that time of the year again, as that giddy feeling in your stomach turns into the excitement of another NFL season!

The preseason is done, London games set, initial rounds of injuries have skated across the league, and it’s time for some football!

To commemorate the start of the 2022 NFL season, once again Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull have taken the task at hand of trying to determine who will emerge as the top teams to face off in the 2023 SuperBowl.

Thus we present to you our AFC/NFC Preview Podcast!

As a Bears and Bills fan, they have a skewed barometer of how their teams will fare, but there’s no loyalty in making picks.

To make sure that you get the best out of both guys, we have recorded not ONE, but TWO podcasts on this-one for each division!

AFC

The Buffalo Bills are heavily favoured to take it all this year, but as any seasoned Western New York fan knows, the wing might be spicy, it doesn’t mean that it’s fully cooked inside. (aka-expect failure0

It’s the Bills to lose this season, but the AFC East has the much touted Dolphins and their diminutive QB looking to be the big man.
The Dolphins have all the tools, but will those tools fit into the new machine?
Billy B will be looking to pull off some sleight of hand, convincing many preseason pundits that the Pats don’t have it together-they will.
The Jets…two words…Joe Flacco.
They’s be better off with Edie Falco.

The AFC North has all the drama for your mama this year, as Deshaun Watson immediately makes the Browns the least favourite team of any female fan of the NFL.
Cincy is fresh off a Superbowl appearance, but as history tells us-that isn’t always a good thing.
Lamar has a lot to prove this season, let’s just hope he doesn’t get hurt before he gets paid.
Pittsburgh has Trubisky. ‘Nuff said.

The West is Best in the AFC in terms of team calibre, but which of these rats can chew off the others faces to pip the top.
Patrick Mahomes is a safe bet to put on a show, as the Chiefs shrug off some dead weight to make another run at the title.
Hot on their heels will be the strong arm of Justin Herbert and a rejuvenated Chargers D. Is this his Joe Burrow year?
Vegas went all in on Carr, giving him the pieces he needs to make a buffet to feed the city their dreams.
Denver has Russ-but can he ever cook again?

Matty Ice is in the AFC, as he hope to run off of Taylor’s legs and take this AFC South division with ease.
Tannehill has lost loads of weapons this season, with the Titans trying to make a run, without all the tools they had before.
Houston-we have a problem. Davis Mills is fine, but you can’t build a team around him.
Jacksonville has to do something this year now that Urban Meyer is back working as a manager at Hot Topic. It’s all on you Trevor!

NFC

The NFC claimed the SuperBowl title last year, with the LA Rams and the noodle-elbow of Matt Stafford winning it all after a woeful time in Detroit.

It’s hard to repeat as champs, so they’ll need all the Cialis in their wallets if they want to stay hard this year.
The NFC West is a feast of talent, so the Rams will need to stifle the tough D and running game of the 49ers if they want to move ahead. This is your chance Trey!
Kyler asked to ‘show me the money’, now he needs to show he can score. Boom or bust year for him.
Seattle is famed for being a depressive place that led to grunge and copious coffee drinking. Put another pot on.

NFC East is the least in terms of being impressive, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t gotten better.
Hurts and the Eagles were able to make the playoffs during a rebuild year-and that running game should move them to the playoffs again this year.
The Devil and Daniel Jones have one last chance in the Big Apple before the angels of Harlem chase their asses out of town.
‘Dem Boyz are looking more like the Proud Boyz, as many people are turning on them, as wondering who the hell they are.
Washington sucks so bad, they should change the name again.

The NFC Dirty South has TB12 and his mama drama. Will that stop the Bucs from returning to the big game and send Tommy Boy to retirement?
Jameis is ready to rock the Saints and their top tier D into the playoffs-they have enough talent to do it, but do they have enough discipline?
Baker has to cook something up in Carolina this year, before he finds himself carrying Pat McAfee’s golf bags.
Atlanta is a great TV show starring Donald Driver.

Aaron Rodgers has taken a full dose of himself, and he is ready to lead the Packers to another early round playoff exit. Is his team ready to this to the NFC North?
The Vikings have an amazing team on paper, but paper doesn’t play every week.
Hard Knocks fans have swallowed the Dan Campbell pill, and have them beasting the league this year. Do we all remember the Lions of last year? Good.
The Bears are slated to be the worst team in the league this year. They will definitely have the worst O line…and draft picks!

Wade & Ryan will be back with their Week 1 predictions, as well as more NFL in London fun.

 

Decision Appeal

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It’s August NFL fans! Which means that it’s okay to start talking about football all day every day!

Wade & Ryan are back at the mike, and ready to dose out a healthy heaping of NFL banter, in this Decision Appeal podcast.

With the regular season only a month away, there are plenty of things to discuss in this episode, including:

Watson Appeal

Not even Gomer Pyle would be ‘surprised, surprised’ to find out that Roger Goodell and the league would appeal the 6 game suspension doled out to Deshaun last week.

Players and fans took to social media to compare the unfair punishment levied on Watson, and how other NFL players fared for weed, abuse, and drunk driving.

Whatever the result, this DW sitch ain’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Whether Watson plays, is suspended, or is dragged into the streets and beaten with a switch-fans just want to watch football.

Save the drama for another channel.

Breaking Brady

Miami was also hit by the long arm of the NFL, as it smacked the Dolphins for decades of douchery when it comes to their hiring practices.

From secretly approaching Tommy Boy and Sean Payton, (but not throwing games)-the Dolphins lose Draft picks over the next two years.

Fortunately for Miami, two years is too far for Tua to throw.

Broken Brady

Bad news for the Bucs, as TB12 has already started to leak weapons before the season has even started.

Centre Ryan Jensen is out for the season, and Bucs beast Tristan Wirfs has also experienced injuries to kick off training camp.

Like last season, there will be a lot of ‘bondo’ players brought in to patch up the holes for attrition.

The real question is, which teams injuries will take them out of the post season before they even have a chance to qualify?

Deebo

Deebo Samuel can finally relax, after having been paid by the 49ers for his ridiculous efforts at multiple roles last season.

Fantasy owners were equally pumped and fearful each week, as DS became the heart of your team, but could also leave you in ruins if he got smoke out.

Deebo will take home $71.55m over 3 years, with $58.1m guaranteed. Even better are the bonuses he will make for getting over 380 rushing yards ($650k), 3 rushing TDs ($150k).

Deebo should be able to do all that by week 3!

Bucking Broncos

Bad news for the Broncos, as they have already lost speedster Tim Patrick and RB Danarea Crockett for the season to ACL tears.

Patrick was a surprising uptick in the second half of fantasy last year, given plenty of points to players whose teams were riddled by injuries.

It would have been nice to see Russ cook with Patrick, but as it seems now, he’ll have to stay on the warming tray on the sidelines until 2023.

Fantasy Party

Have you hosted your NFL fantasy party already? Are you insane?

We have already seen plenty of keeners on social media, putting up pics of their ‘epic’ NFL Fantasy Draft.

Dudes, it’s August. There’s plenty of shit show to come, and you risk have a totally ruinous league by drafting too early.

Injuries, firings, more injuries, and depth rosters still have to be adjusted, not to mention that the preseason hasn’t even been played yet.

You could draft a whole team in August, only to find out that most of your squad was either hurt, benched or traded before the opening kickoff.

It’s good that you’re a keener, just be careful that your gusto doesn’t get you going too quickly.

Fantasy Pools

Are you interested in joining Fantasy Pools this year?

We’re looking at hosting a Weekly Pick’Em, and a Survivor Pool this year for our fans.

Would you be interested?

We will roll out more news on this in the next few weeks, so watch this space!

 

August Headlines

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It’s official, there will be NFL games played this month.
Sure, they will be preseason, but football is back baby!

It wouldn’t be an off-season, without a bit of drama-and boy did the 2022 soft months provide a lot of entertainment!

Let’s take a look at some of the big news in our August Headlines!

Deshaun

The league has finally laid down it’s iron-fist ruling in the NFL vs Deshaun Watson, and the league has ruled…6 games!

Six? Only six Why not more? What not less? What about Calvin Ridley? What if he blew pot smoke in their faces instead? Would be get a season?

The judge ruled that Watson wasn’t violent, but did still must miss 6 games in penance for his groping actions.

It’s been a long road for Watson, the League, fans and of course all of the women who have made the accusations.
Let’s not forget it all started with Watson demanding a trade from the Texans, and the owner and many fans reminding Deshaun not to ‘mess with Texas’.

You wrestle the bull, you get the horns.

No one will be happy with this outcome because it’s been such a stain over the past year.

Hopefully we can all get on with some football, and the Browns can get back doing what they do best…disappoint their fans.

London Tickets

Tickets for the London games went on sale and flew off the digital shelves.

Did you get tickets, or were you beaten to the punch by digital ticket touts?

While we have heard some truly horrific ticketing stories, experience teaches us it all works out in the end.

With a few months to go until the London games, there will likely be more tickets released, as well as circumstances in which fans can’t make it, making their tickets available.

Be patient, watch the Facebook pages and fan groups, and don’t buy from scalpers. You will definitely be sad if you do.

Fantasy 2022

It’s time for another NFL Fantasy season, which means it’s time to start doing your research.

Some fans like to do their NFL Fantasy Draft now, which makes you quite the silly sausage.

Sure, it’s exciting to be able to start making up your line-ups, but preseason hasn’t even begin yet!
There is still plenty of time for injuries, insight and idiocy to see players burn and turn themselves out of the season before it even begins.

Be patient young grasshopper, the season is long.

Buc’ing Knee

Sad news for the TB Bucs, as starting centre for Ryan Jensen blew out his knee in epic preseason form, making Tommy B vulnerable to start the 2022 season.

As mentioned above (preseason injuries) can wreck havoc on a lockeroom, as the guys you thought would be your pillars, are instead relegated to the bench.

Robert Hainsey will try to jump into the role despite only being in his second year.

Will the Bucs be using bondo and duct tape to make a 2023 playoff run?

It’s starting to look that way.

Pay Deebo

Despite being used in a utility role by the 49ers last season, Deebo wasn’t paid for his jack of all trades-ness.

After complaining to San Fran that he wanted to get paid, and not crippled-they 49ers threw a load of cash at Deebo in a 3 year deal with $58 mil guaranteed and up to $73m in specialness.

Injuries forced San Fran to use Deebo in a more ‘help us’ role last season as the team got snaked by injuries, will they be looking to use him in this capacity this year?

Not if they want to keep him alive.

There’s lots of cash being thrown around the league at speedsters teams hope will lead their teams. Is Deebo going to be too much cash to splash?

Boz Man

Chris Boswell put it through the uprights this week, inking a massive 4 year, $20.5m deal that will see him guaranteed $12.5m, and tying him with Justin Tucker as the highest paid kicker in the NFL.

It’s a far cry from 2015, when Boswell had already been cut by the Steelers three times, and was slotted as fourth on Pittsburgh’s kicking roster.

The 31 year old Boswell has ‘no pressure’ on him this year.

Would you rather have Boswell or Tucker on your fantasy team?
Exactly.

Watch this space, as we will have some NFL Fantasy news for you to make your season fun!