NFL in London

National Football League in London

Pittsburgh Steelers

London Balling Podcast

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The NFL is officially returning to London!
That’s right, in 2021, the Atlanta Falcons will pop over the pond to Tottenham for a non-divisional contest in October.
So what does that mean for NFL fans around the world?
Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull break it down in this London Balling Podcast.

Covid 19 was definitely the player of the season in 2020, gashing the league for over 85% of their profits from the previous year.
Virus be damned, the games are back on and Mr. Goodell is promising 100% capacity at the stadiums this season.
It all seems very positive…

Among the hot topics in this edition of the podcast include:

London Games

We have one game in the can for 2021, with a whole host of potential games over the next eight years. Sure, we have to split them with Germany, Mexico and even Canada…but at least the games will be spread across the globe.
Wembley looks to be out of the mix for now, but you would have to expect the stadium to make a push a Khan to help heal the wounds of his downtown Jacksonville implosion.
Tottenham already has a head start on the rest of the world by building a purpose built stadium for the NFL, it’s a matter if other countries are willing to build up to keep up.

Falcons at Tottenham

We know that Atlanta is playing in London in October 2021. Further breadcrumbs reveal that the opponent will be non-divisional, which only leaves 5 teams to choose from.
The Eagles last played in London in 2018, so they would be the least likely to return.
The Lions, Jets and Washington are all fan ‘duds’ when it comes to drawing a crowd, so it would be tough for the NFL to promote such a lack lustre game.
New England Patriots are no longer the massive draw that they once were under the TB12 dynasty, but they are still a much bigger ticket than any of the other bum teams available.
If you only have one game this season, go out swinging.
Bring back a 28-3 iconic Super Bowl game for UK fans to enjoy.
It’s doubtful that any foreign fans will be attending the game, so let’s make Britain ‘New England’ again.
That’s our two cents anyway.

Green Bay for $200

Aaron Rodgers tests out a new career path this week, as he hosts Jeopardy for 2 whole weeks. A huge Jeopardy ‘nerd’, Rodgers will be looking to open up his lexicon and fan base by hosting the nighttime quiz for a fortnight.
Don’t worry Packers fans, he won’t be leaving you…this season.

AB Gone

Antonio Brown is ready to get paid! Again.
After finally winning a ring (thanks to the generosity of TB12), Brown is ready to hit the free market and see what he’s worth.
This ageing and outspoken player might find that the turf is a bit frosty in the league, especially given that he still has some pending lawsuits lined up every month.
While Brown doesn’t exude the same drama that he did in his younger Steelers years, his petulance is far too advanced for a man of his age.
It’s nice to get paid, but if the team can only muster 4 wins in a season, was it worth it?

Sam Darnold

Darnold was traded to the Panthers just after this podcast was recorded.
This will have some big implications for the Jets, and their 2021 Draft.
By all accounts, it looks like that the Panthers got a great deal off the Jets for Sammy D.
New York has a lot to change, so it’s good to get the bad memories out of the way.

London Stuff

London is going to host a game! Will you need a vaccine passport?  Can you visit from the US? What does that mean for you and I?
We will be exploring all of this in the weeks ahead, and letting you know as soon as we do. We are still hopeful that we will be hosting NFL events this season, just watch this space for more info.

Here’s the podcast:

Meme Marchness

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What a wild week this was in the NFL!
Does anyone else have the cold sweats?
To celebrate, we have compiled a collection of some of the greatest memes from the week in what we call Meme Marchness.

We will of course go into bigger discussion about some of these topics in our podcast, and throughout the week. Some of the hot topics we will be touching on include:

DeShaun Watson

It’s all starting to crumble for Watson, as his exploits at massage parlours makes him the perfect Patriot. The reports that are starting to emerge are troubling, and could potentially spell the end of a career for DeShaun.
Like anything in life, you can rush to hasty decisions without all of the facts-something we don’t have yet.
A truly unfortunate situation for everyone.

Patriots

Speaking of blowing the wad, New England has splashed some cash this week unlike any other time in their history. Bill Belichick got Cam for a nifty deal, then splashed out on enough tight ends to last him 5 years. New England is in a tough division, and we shall see if Belichick still has a magic touch, or if he is truly out of touch.

Trubisky

Ding dong, Mitch is dead. Well, not really. But Mitchell Trubisky is no longer a Bear, as he has shuffled off to Buffalo. After being flogged by Chicago relentlessly since being selected, Mitch should look forward to going to Western New York where the fans are recognised as the nicest in the league.
These good feels might even help Mitch get his confidence back.

Here are a selection of memes for you to giggle yourself over.

Season Starter

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The Super Bowl is a distant hangover for some, as we all get set to reset, and begin the 2021 NFL season. While the season kicks off on September 9th, player options and clauses start to get figured out on March 18.
So what happens until then?
We break down some of the news in Season Starter podcast.

The sun is shining in the UK, and it’s not just down to global warming.
Boris’ Blighty is on track to to vaccinate all Brits sometime this summer, which means the UK will be open for sporting business in 2021! Or should be, according to estimates.

With the London NFL games a ‘go’, there are still too many questions to answer before we get an idea what could happen.
How many teams would come? How many fans can attend? Can foreign fans attend? What if the NFLPA doesn’t want to come? What if there is another variant? What if Tom Brady just wins it all again anyway.
Too many questions to answer.

Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull take this podcast to not only channel all of their remaining energy into NFL joy, but also touch on the following hot topics.

JJ Watt

The big man gets a big deal, and does what all NFL players do when they get old-head to the sunshine to rest the bones. Watt is Arizona bound, as the often broken 32 year old signed a new contract to be with Baby Yoda Murray.
This 2 year, $31M contract rewards Watt if he can finally help the Cardinals plug the gaping holes in their D.
Arizona could have just built a border wall instead and saved some money.

Alex Smith

Aside from being a leg model, the outlook for Smith doesn’t look good this season.
Washington needs the room to allow Heinicke to implode, so Smith will be shown the door despite his heroics to return to the squad.
Smith is a smart QB, but you won’t find too many teams willing to uncover their eyes to watch him play.
A backup somewhere, but a starter…unlikely.

Brees Freeze

Brees loves the bling, so it’s no wonder that he sees himself as a diamond in the rough.
But will Drew really try to hang on for one more season?
The Saints looked finals bound until Brees broke 19 ribs in a crunch session. 19 ribs? How many do we have?
Drew only costs the Saints $1M per season, so maybe he does return.
Screw you Jameis, this is my team again.

17 Weeks

The NFL is wringing out the players to squeeze another game into the regular season. NFL preseason fans are livid, but since there are only 3 of them-no one really cares.
This new schedule will push the Super Bowl back to the second week of February, and means that there will be more Christmas games this year. Ho Ho Ho.
What no one talks about is how the records are affected.
One more game can be a huge difference in the overall stats, and can skew the records of some the early GOATs.
But at least we get another game right?

London Games

We still don’t know what will happen with the 2021 London NFL games, but we are patiently waiting. Thanks to that ass-clown Covid, the sporting world is a very different place and we need to wait it out.
While it’s a good thing that the UK is ahead of the world in terms of vaccinating the peeps, it doesn’t bode well for foreigners looking to come here for fun and frolic.
If there are London games, they might only be available to UK citizens, which would be…awesome.
Of course, we will let you know if we hear anything.

In the meantime, enjoy the podcast. Listen, laugh, lather, share and repeat.

Brady’s Bored

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The SuperBowl is almost a month ago, and it shows, because Tom Brady’s bored!
Or at least he must be if he had to give an interview with James Corden on the Late Late Show.

TB12 visited the virtual LLS with JC in the first week of March to give an interview about all of the Super Bowl shenanigans that we saw after their epic Tampa Bay win in February this year.

Corden might be moving weight prior to his move back to the UK, but wearing a purple suit for this interview brought out his inner Grimace.
It’s obvious that Corden knows nothing about the NFL, despite interviewing, karaoking, and driving around with some of the best athletes on the planet.
Luckily, Corden is good at faking it to make it.

Some of the highlights of the video below:

Drunk Brady

Can we all agree that drunk Tom Brady is the best Tom Brady of all?
In a league where alcohol can release the inner demons of some players, a little tequila down Tommy’s throat brings out the mischief-monster.
Would sober Tom have tossed that trophy off a boat? No.
Perhaps the NFL should consider creating a ‘Drunk Game’, where all the players in the game are under the influence?
Drunk Tom Brady would once again be putting on a ring.

Rings?

In the interview, it’s quite obvious that Tom’s 7 rings are nowhere in site.
If anyone of us owned those rings, we would be wearing them all day every day.
Where do you keep them rings Tommy Boy?
At least assemble them in some sort of ‘Newton’s Cradle’ where they can bang against each other in some sort of perpetual motion.
The GIF would be the most popular of all time.

Bill Beli-Bore

Bill Belichick is currently experiencing what it’s like to be in a cuckolding relationship.
Part of him got turned on by Tommy tearing it up in other colours, the other part is ripping himself a new one for being so silly.
While not referenced at all in the interview, you can only imagine Bill, his GF and the dogs watching this one with a bit of slut-shame.
Tommy has never looked so happy, shiny, and fun.
You go girl.

Super Model Sensitivity

Tommy acknowledges that his Gisele said to him after the latest victory ‘what else do you have to prove’?
Clearly she doesn’t know TB12. That just made him want to play more.
When you challenge the GOAT, you get the horns.
By saying that his wife has just unleashed another 20 year run of NFL titles until Brady is in his 60s.
We can rebuild him like the Bionic Man, and he’ll still have less filler in him than most of the Insta influencers.

Buc Dynasty

With the victory in Tampa, comes with it a whole new douchey bunch of fans.
OG Bucs fans from the 80s were the real deal. They embraced a losing seasons in a row, horrible team colours, and a creepy moustached mascot that looks like he went along side an Amber Alert.
Those fans were and still are cool, it’s the new legion of Bucs fans that suck.
You can hear their stifled ‘Baws-tawn’ accent, make out the shadow of their former facial hair shaped like Tony Stark, and hairs stand on end when they go off on a new ‘Die-Nasty’.
If you or one of your friends is one of these idiot-sticks, please consider jumping in freezing water until thoroughly numb.

Here is the full interview for your consideration. Make sure you check out all of our social channels for lots of fun.

SB55 Podcast

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It’s been a week since the Tampa Bay Bucs slapped around the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Now that the dust is settled, it’s time for our SB55 Podcast.

Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull reflect on the big game a week later. Why did this game get away from the Chiefs? Do the Chiefs need another wide receiver? Is drunk Tom Brady the best Tom Brady of all time?
All these questions and more in this post Super Bowl review show.

Among some of the other things that the guys discuss in the podcast includes:

Defence

They say that a ‘D’ wins a SuperBowl, and boy was that the case on Feb 7th. Patrick Mahomes was rushed, chased and stuffed as the Bucs D broke through the Chiefs line with ease. The big talking point heading in was how the Chiefs were hoping to contain the Bucs with 3 weak O linemen up front.
This was the story of the game, as the Chiefs had no way to stop the rush, and give Mahomes an iota of breathing space. The Bucs were essentially able to negate the running game with this blistering pace as well, as the line of scrimmage was snuffed out very quickly.
Maybe the Bucs didn’t have the best D in the league on paper, but all that matters is the big game.

JJ Watt

The Texans released JJ Watt without a whimper this week, signalling that all was not well on the home front.
Houston has continued to blunder their front office in the past few years, letting Bill O’Brien flip the switch like an entitled stepdad, and mismanaging numerous high profile contracts.
The way that the Texans handled the Deshaun Watson scenario must have made Watt’s ears bleed, and he must have just been totally fed up to the point he wasn’t even going to discuss terms anymore.
JJ Watt has been a shining example to the city of Houston. His performance on the field has been matched by his community efforts off the pitch. When a hurricane battled Houston, Watt did everything he could to wrap his arms around the city. That kind of class is hard to find.
Watt will have plenty of options for his broken, bent, but still able body.
Moving to Steeltown to be with his brothers might be creepy, a jump up to the Bills could be fun, but a return trip home to Green Bay seems more than likely.
Who’s got the cash to spot JJ?

Wentz

Imagine being the ginger step-child of the league, both literally and figuratively, and that’s called being Carson Wentz.
Wentz and the Eagles are hoping to find a way to offload the QB, as well as not eat a big chunk of useless money in the process.
Watching Wentz trying to get out of Philly is like watching one of those baby turtles try to make it for the open ocean. You hope he can make it to the clear blue, but there is an expectation that a huge wave or hungry gull is going to swallow it all up.
Carson isn’t done in the league, but he has a hell of an audition ahead if anyone wants to consider him as a starter in this fast moving league.

Trophy Karen

Leave it to the press to kind the most annoying person to talk to post Super Bowl. Apparently a ‘Trophy Karen’ is all upset because when Tom Brady threw the Lombardi trophy, it was disrespectful to her father and other silversmiths, and she would PERSONALLY like an apology. Entitled much?
First her father worked on the trophy in the 1960s, and didn’t design the trophy. He just worked there.
Secondly, a new Lombardi Trophy is made every year for each team, so it’s up to them what they want to do with it. (ask Gronk).
Thirdly…who the hell cares? Why did the press give this odious woman coverage time? In the age of Covid, BLM, equality, war, and a whole host of problems…an entitled woman with nothing to do with a headline, wants something to do with a headline…and an apology.
Say goodbye to your social media ‘Trophy Karen’, pretty sure you’re going to need to go away for a while.

This was our first SuperBowl on record that we weren’t able to throw a London party this year and we’re gutted.
With the NFL 2021 season a scant 6 months away, we will work hard to see if we can find a way for us all to enjoy the games in public once again.
The 2021 NFL London games are a go (fingers crossed), hopefully we can all get together soon.

Have a listen, a laugh, and make sure you share this podcast asap or Tom Brady wins again next year.
It’s true.