The International Series was a success at Wembley, so could we see an English team in the NFL?
England could be possible home if league decides to expand
The second coming of the NFL to London has been hailed a massive success, both on and off the field.
The New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers certainly served up a spectacle, though it wasn't going to be too hard to top the 'pain in the rain' that was the New York Giants' win over the Miami Dolphins the previous year.
An offensive shoot-out that finished 37-32 when a last-second Hail Mary pass came up short couldn't have been a better advert for the sport as it bids to build its popularity in England and across Europe.
This year Bourbon Street was brought to Wembley Stadium with a Mardi Gras tail-gate party and half-time parade and even the notorious British weather did its bit, the early-morning rain clearing away to make sure there was not another mudbath on the hallowed turf.
Home advantage
Unlike last year though, there was a clear 'home' team this time. The Saints marched in to plenty of noise and judging by the levels of merchandise sold, now have a whole new fanbase abroad.
A third instalment of the NFL's International Series is likely and the fact that the more seats were filled in 2008 suggests London has an appetite for pigskin that is not going to disappear in a hurry.
So what are the chances of an English team eventually being in the NFL?
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell claimed it was a "realistic possibility" when interviewed on television during the game and according to
Foxsports.com journalist Alex Marvez, the pipedream could soon become a reality.
A senior NFL writer, Marvez was, just like the league he has covered for the past 14 seasons, making his second trip across the pond, though this time with a different take on it all.
"Before I felt like the US fans were being cheated in a way because when you buy a season ticket you have to buy 10 games and two of those games are pre-season," he said after the Saints' entertaining success.
"That leaves you eight regular season games - 'the good stuff' - so when you take away one of those, that is really hard for fans.
"Having said that I understand what the league is trying to do and I really think they have made a lot of progress. I think now people are understanding football and it's building a following here.
"It's never going to replace soccer but it is growing and the NFL should keep coming here."
After 'doing a 180' on the whole idea of American football being played on English soil as just a one-off, Marvez is now boldly predicting a franchise could be up and running in London within the next decade.
With expansion looming on the horizon the addition of two new teams would lead to the possibility of the NFL going overseas on a more permanent basis.
Little obstacles
"I think that when it comes to the NFL when they expand, and I do think they will eventually go to 34 teams, I would think Los Angeles and London are the two places to put your teams," Marvez added.
"The key to it is that the London team would have some little obstacles. They would have to play perhaps three weeks on the road and stay in the United States, but it still may be worth doing it.
"I think it's worth trying to expand here and keep this thing going because there's been so much good stuff coming from it."
Such a remarkable statement, brought about from seeing first-hand how quickly the sport's fanbase has grown in just 12 months, shows that Americans are much more open to change than perhaps their English counterparts - such openess to change would not be present if the Premier League contemplated a foreign-based team being added.
Of course, nothing is certain and both Mexico City and Toronto would be other, much closer, cities that would be strong candidates to house a new team.
For now then, London will have to settle for playing the waiting game. Sadly it's not anywhere near as exciting as Sunday's shoot-out.
