Boris Johnson -- the mayor of London -- held a Twitter Q&A session on Wednesday. Naturally, the topic of an NFL team in London was broached. Johnson's response was littered with optimism.
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we are working hard on deal - high hopes for Tottenham in the next few years...watch this space #askboris @_gtj
— Boris Johnson (@MayorofLondon) September 23, 2015
Logistically, a marriage between Tottenham and the NFL makes sense. The league announced a 10-year partnership with the club, allowing a minimum of two games to be played at their new grounds.
The stadium -- set to open in 2018 -- features a retractable grass field. Underneath it will be artificial turf for NFL use.
That's where the positives end for Johnson and his vision.
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Simply put, NFL players don't want to play in London.
Who gets an NFL team first? London, Los Angeles, or Houston?
— Jive Kevin Sumlin (@JiveKevinSumlin) September 13, 2015
"Just personally speaking, I probably wouldn't sign over here [in London] because of the fact that every road trip is going to be three, four, five days away from your family," Jared Allen told the Star-Tribune on the Vikings trip to London in 2013.
"All your family is back in the United States. Who would do that?" Trent Cole told ESPN.com.
"If that happens, it's a clear vision that they don't really care about the players' safety," Steve Smith told ESPN.com. "They care about their pockets and I think that is messed up."
Even London residents aren't sold on the idea.
"They would rather have eight games of different teams," said Gur Samuel, managing director of American Football Development, per Jacksonville.com.
As much as the NFL wants to pretend it's importance is on a global scale, it's still peanuts compared to the popularity of the Premier League. An estimated 650 million people watched the 2012 Manchester Derby. Super Bowl XLIX could only muster 111.5 million.
The NFL is already pushing the limits hosting games in London. There's no need to double down on a fruitless cause.
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