(Elaina Natario Illustration)
Globe Editorial
New England has earned its reputation as the most Eurocentric region of the country, but even the most cosmopolitan locals may be excused for questioning the wisdom of making the Patriots play today’s game against Tampa Bay in London’s Wembley Stadium. The NFL’s marketing mavens no doubt harbor grandiose notions of globalizing their product.
But where is this leading? Will they want to stage the 2012 Super Bowl in some old-world city? Might they relocate the next faltering franchise to Brussels or Monte Carlo? Somebody - be it players, fans, or coaches - should explain to the league’s bigwigs that American football is not like investment banking; it cannot be transplanted at will from one country to another. So don’t impose our sporting fetish on the British. Let them go on being impassioned by cricket, rugby, and soccer.
Thanks to an earlier squad of patriots, we can be free of their eccentricities and, in gratitude, we should let them be free of ours.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
