Would it be a good idea for the Detroit Lions to play a game in China?
Fans seem split over the notion.
And so are the Lions themselves.
Team president Rod Wood said he loves the idea, as long as Detroit wouldn’t have to give up a home game.
“I kind of nudged Bob (Quinn) when that was announced and told him I might be interested in taking the team to China,” Wood said this week during the NFL owners meetings in Boca Raton, Fla.
But Quinn?
“He’s not in favor of it,” Wood said. “So I don’t think we’re going to do it, unless the schedulers deal us a two or something in poker.”
The Lions have played international contests each of the past two years, knocking off Atlanta in dramatic fashion in 2014 before losing big against Kansas City last season. Both games were played at Wembley Stadium in London, where the league has worked to expand its global appeal with the International Series.
Detroit is one of seven teams that has played multiple games abroad.
Now the NFL is expanding the program, with countries such as Germany, China, Mexico and Brazil all being considered for potential games.
“I think teams are interested in, one, participating in how we’d expand our game on a global basis — but in particular, in China,” commissioner Roger Goodell said. “So we will have to go through that process over the next several months and again continue to get to the point where we believe, if we do this, we can be successful. At this point, we do.”
Reports surfaced this week that the Los Angeles Rams are expected to be involved in the first China game in 2018. Who they’ll face remains a mystery.
If Wood had his way, the Lions would be considered.
“China’s the biggest country in the world,” he said. “Obviously, other professional sports teams have tried to get into the Far East a little bit more. China has a huge following for the NBA, so if we could get over there, it would probably benefit the league from a financial standpoint.”
From a marketing standpoint, the play would make sense. Detroit already has an expanding fan base in Europe, due in part to playing a coupe games there — and winning the 2014 affair on a last-second kick — and could tap into the unexplored Asian market.
But from a football perspective, the game would be a challenge. The 12-hour time difference with Beijing would be particularly problematic. Players already lament the four-hour difference when heading from the Eastern time zone to London, and teams hire sleep specialists to fight jet lag.
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