Gurley not a fan of international games: 'They need to stop this'

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CGI_Ram

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https://www.thescore.com/news/1402243

Gurley not a fan of international games: 'They need to stop this'

Todd Gurley seems to be a man of routine.

The Los Angeles Rams running back wasn't too pleased when he was asked how this week's game against the Arizona Cardinals in London impacted his schedule.

"Terrible," Gurley said, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. "They need to stop this, all this stuff. This London, this Mexico City stuff, it needs to stop."

Los Angeles stayed in Florida after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday, before heading to London on Thursday.

The Rams also played in London last year and are expected to head across the pond again in 2018 and 2019. Gurley wanted to make it clear that his issue is with the schedule disruption, not the fans.

"It's cool playing over there, don't get me wrong," Gurley said. "Just more of the long week, messes up a bunch of people's schedules. I'm pretty sure y'all (the media) wanna be in y'all bed right now, too. But naw, it's all good. It'll be love. The fans over there are great
 

Ram_Rally

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The London jaguars are gonna hate it in 5 years then lol
 
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UKram

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stop whinging a free holiday to the best city in the world and millions in the bank ... hard knock life huh
 

MrRiceGuyRJ

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I hate it as a fan just because it's way more expensive for me to go to a game in London than it is CONUS, and the Rams keep robbing themselves of one "home game". Granted we're doing better on the road than at home, so maybe it's a good thing (y)
 

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https://www.yahoo.com/sports/todd-gurley-international-games-need-stop-stuff-144010345.html
Todd Gurley on international games: 'They need to stop this, all this stuff'
Frank Schwab,Shutdown Corner 2 hours 10 minutes ago

The NFL wants to expand its popularity internationally, and if that effort means upsetting the league’s regular season, so be it.

Some players must wonder what they’re doing in London or Mexico City during the middle of what is a relatively short season for them, but most don’t say anything presumably because NFL players are discouraged from saying anything interesting. But Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley didn’t sound too happy to have his routine thrown off.

The Rams stayed in Jacksonville for most of the week after playing at the Jaguars, then will play the Arizona Cardinals in London on Sunday.

“Terrible,” Gurley said when asked about getting into his routine this week, according to ESPN. “They need to stop this, all this stuff. This London, this Mexico City stuff, it needs to stop.”

He’s right. The first problem with the international series, which is designed to grow the game globally, is that it makes the schedule imbalanced for some teams. The Rams, a playoff contender, are the “home” team on Sunday, about 5,000 miles from Los Angeles. That means the Rams get seven true home games when the Seattle Seahawks, their main contender in the NFC West, gets eight. That’s unfair and a significant difference. It could end up changing who wins a division title.

There’s also the travel aspect. Eight teams will play in London this season. That means 24 won’t. It’s obviously more difficult for the teams who have to make that trip, especially for a team like the Rams that will have to spend a full week away from home. It’s unclear what the exact effect of that travel is, but it’s fair to say there is some. After playing each other in London earlier this season, the Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens played the next week and lost.

Gurley made sure to say he wasn’t against fans in London. There are good NFL fans in London. But the NFL still shouldn’t mess with the fairness of its regular season any more than the English Premier League should send an unbalanced and significant portion of its games to the United States every season.

“It’s cool playing over there, don’t get me wrong,” Gurley told ESPN. “Just more of the long week, messes up a bunch of people’s schedules. I’m pretty sure y’all [the media] wanna be in y’all bed right now, too. But naw, it’s all good. It’ll be love. The fans over there are great.”

This Rams-Cardinals game doesn’t even happen early on Sunday. It’s just mixed in with the rest of the games that start at 1 p.m. Eastern. So there’s absolutely no benefit for American fans. There’s really not a lot to love about the trip for players either.

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yrba1

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Sucks but the London games for the home ticket will stop once we get our shiny new stadium built. Would prefer to have international games during the preseason
 

PowayRamFan

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Sucks but the London games for the home ticket will stop once we get our shiny new stadium built. Would prefer to have international games during the preseason
What? An easy solution to this dilemma that uses basic common sense? No, we can't have that.
 

DaveFan'51

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I hate it as a fan just because it's way more expensive for me to go to a game in London than it is CONUS, and the Rams keep robbing themselves of one "home game". Granted we're doing better on the road than at home, so maybe it's a good thing (y)
At the same time. It's hard to build a "Home Town Fan Base" when you are required to Travel 5 out of your first 8 games!!
 

Jacobarch

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I agree with him. It's crazy to call a game in London a home game. It just doesn't make sense
 

yrba1

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What? An easy solution to this dilemma that uses basic common sense? No, we can't have that.

Soccer has an international tour during the European league's offseason. Preseason games overseas can create awareness for gridiron football there; although I'm doubtful it'll get popular due to the NFL's reputation, especially with CTE research coming to light.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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I see Direct TV is airing this game at 4:00.

Weren't the London games Nationally televised in the morning around 8:00?
 

FrantikRam

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I see Direct TV is airing this game at 4:00.

Weren't the London games Nationally televised in the morning around 8:00?


This game is at 1pm eastern time.

The previous London games have been 9:30am eastern time.

I prefer the 1pm start time for the team...9:30am is 6:30am pacific time, which is ridiculous
 

UKram

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I hate it as a fan just because it's way more expensive for me to go to a game in London than it is CONUS, and the Rams keep robbing themselves of one "home game". Granted we're doing better on the road than at home, so maybe it's a good thing (y)
Watch come the opening of Stan land we won’t be back as the home team you can count on that
 

UKram

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What? An easy solution to this dilemma that uses basic common sense? No, we can't have that.
No one is turning up to see NoOne Johnson and skip McGee play four qtrs for their favourite team
 

Mojo Ram

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I agree with TG. Europe is a logistic elephant in the room. Mexico and Canada make sense.

If the NFL staged a game between the Cowboys and Raiders(for example) in Mexico, they could literally sell a million tickets. The only problem would be finding a venue that could hold a million fans. Lol.
 

fearsomefour

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I agree with TG. Europe is a logistic elephant in the room. Mexico and Canada make sense.

If the NFL staged a game between the Cowboys and Raiders(for example) in Mexico, they could literally sell a million tickets. The only problem would be finding a venue that could hold a million fans. Lol.
Teams have to fly in their own water....
I do savor the idea of Jerrys party bus getting stop by the Federalis though