How can they announce who the opponents are going to be when the schedules aren't released for another 2 months?

Or have they just inked this one in and will do the rest around it?

Either way, it's useless for me as I'll have just returned here from 3 weeks in France and another trip to London will be out of the question!

My goal for 2007 is to visit 3 more NFL stadiums. Haven't told the other half that but she'll no doubt understand.

That sounds like what they've done. They've also confirmed both the Fins and Giants will be having a bye the following week.

Dolphins and Giants confirmed for Wembley
 

The Miami Dolphins will host the New York Giants at London’s Wembley Stadium in the first NFL regular-season game to be played outside of North America, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell announced today.

Speaking in Miami two days before Super Bowl XLI, Commissioner Goodell said the game will be played on Sunday, October 28 – in Week 8 of the 2007 season – and will kick off at 6:00 PM local time.

NFL owners voted in October to play up to two games outside of the United States every year for the next five years with a single game in 2007. London was named last month as the site of that game, with the new Wembley – due to open later this year – now confirmed as the venue.

“The international popularity of the NFL grows every year,” said Goodell in announcing the teams and stadium for the game. “That interest will be seen as the far corners of the world watch Super Bowl this Sunday. That is a fascination we will build upon. London and its international stature adds to the impact of the game.”

The Giants-Dolphins game will be shown live in the United States on FOX-TV. Both teams will have a bye scheduled for the following week.

The Dolphins and Giants are two of the most recognizable teams in the NFL, with four Super Bowl wins between them. In 1972, Miami became the only team in history to post an undefeated season on its way to winning Super Bowl VII with an overall 17-0 record. The Dolphins successfully defended their title the next year. The Giants have been NFL champions on six occasions, including victories in Super Bowls XXI and XV following the 1986 and 1990 seasons.

“The Dolphins are proud to be a part of such a historic occasion,” said Miami owner H. Wayne Huizenga. “We were one of the first NFL teams to play in the United Kingdom with our American Bowl appearance in London in 1988. Dolphins games always have been among the most popular NFL telecasts in England. We have a great following there, including fan clubs throughout the country. We look forward to playing in front of our overseas fans, as well as our U.S. supporters who will make the trip overseas.”

The Giants owners were similarly enthused about the historic game.

“We are looking forward to bringing our team to London, which has long been a center of attention and enthusiasm for the NFL overseas dating back to the league’s first game there in 1983,” said John Mara, president and chief executive officer of the Giants. “Playing in London in late October means our fans there will see a midseason contest. It will signal the beginning of the second half of the season when teams begin their playoff run.”

Giants Chairman and Executive Vice President Steve Tisch cited the game as one more step in the growth of the NFL internationally. “The NFL over the past 25 years has become a fixture for sports fans globally,” said Tisch. “First under Pete Rozelle, then with the direction of Paul Tagliabue, and now under Commissioner Goodell, our league has taken advantage of the popularity of the NFL on a worldwide basis to reach fans beyond our borders. There can be no greater commitment by our league than to play a regular-season game internationally.”Mayor Ken Livingstone meets Dolphins players and cheerleaders.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said the city is excited to be hosting the game. “We are very pleased about having teams of the caliber of the Dolphins and Giants coming to London,” said Livingstone. “We are looking forward to giving them a memorable experience. We are expecting nearly 10,000 American fans to travel to London to watch the game as well as people from Europe. There will be many millions of TV viewers in the United States alone, so it will be a great opportunity to showcase London to new visitors and for people to see the way we uniquely enjoy our sport.

“After London’s success in winning the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, our aim has been to bring to Londoners the best of all sports. The Tour de France, which will start in London later this year, and now the NFL is a great step towards this.”

Wembley Stadium will open later this year, resuming its position as the home of English soccer, as well as the site of other major sporting events and music concerts. The old Wembley, closed in 2000, hosted its first NFL preseason game in 1983 and eight NFL American Bowl games from 1986-93.

“It is an honour to have been chosen as the host venue for the first regular-season NFL game outside of North America,” said Wembley Stadium Managing Director Alex Horne. “Wembley Stadium is known around the world for having staged some of the biggest and most important events in sport and entertainment history and it is great to see American football return here. We hope that this fantastic event will help to bring the drama of the sport to a much wider audience and showcase London and the magic of Wembley Stadium to the US and the rest of the world.”

The NFL achieved a record average attendance of 67,738 during the 2006 regular season, with more than 97 per cent of games sold out.

Super Bowl XLI takes place in Dolphin Stadium, Miami, on Sunday, with the Chicago Bears taking on the Indianapolis Colts. The 2007 NFL regular season will kick off early in September.

Re: Dolphins and Giants confirmed for Wembley
 

I quite fancy attending that, I imagine it's going to be a bit easier to get tickets for than the football.

I'll go

I thought this was a thread about sea scum like flipper :confused:

Re: Re: Dolphins and Giants confirmed for Wembley
 

Yep waiting for tickets to go on sale too.

Ken expects 10,000 to travel from america specifically to see the game??

Why, its only a regular season game and I believe NFL fans dont do a great deal of away support, though I stand to be corrected of course

Will we be able to get beer to drink in sight of the pitch?

Where will the tickets go on sale? My Dad use to follow the Dolphins when he was younger so might see if i can get him to go

If you go to http://www.nfllondon2007.com/tickets/ you can get them before they go on general sale.

Re: Re: Dolphins and Giants confirmed for Wembley
 

I doubt it, im not being funny, but I hope tickets go to those who like NFL and follow it.

Btw see NFL thread where its been discussed for weeks.

As above.

Seems some Dolphins fans aren't happy though at missing out on one of their few home games and a reasonably big one for them too.

When you only get 8 home games, losing one is a big deal.

Wonder if they'll get a discount on their season tickets?

Agree wih Steve- let's hope genuine fans really do manage to get tickets rather than corporate hangers-on and bandwagon jumpers. This well sell out in minutes; indeed, I wonder if the tickets will even make public sale.

Not being funny, but isn't that impossible? The genuine fans will be 4,000 miles away. Although I love the NFL and, obviously, we can all bask in the sheer excitement of having a regular season game in the UK, putting selfishness aside I actually think what they're doing here is completely wrong. You can't simply take a game away from the fans and use it as a global marketing tool, especially in a sport where fans only get to see their team 8 times a year (at home.) If the NFL really wanted to do this (market abroad,) it should have added a 17th week to the regular season and played a full round of games around the world so that real supporters weren't robbed and the balanced schedule remained intact.

You raise a fair point, but it really depends how into the sport you are. It's possible to be a genuine fan from 4,000 miles away - ask the many Palace supporters on these boards who live in North America.

I don't disagree that it's a little unfair on Miami season ticket holders that they lose a game; but as a Dolphins fan myself I certainly don't plan to boycott it because of that, however selfish that may sound. My point was that now it has (rightly or wrongly) been announced, let's hope tickets go to those who love the sport and watch it week in, week out (even if it's only on TV) rather than those who think it might be an interesting spectacle but know naff all about the game.

Ben, me and Ricardo and a couple of people at work will be trying to sort tix, if you want to join us

Also, as the Dolphins are playing the Giants, I imagine they'll also be clashing with NY's divisional rivals, the Redskins. We'll have to meet up if it's on Sky :)

hmmm was quite fancying this until I saw it was on a sunday! For some reason I think I'd probably rather goto a NFL game at Wembley once a season and miss a Palace game... is that wrong of me?! Ah well looks I'll be sticking to TV watching

I'm quite glad it is this game getting moved, otherwise Dolphin Stadium would be half-fun of New Yorkers who have retired to South Florida.

And I'm one of the many who have pre-registered interest. BTW some Fin fans have said about travelling over from Florida for the game, I'd guess some New Yorkers will as well. Couldn't give you an estimate on numbers though.