The Telegraph Calls Roger Goodell a Liar
NFL | Liar - London - Roger Goodell - Senor Fetish - Super Bowl
by Memphis Bengal on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at 10:06am
By implication, anyway.
Recall last weekend, when a report initially surfaced that the NFL was considering awarding an upcoming Super Bowl to London? Roger Goodell, as a part of his media tour, was asked point blank about that report on several occasions by several outlets, and denied each time that to be a possibility. Enter today’s Telegraph (London, don’t you know) with this:
Representatives from the Mayor of London’s office and Visit London, the city’s official visitor organisation, has received assurances from the NFL that, after two sell-out regular-season games at Wembley Stadium and a third scheduled for Oct 25, there is a commitment to bring the championship game to the capital in 2014.
The NFL’s special events team, headed by Frank Sopowitz, has looked at Canada, Mexico, Germany and the UK as potential destinations outside the United States but identified London as the outstanding candidate. It is expected to announce officially within the next 12 months that a Super Bowl will be staged across the Atlantic, with London standing to gain up to £350 million from hosting the event.
In stressing its resolve to internationalise American football, the NFL is also understood to be prepared to change their standard bidding procedures to London’s advantage, guaranteeing the Super Bowl to Wembley for a particular year. Normally contestant host cities fight at least a three-way battle before a final decision is made. London is likely to formalise its Super Bowl interest by November, when bid packages for hosting the 2014 event have to be released. “We are looking at 2014, 2015 or 2017,” confirmed David Hornby, commercial director of Visit London, who has been central to conversations with Sopowitz.
Gee, that sounds like rather sound reporting, complete with sources and facts. Each of which yields this conclusion: Roger Goodell, in addition to having a world class suspension fetish, is a liar. And what I don’t get is this: why lie? Simply tell people this is afoot. It’s not like anyone is going to boycott the NFL over it. Weird.