In an interesting development, the St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting that the Minnesota Vikings are now, suddenly, once again a candidate to be the "home" team for games played in London's Wembley Stadium.
According to two people with direct knowledge of the situation, the Vikings are the league's top candidate to play in Wembley Stadium in the next four years, and the team is negotiating with the University of Minnesota to relocate games from TCF Bank Stadium to London while the Metrodome is reconstructed.
The Vikings have not played abroad in 18 years. But they have emerged as the leading contender to replace the Rams, who abandoned plans to play in London in 2013 and '14 to focus on a stadium deal in St. Louis, and fulfill part of the NFL's commitment to the United Kingdom through 2016.
Regarding the part in bold, to channel Dana Carvey channeling Johnny Carson. . .I did not know that. Not sure when that happened, exactly, but apparently it did. The Rams were planning on hogging all of the London games for the next three seasons, but apparently now they're not any more.
However, it does make a lot of sense. The Vikings already stand to lose a decent chunk of change from moving into TCF Bank Stadium as it stands now, and the extra revenue that the team would bring in from a game in London would be beneficial to them. Even as it stands now, according to the article, the Vikings are 31st among the 32 NFL teams in revenue, so it would help even before that point.
Yes, it would stink for the home fans to lose one of the team's home games. . .unfortunately, the NFL is a business first, and from a business perspective it's a move that would be beneficial for the Minnesota Vikings.
So, if you're a Vikings fan and you've ever had a hankering to pack up and head to Europe for a vacation or for any other reason, feel free to start saving up now!
Oh, and after the title. . .you didn't really think I was going to leave you without this, did you?