Football American Style Football In India?

|Zach| · 09:31 PM

http://www.gameplancreative.com/clie...nch/index.html

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/1938...itka-irvin.htm

Globalization and cross-cultural currents sometime takes unexpected and bizarre steps.

A U.S. group of executives and ex-athletes seek to bring American-style football to India.

The Elite Football League (EFL) of India is expecting to launch its inaugural season in November 2012, with eight teams across the sub-continent.

The league has the backing and financial support of some very prominent names from the National Football League in the U.S.: Hall of Famer and legendary Chicago Bears coach, Mike Ditka; Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Michael Irvin; former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, and current NFL linebacker Brandon Chillar, who is himself of Indian descent.

Co-owner Jaworski will serve as the EFL's director.

The league’s principal investor is Richard Scheer, vice president of Strategic Alliances, who also co-owns the Chicago Rush team in the Arena Football League with Ditka.

The initial eight teams will be: the Mumbai Gladiators, the Pune Black Tigers, the Delhi Defenders, the Kolkata Vipers, the Hyderabad Skykings, the Goa Swarm, the Punjab Warriors, and the Bhubaneshwar Warhawks.

Scheer has great ambitions for the Indian league, claiming it could expand to 45 teams over the next few years.

"I envision that in three years, the EFL will be bigger [in India] than the NFL [is in the United States]," Scheer told reporters.

Reportedly, India’s biggest media conglomerate, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., has expressed serious interest in broadcasting the EFL’s games. In fact, they have signed a letter of intent to televise 33 regular season games and three playoff games to an estimated 500-million potential viewers in India, Sri Lanka, The Maldive Islands, Bangladesh, Nepal, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, and Pakistan.

The government’s Sports Authority of India (SAI) has also endorsed the league.

"India is beyond doubt a great market for the sports and entertainment sectors," EFL's chief executive Richard Whelan said at a news conference.
"A concept like [EFL] presents a huge opportunity and the perfect platform for brands to get visibility and reach out to their potential customers."

Last September, V. Bhandarkar of the SAI Training Centre in Mumbai signed a letter to provide playing facilities and any other amenities "for the promotion of American football and…to give technical expertise during the process of screening, assessment and evaluation of sports persons and coaches… so as to establish a strong base to propagate and develop this premier sports in urban and rural India."

One possible playing field could be the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex located at Balewadi, Pune, near Mumbai. Built in 1994, the facility can hold more than 20,000 spectators.

However, there are questions about this grand experiment – namely, where will the league find adequate players and coaches? Despite India’s vast population, the country has no history of playing of even following American-style football.
Plus, there are concerns about how popular the league – assuming it gets off the ground – will be?

It may attract a large following at the beginning as a novelty – but how can that be sustained into true fandom?

Reportedly, Dr. G.V. Pargaonkar, the principal of the Bombay Physical Culture Association's College of Physical Education, which is affiliated with the University of Mumbai, agreed in April to develop players and coaching staff for the EFL.

Whelan added: "We felt that India didn't have enough games or sport to watch on television and thus see a huge potential here. We are training coaches from athletics, volleyball and wrestling and hope to be ready for the first season in time."

**Buck** · 08-08-2011, 09:23 PM

REPOS

**chefsos** · 08-08-2011, 09:25 PM

[Insert joke about outsourcing NFL Players Association jobs here]

|Zach| · 08-08-2011, 09:27 PM

The branding and design is pretty impressive. I don't understand much about cricket so I don't know how weird of a culture shock and change watching or understanding football would be for their peeps.

Ebolapox · 08-08-2011, 09:28 PM

some of those logos are freaking BOSS

|Zach| · 08-08-2011, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H5N1

some of those logos are freaking BOSS

Agreed.

**KcMizzou** · 08-08-2011, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H5N1

some of those logos are freaking BOSS

Seriously.

**BigMeatballDave** · 08-08-2011, 09:32 PM

Not bad. That tiger logo is the shit.

Cephalic Trauma · 08-08-2011, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave

Not bad. That tiger logo is the shit.

The Swarm one is pretty badass as well.

|Zach| · 08-08-2011, 09:33 PM

I am not a fan of the helmet but before the team is even made I am going to go ahead and plant my flag as a fan of the Delphi Defenders.

stevieray · 08-08-2011, 09:34 PM

great artwork. like the gladiators, along with those already mentioned.

Ebolapox · 08-08-2011, 09:35 PM

I mean... on the real, I'd def. buy merchandise with those logos

(and to take this post from serious to bullshit...)

I'd buy a blanket with the warhawks' logo and **** frankie's mother while on it. I would wipe my ass with it, wipe the cum off of her titties, and then use it to dab the blood from the back of her head after I donkey punch her repeatedly.

**KcMizzou** · 08-08-2011, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

I am not a fan of the helmet but before the team is even made I am going to go ahead and plant my flag as a fan of the Delphi Defenders.

It's Delhi, n00b.

|Zach| · 08-08-2011, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

It's Delhi, n00b.

Yea, it looks like I have a long way to go.

**chefsos** · 08-08-2011, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

It's Delhi, n00b.

I'm now hearing the word "n00b" with an Indian accent.

08-08-2011, 09:22 PM
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5336768	American Style Football In India? http://www.gameplancreative.com/clie...nch/index.html http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/1938...itka-irvin.htm Globalization and cross-cultural currents sometime takes unexpected and bizarre steps. A U.S. group of executives and ex-athletes seek to bring American-style football to India. The Elite Football League (EFL) of India is expecting to launch its inaugural season in November 2012, with eight teams across the sub-continent. The league has the backing and financial support of some very prominent names from the National Football League in the U.S.: Hall of Famer and legendary Chicago Bears coach, Mike Ditka; Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Michael Irvin; former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, and current NFL linebacker Brandon Chillar, who is himself of Indian descent. Co-owner Jaworski will serve as the EFL's director. The league’s principal investor is Richard Scheer, vice president of Strategic Alliances, who also co-owns the Chicago Rush team in the Arena Football League with Ditka. The initial eight teams will be: the Mumbai Gladiators, the Pune Black Tigers, the Delhi Defenders, the Kolkata Vipers, the Hyderabad Skykings, the Goa Swarm, the Punjab Warriors, and the Bhubaneshwar Warhawks. Scheer has great ambitions for the Indian league, claiming it could expand to 45 teams over the next few years. "I envision that in three years, the EFL will be bigger [in India] than the NFL [is in the United States]," Scheer told reporters. Reportedly, India’s biggest media conglomerate, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., has expressed serious interest in broadcasting the EFL’s games. In fact, they have signed a letter of intent to televise 33 regular season games and three playoff games to an estimated 500-million potential viewers in India, Sri Lanka, The Maldive Islands, Bangladesh, Nepal, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, and Pakistan. The government’s Sports Authority of India (SAI) has also endorsed the league. "India is beyond doubt a great market for the sports and entertainment sectors," EFL's chief executive Richard Whelan said at a news conference. "A concept like [EFL] presents a huge opportunity and the perfect platform for brands to get visibility and reach out to their potential customers." Last September, V. Bhandarkar of the SAI Training Centre in Mumbai signed a letter to provide playing facilities and any other amenities "for the promotion of American football and…to give technical expertise during the process of screening, assessment and evaluation of sports persons and coaches… so as to establish a strong base to propagate and develop this premier sports in urban and rural India." One possible playing field could be the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex located at Balewadi, Pune, near Mumbai. Built in 1994, the facility can hold more than 20,000 spectators. However, there are questions about this grand experiment – namely, where will the league find adequate players and coaches? Despite India’s vast population, the country has no history of playing of even following American-style football. Plus, there are concerns about how popular the league – assuming it gets off the ground – will be? It may attract a large following at the beginning as a novelty – but how can that be sustained into true fandom? Reportedly, Dr. G.V. Pargaonkar, the principal of the Bombay Physical Culture Association's College of Physical Education, which is affiliated with the University of Mumbai, agreed in April to develop players and coaching staff for the EFL. Whelan added: "We felt that India didn't have enough games or sport to watch on television and thus see a huge potential here. We are training coaches from athletics, volleyball and wrestling and hope to be ready for the first season in time." Last edited by \|Zach\|; 08-08-2011 at 09:31 PM..
Posts: 53,433

08-08-2011, 09:23 PM	#2
Buck Take a Chill Pill Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Carolina Casino cash: $8329900	REPOS
Posts: 44,562

08-08-2011, 09:25 PM	#3
chefsos Fifty eight sixty two... Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Felton, DE Casino cash: $8507676	[Insert joke about outsourcing NFL Players Association jobs here]
Posts: 9,449

08-08-2011, 09:27 PM	#4
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5336768	The branding and design is pretty impressive. I don't understand much about cricket so I don't know how weird of a culture shock and change watching or understanding football would be for their peeps.
Posts: 53,433

08-08-2011, 09:28 PM	#5
Ebolapox remember, remember Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: como Casino cash: $2119903	some of those logos are freaking BOSS
Posts: 26,428

08-08-2011, 09:32 PM	#8
BigMeatballDave GBM 8-12-15 Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Dayton, Oh. Casino cash: $10052154	Not bad. That tiger logo is the shit.
Posts: 59,997

08-08-2011, 09:33 PM	#10
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5336768	I am not a fan of the helmet but before the team is even made I am going to go ahead and plant my flag as a fan of the Delphi Defenders.
Posts: 53,433

08-08-2011, 09:34 PM	#11
stevieray best in the biz Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Under Pressure Casino cash: $2615273	great artwork. like the gladiators, along with those already mentioned.
Posts: 71,183

08-08-2011, 09:35 PM	#12
Ebolapox remember, remember Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: como Casino cash: $2119903	I mean... on the real, I'd def. buy merchandise with those logos (and to take this post from serious to bullshit...) I'd buy a blanket with the warhawks' logo and **** frankie's mother while on it. I would wipe my ass with it, wipe the cum off of her titties, and then use it to dab the blood from the back of her head after I donkey punch her repeatedly.
Posts: 26,428