Portland should get an NFL team

By: Jake Rajala

The NFL is certainly growing in popularity in not only the United States but around the entire globe. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine five cities on this green planet that would be perfect & new locations for an NFL club.

London

We don’t need Captain Obvious to say that change isn’t easy. It may seem difficult to expect an NFL team to become wildly popular in London in the near future, but it would absolutely be a friendly and wise move long-term for London to showcase an NFL team. After the Jacksonville Jaguars were the first NFL team to play and win an international game in 2007, it’s clear that the NFL has become increasingly popular overseas. Perhaps the Jaguars will be the actual home team in London down the road?

Portland

It would be a shame if one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S. – also known as Portland – didn’t showcase an NFL team in the future. Portland is the largest city in Oregon (with a population of roughly 650,000 people). Portland surely has intense college football contests each weekend, but they are sadly missing NFL match-ups on Sundays.

Mexico City

Mexico City isn’t just the biggest city in Mexico, it is the largest city in North America. The NFL definitely needs to make a bright, out-of-the-box idea in placing a team in Mexico City. Interestingly, Mexico City held an NFL game in 1978 – as Ron Jaworski and the Eagles lost to the Saints by a score of 14-7. There sadly wasn’t another game in Mexico until 1994. There have been nine games in Mexico since 1978.

Montreal

Montreal, also known as the largest french city in Canada, is stunning and utterly unique. The city in Canada that apparently had the world’s best fair in the 20th century, would be a special home for an NFL squad. Plus, Montreal is only 30 miles from New York. It would simply be glorious if Mexico and Canada each had an NFL team.

Tokyo

Tokyo is the least likely city to have an NFL team on this list – in my opinion. Although, it should be noted that Japan has serious pride in American Football. They have the X League – which was founded in 1971. Furthermore, American Football is also a popular high school sport in Japan. It would be extremely cool if AF continues to grow in the NFL and the city eventually roughly 14 million people (aka Tokyo) becomes the first city in Japan to display a team.