On any given Sunday, a growing crowd of UK gridiron fans are glued to their TVs watching the superstars of American football go toe to toe on the long road to the Super Bowl…
“It’s been fascinating to watch the cultural impact the game has had.”
Scott Pioli spent 27 years as an NFL executive, most notably with the New England Patriots as they claimed their first three Super Bowl wins.
He now does consulting work for NFL International and NFL Academy.
But he also spent five weeks in 1986 playing with the Newcastle Senators – a similar time to when Warren first began playing the sport.
This season there have been five international games as the NFL continues to push its brand around the globe, with matches in Sao Paulo, Munich and three in London.
And Pioli believes reaching further afield to attract new audiences outside of the US is vital to continue to grow the NFL brand and the sport itself.
“It’s been fascinating to watch the cultural impact the game has had,” he says.
“Some of those people playing at a younger age now, those grassroots clubs like the Newcastle Senators, it draws people in to learn the game.
“It’s absolutely amazing to see what the difference is and the love for the game.”
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