London not a good trip for Belichick

Ron Borges

• Last Updated: October 20. 2009 7:13PM UAE / October 20. 2009 3:13PM GMT

To most Americans, a trip to London for a few days would be viewed as a great vacation. Even for a business trip, it would be considered a perk as much as work.

But for obsessive NFL head coaches like Bill Belichick it, like almost everything else outside the bubble they live in, is a dreaded distraction.

“When that game was scheduled in the spring it was very unique obviously, so there’s anticipation,” said the New England head coach about this weekend’s long journey to London’s Wembley Stadium, where the Patriots will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.

“I know that’s a little extra special game on your schedule that you know you don’t normally have. You have all your division games, all your other games and when you’re playing in London, you put a little asterisk by that one.

“That one’s a little bit different than the rest of them. It will be an interesting experience for us,”

It will be an experience the Patriots and Buccaneers barely have time to savour.

The two teams will arrive in London on Friday, with New England coming early enough to conduct a brief practice at the Oval cricket ground that same day while the Buccaneers will not get there until Friday evening.

Tampa Bay will conduct a brief practice at Wembley on Saturday, play on Sunday and be on their way home by Monday, a road trip that is twice the length of their normal longest but one that seems unlikely to afford much of a chance for them to get to know the difference between London, England, and London, Ohio.

“It will be fun when we head over there,” said Tom Brady, the three-time Super Bowl winning Patriots quarterback.

“But I think we will be [staying] in the most remote area. There won’t be anything within miles. I don’t think we’ll do any sightseeing. We probably won’t do a whole lot of that, not on this trip.”

For the NFL, this is an opportunity to expand the game internationally, a focus of the league for some years. Games or highlight packages are televised in more than 100 countries, special internet sites have been set up in various languages to teach the game’s fundamentals to new fans abroad, and the belief is the next great market for the NFL is the same one the NBA tapped for new talent and new merchandising opportunities years ago.

But to someone like Belichick, that is not a concern. He could not care less where the game is sold, only where his team is heading and how to avoid anything that might make it seem different.

“Going to London not a distraction?” Belichick said when asked if he considered it an opportunity or a hindrance.

“We’ll take into consideration all the things that are a little bit different, whether it be the venue, the field, the preparation, the time, all that stuff – absolutely. That’s all part of the planning and schedule leading up to the game and those are important elements to play the game.

“I probably couldn’t name one team in the England premier national soccer league or whatever it is ... federation, but I’ve been to London a couple times. I’ve had fish and chips. Absolutely. Great. But I’m just trying to win a game.”

The Patriots’ defensive coordinator, Dean Pees, added: “All I’ve thought about was getting prepared to play a game a long ways away, and it’s not exactly like a vacation or anything. We thought of it as a long trip over there and we have to play a game and win it and then come home and get ready for another one. I really haven’t thought a whole lot about it to be honest with you.”

In other words, if you want to see London do not go there with an NFL team.

rborges@thenational.ae