Paul Revere wouldn’t stand a chance against the Tartan Army.
The recent Scottish takeover of Boston — they drained the city of its beer — left a lasting impression on Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Via Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe, Kraft told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that the Patriots are interested in hosting a regular-season game in Scotland.
Scotland has not previously been considered as a potential venue for an NFL game.
This illustrates the broader impact of the ongoing World Cup, which is giving American audiences a deeper look at the fervor international soccer fans bring to the sport. The NFL hopes to channel that enthusiasm through its global expansion efforts.
While exporting domestic teams abroad for one‑off games can capture some of that energy, the clearer message is that to truly match the intensity soccer fans from abroad have sparked in the United States, the league must establish franchises overseas.
An ambitious vision would involve adding eight new teams outside the U.S., forming a four‑team Atlantic division in one conference and a four‑team Pacific division in the other, for a total of forty teams organized into ten four‑team divisions.
Such a move would be a bold step for the NFL, potentially providing the international boost the league seeks for American football.
Moreover, when an overseas‑based NFL team plays a major game in the United States, thousands of fans from that nation could replicate the support currently shown by international fans attending games stateside.