Patriots owner Robert Kraft has “made it known” to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that the Patriots “would be interested in playing a game in Scotland” on the heels of the Tartan Army’s takeover in Boston during the World Cup, according to Nicole Yang of the BOSTON GLOBE. Scotland played two group stage World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium, and “injected the city with unrivaled revelry.” As the NFL assesses potential additional markets, Scotland “sure has presented itself as an attractive choice” given the budding connection between the Tartan Army and Boston. Goodell noted that 90% of the crowds at international games are “fans from the host country.” Yang writes it “sure seems plausible that Bostonians would make the trek to experience Scotland,” based on the festivities from the past week (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/23). THE ATHLETIC’s Steve Buckley wrote a “modest proposal the NFL should consider” is getting the Patriots to play a regular-season game in Scotland. Buckley: “Really, this needs to happen. Call it a home-and-home series of goodwill and great partying.” Scotland “doesn’t appear to be an American football hotbed.” A Patriots game in Scotland, then, “can keep alive this exciting new relationship between two fan bases while building a market for the NFL in a country that has had very little exposure to the sport” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/20).
Patriots eye Scotland game amid budding relationship with Tartan Army
