Compare the the advertising budgets of the two different events. Also think about how many NFL games are played in the UK or for that matter Europe. They sell out Wembley Stadium because of the scarcity of this event when regular American football games were played here, they were not so popular.

More like a g(us) wall

It's not just that! times have changed, when I was young nearly every pub in the town would run a coach to the Wembley final, regardless who may reach the final, it was always thought Saints would make it, life is not like that any longer! so that must amount for quite a lot of lost pre ticket sales.

When I was young, American football was on Channel 4 and there was a professional side in London. All the lads of my age had an NFL side and you would commonly see lads throwing around an American football. American football has gone backwards in a big way ever since. It's still fairly relevant in a once a year way to a certain generation but the generation coming up simply don't care.

The NFL has had a 154% rise in their TV viewing figures in the UK since 2006 so there is a market for it in The UK and London, as the attendances for the Wembley games indicates.

Before Christmas, I tried to buy some NFL gear for my brother along Oxford St, Carnaby St etc. I could not find a retailer selling one piece of NFL merchandise. At least the England RL jersey was on sale in a couple of stores.