@the-gipper said:

I don't know it. You are free to spell it out here. (do you mean SA Spurs....or TH Hotspurs? And what is a hotspur....beyond the obvious?)

The story is that we were originally formed from a cricket club called Hotspur Wanderers (or something similar) and became Hotspur FC. It's supposed to come from Harry Hotspur. Shakespeare wrote about him - he and his family are believed to have owned land nearby.

The Y nickname is, er, the Yids. We have long had connections with the Jewish community through both ownership and location. Just south of Tottenham is an area with a large Orthodox Jewish population. Similar to Ajax in the Netherlands, opposing teams viewed us as a "Jewish" club and would regularly chant about Hitler, make hissing (gas chamber) noises etc etc. Spurs fans adopted it as a badge of honour in an attempt to turn the abuse back on itself. It worked to an extent, except ironically there's an ongoing debate about whether it is offensive for Spurs fans to call themselves "Yids".

Gunners .

Of course, Spurs have an alternative nickname beginning with Y that you missed out.

They won't align an NFL team so closely with a football, sorry, soccer team because you immediately alienate the majority of your potential fan base. It'll be the London Knights, or some such.

There's a considerable NFL following in the UK dating back to the mid-80s, when Channel 4 first televised matches. I worry about the logistics of having an NFL franchise in the UK, but not about filling the stands. I just don't see the need for it from this side. I like the NFL the way it is.

@gftchris said:

Interesting that the grass surface will be retractable, with an artificial surface underneath, so the turf won't get destroyed.

Yeah, I really hope they don't screw this up. I'm more interested in the impact on the area. Mind you, taking my kids over to see the Browns play at WHL would be all kinds of awesome.

I'm Spurs too - went to school in Edmonton but now live near Akron. I'm Browns through my wife.

Whatever it takes to get the stadium built tbh, I'm not really that fussed. We get to stay at WHL, so I'm happy. I'm really not interested in the NFL expanding to other countries.

1. The San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat are playing in the NBA Finals.

I know sweet FA about football, and even I know the OP is talking out of his arse ass.

@the-gipper said:

As someone said recently: take nothing personal. It is possible that the rest of us will be entertained....at your expense. But don't take it so hard. It can occasionally get to be somewhat of a slam fest

....and remember...if you really need to take out your frustrations cybernetically, there are always a full complement of stupid Steeler fans to assist you in that regard.

Not a problem! I'm old enough and ugly enough to have taken some blows.

I mainly came on to learn more about the wonders of the Browns.

And for Butler - I actually lived in Scotland for several years. Edinburgh can be a beautiful place (but watch Trainspotting for the other side).

@the-gipper said:

The real James Bond: Sean Connery, had a Scottish accent.

My mother was raised in Kent....England that is.

Welcome aboard.

It's good to be here. I'm hoping to be enlightened and entertained. Christ knows why I picked the Browns then, but nil desperandum.

Nope - Kent, Ohio. Just about to graduate from Kent State.

The accent's actually pretty English, just some Aussie twang from time to time. A cashier at Giant Eagle actually said I was like James Bond (before her guide dog corrected her) - although come to think of it, she was old enough to be thinking of George Lazenby.

I guess I've lurked enough - I'm following Butler Browns over the top.

I'm in Kent. Born in Australia, brought up in England, and now blessed with the Browns, Cavs and Indians. Not yet infected with the abject despair that my Browns fan in-laws display. My wife turns the Browns off whenever something goes wrong, because she "knows how this movie ends."

Looking forward to the draft, and actually looking forward to the season too. Hoping for TR, a decent wide receiver, someone who can play RT and then defense defense defense. My optimism has not yet been crushed, but I have only been here three-and-a-bit years.