Lance Briggs will have to settle for regular game in London

Lance Briggs will have to settle for a regular season game in London.

When the Chicago Bears were preparing to make the relatively short flight to Toronto to play the Buffalo Bills last November, linebacker Lance Briggs embraced the idea of international play. In fact, he said he’s love to see the league’s marquee game – the Super Bowl – played in London.

The Pro Bowl performer reasoned that if the players fought it, it was going to happen anyway. He understands that the drive by commissioner Roger Goodell and others to grow the sport on an international level is going to happen and increased revenue streams will result.

Little did Briggs know at the time the Bears would be headed international again. This time, they will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London in the 2011 regular season. It will be a home game for the Bucs, meaning for the second time in three seasons a game ticketed for Raymond James Stadium has been moved across the Atlantic Ocean.

“If you want to get international attention that is what you’re going to have to do,” Briggs told NFP. “I think a Super Bowl in London would be pretty awesome.

“You put a team in London, you put a team in Mexico City, you have all of the neighboring countries, maybe a team in Dublin (Ireland).”

The in-season travel takes a toll on players, but that doesn’t concern him.

“You leave early in the week,” Briggs said. “It’s the future and I think it’s coming. You have to fight it or embrace it, but there are some changes that are coming. If you want this thing to be global, and people to pick up on it, you have to be there for them to see it. It’s the only way it’s going to really work.”

Follow me on Twitter: @BradBiggs

Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune

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