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Interview: Sky Sports presenter Neil Reynolds · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Jaguar was making their seventh appearance in London and for
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: the seventh time in London we visit with Neil Reynolds
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: of Sky Sports. Always good to see you appreciate it. Oh,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: I want to keep the street going. Love love coming on.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: I love talking about the Jags. Glad to have them
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: back again, and yeah, I think that's we were kind
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: of talking off off air, just a second guy. A
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  Speaker 1: really interesting team this year and you know, as as
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: that the calendar has ticked over into November, all you
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: want is to be relevant and exciting in that second
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  Speaker 1: half of the season, and I think the Jags are
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  Speaker 1: every bit of that at the moment. You've been around
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: this really since the beginning of the international series covering
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  Speaker 1: the NFL. Here is this the biggest game in London history?
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  Speaker 1: Four and four Jags, five and three Texans. There hasn't
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: been two winning record teams here. That's been a storyline
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: this week. It's getting later in the year and it's
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  Speaker 1: a huge divisional matchup. Yeah, I think this is a
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: This is the second latest game we've ever had in
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  Speaker 1: terms of calendar. The first that went a little bit
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  Speaker 1: deep print in November was the Jags and the Cowboys,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: but obviously that was a less meaningful game from a
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  Speaker 1: from a Jags point of view. Yeah, it's we've we
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: were talking in the in the the NFL UK office
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  Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, but we've had quite a
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  Speaker 1: few teams that came in, like the Bengals where they
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  Speaker 1: were winless or they had a sort of bad record.
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  Speaker 1: We've had divisional games as well, the Dolphins and Jets
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  Speaker 1: early in their season. Though is week three. This does
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  Speaker 1: feel really big, and I think it feels I tell what,
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  Speaker 1: I think it feels even bigger than just being a
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  Speaker 1: divisional game. It's because the wild card spots in the
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: in the a f C are up for grabs as well.
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  Speaker 1: So you're not just looking at the Cults, the Texans
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  Speaker 1: and the Jags, who comes out on top in the South.
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  Speaker 1: You're looking at yeah, maintaining your your place in that
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  Speaker 1: race for the for the playoffs. So yeah, this is
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  Speaker 1: this is right up there in terms of one of
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  Speaker 1: those big games. I think it's got everything you want.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: It's got the the Jags continuing to build here in London. Um,
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  Speaker 1: it's got the gardener Minshew factor is a thing. You know,
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  Speaker 1: people will be are and their mustaches on on Sunday.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: And on the other side of the equation, you've got
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  Speaker 1: someone who's genuinely box office as well into Shawn Watson.
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  Speaker 1: So you know, it does tick all the boxes. It's
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  Speaker 1: gonna be a it's gonna be a fascinating affair. And
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  Speaker 1: I think the Jags always had those star players on defense.
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  Speaker 1: When you look for that kind of top level somebody
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  Speaker 1: who's exciting people around the world and people across America,
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  Speaker 1: they maybe they haven't always had that quarterback, and I
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  Speaker 1: think they've got that now in in Guard the Minshoe,
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  Speaker 1: somebody who's gaining national and international attention. You know, over
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the years here building up to these games in London,
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  Speaker 1: there have been big fan events on Saturday, like Regent
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  Speaker 1: Street and Trafalgar Square will be first cross paths that
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  Speaker 1: goodness sakes, that's a long time ago. The last couple
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  Speaker 1: of years, at least around the Jags game, there hasn't
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  Speaker 1: been that big Saturday fan of it, and it feels
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  Speaker 1: like there's a push to see if the games can
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  Speaker 1: stand alone. Is that accurate? I think? I think so.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: I think from a the amount of resources you put
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: into those events, um, you know, I would do the
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  Speaker 1: nfl UK live stage shows as well. And actually it's
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: it's a lot to ask of the teams to commit
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  Speaker 1: the players for those things as well. The day before
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  Speaker 1: a game. You know, you wouldn't ask that of anyone
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  Speaker 1: in the day before a Super Bowl. You wouldn't ask
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  Speaker 1: for that in in Jacksonville. So so let's be let's
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  Speaker 1: start to be more authentic. Let's start to be how
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  Speaker 1: it would be in the States. So there are a
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  Speaker 1: little fan things. You know, we were we're at the
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  Speaker 1: pub and we're going to be doing that together. But there's, um,
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  Speaker 1: you know, it's not quite such large scale. And yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I think actually that's a good way of looking at
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  Speaker 1: it is. It's a it's a let the games speak
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  Speaker 1: for themselves. If you have four games as well, how
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: can you do four Regent Streets? How can you do
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  Speaker 1: four Trafalgar Squares? You know, you just don't have that budget.
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  Speaker 1: And also, yeah, I just feel like it's this way now,
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  Speaker 1: even more when the team's come here practice on Friday,
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  Speaker 1: walk through on Saturday, Saturday afternoon off, not Saturday afternoon, Okay,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: how we need you for another four hours? A fan
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  Speaker 1: of it, look at how quickly the tickets sell out,
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  Speaker 1: how popular it is, we don't need to do those events.
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  Speaker 1: Spurs Stadium came online this year for the NFL at
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  Speaker 1: least and two games played and looked magnificent on television.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, I'm sure it was great in person as well.
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  Speaker 1: But there's a long term contract with the NFL there,
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  Speaker 1: and I know the Jaguars still want to have the
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: affiliation with Wimbley Stadium. I think there's another year on
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: the current deal. I would be shocked if they didn't
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: extend that. But beyond those, what is the future? Will
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: there be more than four games here? Are we trending
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: towards an eight game kind of schedule in the UK?
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: I think we're certainly moving moving that way. You know,
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  Speaker 1: I've you know, I've banked the drum for franchise for
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  Speaker 1: for a number of years. I think I think we
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: could support one, but equally we could support an eight
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  Speaker 1: game season and so and that could be different teams
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  Speaker 1: coming in and out, and I I don't think people
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  Speaker 1: here would be against that. In fact, fans who already
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  Speaker 1: have their teams would probably like that. So I used
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: to be kind of all are it's all franchise, It's
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: all franchise, and now I'm okay, I can see where
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: it would be that rotation of games, especially as we're
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: coming up to that new collective bargaining agreement potential for
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  Speaker 1: a seventeenth regular season game. That's going to open up
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  Speaker 1: a ton of inventory. Now you want to They probably
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: want to go to Mexico a couple of times, to
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  Speaker 1: go to Canada, although they didn't really sell out brilliantly
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  Speaker 1: in the preseason in Canada, so you know this is
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  Speaker 1: your strongest option here still the UK. So I think
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  Speaker 1: more games for the UK. I think they desperate to
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: get a game in Germany. And that's even before you
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: have to take a chance and try Brazil or Australia
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  Speaker 1: or China. You know. So, so I I do think
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  Speaker 1: that we're going to see more games. I think we're
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: I'm with you, there's no way they're moving away from
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: Wembley Stadium. Tottenham Hotspur was sensational. It is sensational. You
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  Speaker 1: could have picked up that stadium put it anywhere in
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  Speaker 1: America and it looked authentic. At the field turf, it
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: was all marked. It was just I felt like I
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: was at a super Bowl. I didn't feel like I
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: was in North London. So then that's for a couple
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: of weeks actually kind of recency bias. And then I
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: turned up at Wembley Stadium last week and I saw
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  Speaker 1: the crowd packed in there for the rams and angles?
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Is that? You know what? Wembley is pretty cool as well?
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  Speaker 1: Wembley is pretty special as well. We have two world
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  Speaker 1: class venues here for NFL games, two venues that are
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: going to open up even more dates in the calendar.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: We're not going to have less than four games per
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: year here for a for a long time. I don't think.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: I think because of the deals that will be put
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  Speaker 1: in place, we're gonna have four games per year. And
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: I think actually that's just our base level. I think
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: we'll have more than that. Final thought with you here
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: in Neil, how do you see the Texans Jags matchup
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: ending up at Wembley the Sunday? So I think it's
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  Speaker 1: gonna be a bit like the first one. I think
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  Speaker 1: it'd be quite physical, quite low scoring. I think it's
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  Speaker 1: a coin flip game. So because I'm talking to you,
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to go Jags in a coin flip. I'll
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  Speaker 1: tell you why pass Rush Claire's Campbell Josh Allen, Yannik
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: and Gotkway. It's raining, it's going to be horrible weather
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday. It's going to be horrible for a little
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  Speaker 1: bit on Sunday. That is a that's a Leonard four
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  Speaker 1: net game. He's going to be inspired by watching England
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  Speaker 1: in the rugby pounding it up the middle of time
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: and time again, and that's going to be Leonard for net.
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  Speaker 1: So the Jags are going to give an old school
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  Speaker 1: physical feel to the game, and so they more than
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: capable of winning. But it is a coin flip game.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: But I'm gonna go Jacks just about