NFL and international trade . . . perhaps not as unlikely as it sounds.

As I was watching the Superbowl last night, I was thinking about how it, the legendary American Football Championship game, might be connected to International Trade.  I, along with the other International Law Society officers, am taking an International Trade Regulation class this semester.  The more and more I read, the more I understand how everything we touch on a daily basis probably came from another country.  So I was thinking as I watched the game, how could the NFL be connected to international trade.  On its face, it really is not.  American football is just that, American football.  No other country, except for maybe a few folks in Canada and some loners in Europe even care about American football.  The rest of the world only focuses on soccer (better known outside of the U.S. as the "real" football).  

Then I did  a little research.  It turns out that the Superbowl does have a little something to do with international trade.  Have you ever wondered what happens to all of those championship hats and t-shirts that are printed for the team that ends up losing?  Well, you do not have to wonder any longer . . . they end up in the hands of kids in Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, etc.  Yep, the NFL has a partnership with World Vision, a global relief organization, in which the losing team's championship apparel gets shipped off to kids in other countries.  So if you ever think that no one outside of America cares about the NFL, think again.  Those little kids in central and south America getting the clothes sure love the NFL, even if they do not know what it stands for.  

See http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1071250 for more information.

By: Andy Thomas