Olympics-NFL scores touchdown with Bach but no place in Games
By Steve Keating BEAVER CREEK, Colorado, Feb 3 (Reuters) - IOC president Thomas Bach enjoyed his first taste of American football after attending Sunday's Super Bowl in Arizona but warned on Tuesday not to expect NFL players in the Olympics anytime soon. New England's heart-stopping win over Seattle was certainly a strong advertisement for the sport but Bach cannot envision it being in the Olympic program anytime soon despite efforts to get it recognised by forming an international federation. "The sport was great with the real drama until the very end and to feel the atmosphere in Arizona there around the stadium was really a good experience," said Bach, who was attending the opening race of the alpine ski world championships. "This does not mean that tomorrow you could put American football on the program because one of the conditions is that sport must have a broad international representation. "It is a very American sport, on the international scale it is not yet there to be considered for the Olympic role." Like many sports looking to join the Olympics, football is dreaming big and took its first step toward that goal by forming the International Federation of American Football in 1998. There are now 64 American football federations worldwide, according to a report on the National Football League's website. Players from the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League have participated in the Olympics since 1992 and 1998, respectively, and golf will return to the Games in 2016, allowing the biggest names in those sports to compete for gold medals. But it is almost certain the world will never see Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck or Houston Texans linebacker J.J. Watt marching in an Olympic opening ceremony with their NFL peers. While the Super Bowl, which this year drew a U.S. record 114.4 million viewers, is one of the sporting world's biggest one-day events it is more of a spectacle than a staple outside of North America. The NFL has made huge gains in popularity beyond U.S. borders in recent years by staging regular season games in England, Canada and Mexico and exhibition contests around the globe but remains a sporting curiosity. "I spoke with the commissioner (Roger Goodell) and I think he understood, he did not make the slightest approach regarding the Games," said Bach. (Editing by Frank Pingue)
