The Premier League is coming to play LIVE in America. It is no longer a question of 'if' but 'when' and you can quote me on that. Yesterday at Wembley Stadium, London, England, two football teams, the Dolphins and the Giants took center stage with a capacity 90,000 plus in attendance. The ghosts that stalk the home of English football though must've been turning over in their graves because this encounter was far from the 'beautiful game' as we know it - unless you're a moneyman. To the movers and shakers of the National Football League this has to go down as the smartest piece of business since the AFL and NFL merged in 1966. Gridiron football sold to a country of non-believers in a nice, tasty, regular season package. In fact if reports are to be believed, non-believers could've filled Wembley two or three times over such was the demand...I hear cash registers ringing! And if the till is ticking over, you can bet you're last dollar that the ears of all the Premier League clubs are in a state of high alert because has there ever been a cartel that has better mastered the art of separating fans from their hard earned? In what better country to do it than the nation that practically invented commerce...America. "No, never, you're crazy, not on my dead body" are some of the things you'll hear from the die-hards but globalization has arrived as demonstrated by the Fins and G-Men extravaganza. The suits at PL headquarters are just bummed they didn't think of it first. Traditionalists will say it's not possible to accommodate one-off matches and that the integrity of the league will be called into question as teams always play each other home and away. Well, excuse me sir, that's no problem. Have the clubs in question play both matches on US soil to cancel out any advantage. I think we could conceivably start the experiment next season beginning with Manchester United versus Liverpool, I mean they're American (owned) clubs anyway. And if we're thinking big, lets think really big. To be fair, as an owner, I should be able to make money in any fashion I see fit and I'm sure that that is what the Glazers, Hick's and Gillette's feel. If we do a little math you'll see that the economics of doing this makes perfect sense...to the owners! Firstly, pick a massive stadium on the East Coast because the time difference is about the only factor that would have to be taken into consideration. Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor will do as it seats 107,000. With tickets going for say an average of $100 (which is cheaper than most Premier League tickets) that tabs out to be $10.7 million, which I think is a conservative estimate. Secondly concessions. With pints going for $8 a piece and 100,000 drinking $40 dollars worth of suds, well, that adds up to another $4 million, again a very conservative estimate! Match programs at $10 would sell at least 50,000 for the collectable appeal, which is worth $500,000. Thirdly merchandising. If David Beckham can move 400,000 replica shirts in a matter of weeks, I'm positive United and Liverpool could shift 200,000 with a little marketing at $80 each resulting in yet another $16 million. Fourthly, I'm sure that Virgin, British Airways or some other airline would love to sponsor the two-match series. How about calling it 'football's coming home'. That's surely a $5 million value at the very least. Finally the boost to the local economy will be staggering as I can pretty much guarantee that 80,000 of the crowd will be from Manchester and Liverpool. Let's say that roughly, $25 million would be generated from food and lodging sales. All this adds up to a mind blowing $60 million or so dollars and they'll be doing this twice in a season...$120 million and I haven't even factored in the pay-per-view, yet. For that kind of money, United and Liverpool would play on the moon! As for the true fans who pony up for the season tickets - well the clubs will factor in the cost minus the American clash knowing that the hard-core support will organize their holidays around a trip to America. With the current exchange rate, it'll almost be cheaper than traveling to Anfield or Old Trafford. This thing has win/win written all over it with only one downside...how do you police it? Michigan's finest may need a little help from their brethren on Merseyside and Moss Side because Wolverine fans going crazy will be like a tea party compared to Manchester and Liverpool colliding in a match that matters. But lets not let that little detail spoil the fun eh? For sure this idea may seem a little whacky and perhaps it won't happen in the next year or two but within the next ten years...it's a no-brainer. Don't be surprised though if a one-off isn't staged Stateside. I can seriously see the Community Shield played here or even a made up final such as a Super Cup Final involving the League Cup winners versus the FA Cup winners - the Italians did it twice in 1993 and 2003 with RFK and Giants Stadium hosting and if it's good enough for them... At the end of the day as much as we'd like to claim ownership to English football that is simply no longer possible. As the NFL has demonstrated, football is global and money rules. If you don't believe me check out these quotes from West Ham's non-executive chairman, Eggert Magnusson and American billionaire and Arsenal part owner, Stan Kroenke. Magnusson: "I can see that happening sooner rather than later (a game in America) - it would be good for the game." Kroenke: There is a good chance of getting a game to go over there (America) because both owners could agree to it." Businessmen, pure and simple...and always thinking of the bottom line. Until then, get the beers in.