August 6th, Tokyo Japan, Atlanta Falcons vs Indianapolis Colts in the American Bowl. Sure, this is a pointless pre-season marketing exercise, no matter how they dress it up. It should be a good game though, and might have an interesting effect on the season to come.

It's a long flight from Tokyo. Jet lag makes it tough to stay awake, let alone play a game of professional football. I won't bore you with the numbers, but basically, the extra game helps the American bowl teams during the pre-season, but hurts them during regular season.

Yes that's weird. My best guess is that playing in a hyped up game in a foreign country causes a noticeable hiccup in their preparations (although the immediate gain in match fitness helps preseason performance).

I will be looking at fading the Falcons during the first 7 weeks of this season (they have a tough schedule, and Godzilla's curse makes it a little tougher).

Or just watch the game and be thankful football season is starting.