The National Football League may be the most popular sport in the United States, but there isn't anything "national" about it.

Since 1926, the league has been playing games outside the United States in countries such as Canada, Mexico, England, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Ireland, and even Germany. Most of those games are preseason exhibition games that don't really count, but the league has been playing regular season games in London, England every year since the 2007 season.

London has a big market and football popularity is growing there, but why play games in an entirely separate continent when we can simply play games just south of the border? Obviously, soccer is Mexico's most popular sport, but the conveniences of playing in Mexico instead of England heavily outweigh the burdens for a number of reasons.

The most obvious reason is time. London is currently four hours ahead of the east coast and seven hours ahead of the west coast of the United States. It's extremely hard to schedule a game time that is suitable for everyone. Mexico City, on the other hand, shares a similar time zone as the central United States.

Another factor to consider is safety. Flying across the Atlantic Ocean regularly does have some issues when compared to simply traveling to Mexico City. The National Football League Players Association should keep this in mind, if they decide to agree with owners on a long-term deal.

So why Mexico? Why should the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell consider playing in Mexico more than England?

Other than the obvious time and geographical benefits, the people of Mexico love their American football. In 2005, the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers played each other in the first-ever regular season game outside the United States at the Estadio Azteca. The game saw an NFL record attendance of 103,467 people. That record has since been broken by the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys at AT&T stadium, but the market is definitely there.

Wembley Stadium in London doesn't hold nearly that amount of people.

Canada has been an option, especially for the Buffalo Bills in recent years. Canada, like Mexico, is closer than England, but the demand just simply isn't there. The Bills have played at the Rogers Center every season since 2008, but have yet to fill more than 55,000 in attendance.

The Dallas Cowboys aren't just America's team, they're also Mexico's team. Every NFL season, thousands of Mexican football fans travel more than 15 hours to watch their beloved Cowboys play in Arlington, Texas. Cities such as Monterey, Mexico City, and Pueblo are filled with football fans who travel by bus every month and every season to watch the Cowboys play at AT&T stadium.

California and Arizona are also two states close to the Mexican border with NFL teams. The San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, and Houston Texans are three teams who have high fan bases in Mexico. Any of those teams would have absolutely no problem selling out games in Mexico.

If you were a player or coach who was a member of a Texas, California or Arizona NFL team, would you rather play in Mexico or England?

With such a high demand just south of the border, it would make great sense to play games in Mexico City. Time, geography, and economic reasons would make this a better option than London, or any other European location. The market distribution and economic possibilities are endless in Mexico for the league. The NFL could make just as much money in Mexico with a much higher population than England, while helping out a bordering North American country.

Whether it's football or futbol, Mexican sports fans have shown a desire to watch both and fill the stands whenever possible.