If F Scott Fitzgerald was still alive and tickling the keys of his typewriter a follow up to one of his greatest novels could have been inspired by the life and works of the American tycoon who is on a crusade to finally convert England to American football. Along with the rest of Europe.
‘The Real Last Tycoon’ would be the working title for an opus inspired by the life and works of American billionaire Joel Nagel.
It would be a companion work in sharp contrast to the original book in which a Hollywood executive was doomed by his lust for a movie magnate’s married daughter and thirst for the booze which hastened his demise. This sequel would be a sobering epistle on today’s board-room reality in which hard work is paramount and a supporting wife essential to corporate success.
Mr Nagel is the walking blueprint. A dedicated workaholic still able to find devoted time for his doctor wife Susan and their seven children. He toiled his way to several honours degrees in America and Germany, becoming bi-lingual in the latter.
Presides over the law firm he launched from small-town Sewickley, Pennsylvania to bestride international corporation purchases and protection of those assets. Has sat on 25 other company boards. Is head of the largest investment bank in Belize and has been ambassador for that tax haven to the United States and several European nations. Delivers life-saving community projects to impoverished third world countries. Charming too. Chuckles happily when he answers the inevitable question: ‘That’s right. Seven children and only one wife.’
All that and unassuming with it. He has taken a day trip by train from Paris for a slap-up London lunch and this rare interview. To discuss his achievements if he must but more so to talk about his passion: The American Football League Europe of which, of course, he is the boss.
Billionaire Joel Nagel is in charge of American Football League Europe, which has recently welcomed London Warriors to their eight team line-up
In particular about the London Warriors, who are the eighth and last team thus far to join the Paris Lights, Vienna Vikings, Alpine Rams, Rhein Fire, Berlin Thunder, Florence Red Lions and Wroclaw Panthers in this enterprise. To Nagel’s delight they have come from nowhere and little expectation to reach the play-offs for a place in their SuperBowl, the Gold Bowl, in Duisburg on September 6.
Perhaps only a man with such acute business acumen and legal nous to go with an entrepreneurial spirit can raise this sphinx of such a league from the ashes of five previous failures. One by the NFL itself, no less. Remember the London Monarchs and all that?
Oh, yes, and a man with the finance. One, also, who can delegate enough of his empire to his offspring. This one says: ‘I’m not ready to retire at 61 but for the first time I am in a position to give real time to my mission of establishing a sustainable American Football presence in England and most of Europe. I expect that to take five years.’
The first of those is this, the inaugural year of professional football here, for which overall losses across the league are projected at 15 million dollars. Says Nagel: ‘I expect us to break even next season. One pessimist told me that even if we succeed I may not be around long enough to enjoy the profits. Well, while this keeps me flying between homes and family I believe that this will become part of their futures.’
Crowds in Germany and Vienna have reached some 35,000 on occasion and hopes are high that will be repeated at the Gold Bowl.
Attendance for the most recent London Warriors home game was 1,500 in a day-rented ground in Ealing. But gates of three to four thousand grew through this regular season and Nagel is now negotiating for 12,000-15,000 capacity. Perhaps in Wimbledon.
‘Our fans need a home as much as our players,’ says the man who is funding wages from 500 euros a game for youngsters up-coming from their new academy to 100,000 euros a year for the stars.
This league permits the hiring of four Americans per team plus half a dozen from other European countries. But Nagel says: ‘For the game to prosper we need to develop our own players. By giving hope to them we build our ties to the local communities, which is vital for us to grow. Some of our boys come from poor backgrounds who have never travelled abroad before we arranged their passport. It gives them a real lift to get on planes to places like Paris, Berlin and Vienna.
Nagel explained how his love for the sport had come from the success of the Pittsburgh Steelers and believes the signs are there for growth in Europe
‘All this has been born of my love for the Pittsburgh Steelers. As a boy when Pennsylvania was a poor state I saw the transformation in hope and spirit brought about by the Steelers winning four SuperBowls in six years. Sports can be magical. I foresee it here with what we call soccer. I can see it forthcoming in London and England. The signs are there. In Germany and Austria the second most watched sport is American Football.
Not only do we feel a similar mood here but with all the developments in technology we are setting up now to broadcast our feed to the American market. That will help widen our sponsorships, which are strong already.
‘Our season runs from May to early September when no NFL games take place. Nor our football anywhere else.’ Only a mainstream TV deal is missing but the BBC is nibbling for next season.
Nagel is leaving no potential market untouched. This Saturday evening, against Rhein Fire, the Warriors play their last regular season game in… Mallorca. There may be a Spanish team in the offing but he adds: ‘Thousands of British holidaymakers are on that island or nearby in Spain and perhaps they will like to enjoy a family night out at The Battle Of The Beaches. We’ll see.’
To see for himself, he flew to Mallorca the morning after returning to Paris by Euro Star. As he carries on commuting to and from homes in Pennsylvania and Vienna as well all points AFL Europe he says: ‘Sometimes I think I live at 38,000 feet.’
Not unlike Scott Fitzgerald, whose Last Tycoon was left unfinished, Joel Nagel still has work to do. Hopefully, in his case, to a fulfilling conclusion.
