The Ravens' trip to London in 2017 will be more than a chance for fans to get away. It will be an opportunity for quarterback Joe Flacco to escape his four young kids too.
Flacco joked with the media Thursday that he's changed his opinion on going to London recently.
"I kind of always had a negative stance on it, but I'm warming up to the idea," Flacco said.
"I have four kids now. I think that's probably why I'm looking at it a little bit more optimistically. It'll be good to get away from them."
Flacco said he initially didn't like the idea of going to London because of the longer travel involved. A direct flight from Baltimore to London takes seven hours. That's about an hour longer than even the longest stateside trips to the West Coast.
It takes two hours to fly to Jacksonville, which is where the Ravens would be heading to face the Jaguars had the game not been moved to London.
Teams also go out to London days in advance to adjust to the five-hour time change and get a bit more acclimated with their surroundings.
"You probably have to spend a whole week over there," Flacco said. "We all have families; we're not baseball players, we're not used to spending a week away from home. We'd probably cry about it a little bit."
Well, apparently not Flacco. He and his wife Dana have had four kids in five years. There's Stephen (4 years old), Daniel (3), Francis (almost 2) and Evelyn (2 ½ months).
"I think it'll be a cool trip and a new experience," Flacco said. "I think this team will have a lot of fun with it and we'll go out there and play well."
The game will be played at Wembley Stadium on either Sept. 24 (Week 3) or Oct. 1 (Week 4).
