The NFL game in Munich left an impression, especially in the USA, home of the National Football League (NFL). Pat McAfee, former professional and now commentator on “ESPN” barely got a hold of his talk show of the same name.
“That was extraordinary. They need to bring more games to Germany. Germany has to be home to big games,” McAfee demanded, interrupting his hymn of praise again and again to say thank you in broken German. “Everyone always talks about football fans, about the hooligans. But the fans were incredible, the energy, the volume, the way they sang throughout the game. They delivered.”
The first game of the National Football League in Germany took place in the Allianz Arena in Munich on Sunday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers around superstar Tom Brady had defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21:16. In America, it was the German fans who sang hits like “Sweet Caroline” and “Country Roads” together in the final quarter and after the game that caused a stir.
Sara Walsh, who conducted interviews on the sidelines as a field reporter for the “NFL Network” in Munich, was also impressed. “I’ve never seen anything like it. late in the game. The result is decided. Everyone stayed, confessed and raised their voices to John Denver. Insane. And fantastic,” Walsh wrote on Twitter.
After the game, players and coaches from both teams commented on the singing fans in the stadium. Pete Carroll, after all, already 71, stressed that he had never experienced such an audience as in Munich. The Seattle Seahawks coach called the chants an “exciting spectacle.” He definitely wants to return to Germany with his team.
“I can only say that the league was extremely impressed by how football was celebrated here in Germany, the enthusiasm for the sport here,” reported Sebastian Vollmer in an interview with the “Abendzeitung”. The 38-year-old, once Tom Brady’s on-field protector, now works as an ambassador for the world’s largest football league.
Brady himself wasn’t sparing in his praise after his Buccaneers’ win. “One of the greatest football experiences I’ve had in 23 years in the league,” said the quarterback. “Also that they ended up singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ and ‘Country Roads’ was pretty epic.”
After the NFL spectacle in Munich, his former teammate Vollmer is excited to see how the sport will develop in this country. “We are only at the very beginning of this development here in Germany. If you think about how London started in Europe 15 years ago and how the NFL is doing there now, you can see what’s possible. When I think about what it was like when I started playing football 25 years ago and where the sport is here now, it’s unbelievable,” said Vollmer.
According to reports, in addition to the planned game in Frankfurt next year, there will be another game in Germany.