By Charles Perrin
The NFL has fast become one of the most successful exports in recent times. From permeating its influence in London, the sport touched down in Germany once again earlier in November for a double-header featuring the Miami Dolphins vs Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts vs New England Patriots in Frankfurt.
Hosting games in Germany is now something of a tradition and demand for tickets has skyrocketed. But what is the wider context of the German NFL revolution and what does it spell for the future? We have attempted to answer these questions in this guide.
Marketing power
There was a bit of a buzz when the NFL International Series schedule was announced earlier this year. London, of course, which has hosted NFL games since 2007, was given preferential treatment and they were allocated three games, with the Jacksonville Jaguars contesting two games. Or, as Trevor Lawrence coined it, the Jaguars “double-dipped” as they became the first NFL team to contest two regular-season games outside of the US in the same campaign.
As far as Germany is concerned, the International Series kicked off in earnest last year when it was introduced to Munich. Over 70,000 fans piled into the Allianz Arena with the Tampa Bay Bucs seeing off the Seattle Seahawks 21-16 led by the indomitable Tom Brady. The pulling power of the NFL was evident in the fact that demand for tickets was unprecedented then, and Germany is continuing to make further forays.
This year, Frankfurt went the extra mile for fans who missed out on tickets with the recent games screened in 18 cinemas across the German city, and it adds another unexpected dash of flavor to the NFL experiment.
Moving on Swiftly
Perhaps there is a celebrity influence that shouldn’t be underplayed in terms of Germany’s affinity towards the NFL. Well, more specifically, the Chiefs have Travis Kelce in their ranks, and he has been rumored to be dating Taylor Swift.
Yes, the Taylor Swift effect has had an enormous impact, not just from a player perspective, with Kelce garnering more fans known more commonly as Swifties. More significantly, sales of Kelce merchandise spiked by nearly 400% on the digital sports platform Fanatics, but Taylor Swift has arguably been a good luck charm as she has seen Kelce win all four of the games she has attended, including the 21-14 win over the Dolphins in Germany.
Some figures have shown that female viewing figures for the NFL have jumped since Swift started attending Chiefs games, but it also has provided more exposure to the sport. Not only that, but Taylor Swift has also added a cache or luster to a team that has a growing base.
Sparking Super Bowl ambitions
Aside from the razzmatazz associated with playing games on German soil, a good run in Germany can sometimes spark a good run to the Super Bowl. After all, all roads lead to the Super Bowl, although the New England Patriots could be out of the picture as they can’t seem to get a lucky break at the moment.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick made some strange tactical decisions in the 10-6 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts, condemning his men, at the time of writing, to their eighth defeat of the season.
With the playoffs on the horizon, staging such matches in Germany at this time can make or break a team, especially if they have designs on getting to the Super Bowl. Yes, the Super Bowl is the highlight of the NFL calendar, and fans all over Europe, not just Germany will be engrossed.
Moreover, sportsbooks will be gripped by events on the field in the run-up to the Super Bowl. Apart from the recognized UK sports operators, there will be many UK sports betting sites not on GamStop that will be eager to make their play and advertise specials for the blue-riband event. At the moment, NonStop Casino is running outright markets for the Super Bowl and the Chiefs, who were crowned the champions in 2023, are trading as the slight favorites to defend their title in 2024.
Final Thoughts
While Germany is only in the early flushes insofar as embracing the NFL goes, the maiden voyage last year to Munich proved to be a success, and it is fair to assert that the wider NFL community is benefiting.
If anything, this experiment could well be transformed into a permanent fixture in the future, and with the NFL spreading its wings far and wide, this is something that should be celebrated by all fans whether they are based in Germany or not.