NFL In Europe: Germany Hosts It’s First-Ever NFL Season Game

The city of Munich has been chosen to host the first-ever National Football League regular-season game in Germany, which will take place during the 2022 season, the league announced on Wednesday.

The Allianz Arena, home of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, will host two of four games in Germany over the next four years, with the other two taking place at Frankfurt’s Waldstadion.

According to the NFL, there are 19 million fans in Germany. The first game in Munich is one of five international games held by the NFL during the 2022 season, with one in Mexico and three in the United Kingdom (two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium).

Wu Xiaoling/ Xinhua/ picture alliance | The National Football League’s (NFL) first-ever regular season international game in Germany took place last Sunday

According to the NFL, the selection process for games in Germany began last year with initial expressions of interest from nine cities, with Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, and Munich invited to participate in a full evaluation.

Home teams for international games will be announced in the coming weeks, with dates and matchups to be confirmed later this year in conjunction with the release of the 2022 NFL regular-season schedule.

Tom Brady in Munich

The match’s anticipation was boosted even further when legendary Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who is still pushing the limits of his own immortality on the field at the age of 45, reversed his decision to retire at the end of last season.

Gary McCullough/ AP | 69,811 fans attended the sold-out game live in the Allianz Arena

Fans of Brady and the Buccaneers aren’t the only ones excited about the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; the Seahawks also have a sizable fan base in Germany. Indeed, the Seattle franchise has the largest German-speaking fan club, with 1,300 members in the “German Sea Hawkers.”

The success of the famous “Legion of Boom,” the nickname given to The Seahawks’ defense during a highly successful period between 2012 and 2015, which coincided with the NFL being shown on free-to-air television in Germany, contributed to the Seahawks’ popularity.

Gameplay

Over the course of his long and illustrious NFL career, Tom Brady has become accustomed to making history. On Sunday, the 45-year-old set new world records from all over the world.

Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21-16 at Germany’s Allianz Arena in the NFL’s inaugural regular season game in the country.

Sebastian Widmann/ Getty Images Europe | The NFL will play at least four games in Germany up to 2025

With the victory, Brady became the first quarterback to win an NFL game in three countries other than the United States. Brady won all three international games he played in as a New England Patriot, two in London and one in Mexico City. And now he can add Germany to the list as the NFL’s most decorated player adding another award to his growing collection.

Tampa Bay came away with a 21-16 win over the Seahawks in front of a sold-out crowd of 69,811 fans at Allianz Arena in Munich. The fans provided the atmosphere, cheering and singing along to American songs like “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “Sweet Caroline” even after the game had ended. Brady described the atmosphere in the Allianz Arena, home of German football giants Bayern Munich, as “pretty electric” following the victory.