Football show in Munich
Brady spice things up again at the NFL party
11/13/2022, 6:37 pm
The NFL is a guest in Germany and the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers deliver late: it’s tight in the last quarter, also because Tom Brady throws his second interception of the season. Then the superstar shows his class again on the last drive.
Superstar Tom Brady smiled and waved to nearly 70,000 fans before disappearing into the catacombs of Munich’s Allianz Arena holding the ball from the first NFL game on German soil. “There was a great, electrifying atmosphere. I hope the German fans got what they wanted,” enthused the best football player in history after his Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 21:16 against the Seattle Seahawks . “It was one of the best football experiences of my life. It couldn’t have gone better than this.”
The first match of the National Football League’s main round in Germany took place in front of a brilliant backdrop, which the stars from overseas will not soon forget. “The energy was great. I can’t wait to get back. It would be great if the NFL came back here,” Brady’s teammate Julio Jones told DAZN, praising the crowd’s enthusiasm: “I knew it was going to be like this.” great, but not to this extent.’
For the 2021 Superbowl winner it was the second win in a row after a mixed start to the season; Head coach Todd Bowles’ team solidified their lead in the NFC South. The Seahawks suffered their first loss after a four game winning streak. Hours before kickoff, thousands of football fanatics had transformed the esplanade in front of the Allianz Arena into a mad NFL party. Afterwards, around 69,800 people continued to celebrate in the stadium and caused a deafening noise with the waves of La Ola. Most of them didn’t sit still for a minute. According to the league, the rush for tickets to the first NFL game in Germany was huge. About three million tickets could have been sold.
Even German sports celebrities didn’t want to miss Brady’s first appearance. Thomas Müller, Jamal Musiala and associates gathered on the sidelines ahead of the trip to the national football team’s World Cup meeting place; their Bundesliga colleagues Mats Hummels (Dortmund) and Christoph Kramer (Mönchengladbach) as well as professional tennis player Alexander Zverev followed the historic football match from the stands. Everyone had to be patient until the first points. Perhaps travel fatigue and jet lag were responsible for the lack of focus on both sides at the start. Seattle’s up-and-coming playmaker Geno Smith was knocked down on a pass attempt and the Buccaneers missed a field goal attempt.
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It wasn’t until early in the second quarter that Brady scared the fans. Just as loud chants of “Seahawks” echoed through the arena, the 45-year-old playmaker tossed the ball to Julio Jones. The nimble pass receiver danced off the Seahawks defense and ran into the end zone. After another touchdown, the 2021 Superbowl winner went on a fast break 14-0.
League boss Roger Goodell watched the action with a pleased expression. The atmosphere should be reason enough for the 63-year-old commissioner to bring more matches of the best football league in the world to Germany in the future. Before kick-off, the “Bild” reported that there should be another game next year in addition to the one already scheduled in Frankfurt am Main.
When a field goal put the Seahawks on the board for the first time, the blue-green fans freaked out for the first time. Who wasn’t impressed at first? Sure, Tom Brady, who announced his meteoric comeback in March after just 40 days. The most successful kicker in history proved his skills with his second touchdown pass in the last quarter. The Seahawks then began their final offensive, also thanks to a pass interception by Brady: quarterback Smith first found Tyler Lockett, then Marquise Goodwin. The Seahawks battled it out, but the Buccaneers ultimately triumphed. The Munich game was the NFL’s best advertisement for the German market.
In September, RTL announced that it had secured extensive broadcasting rights from the NFL. From the 2023/24 season, the Cologne broadcaster will broadcast up to three games a week exclusively on free live TV on RTL and NITRO. In addition, one match per week can be watched exclusively on the RTL+ streaming service. Football fans can expect around 80 live broadcasts between September and February each season.
Germany is the most important growth market for the NFL. In this sense, the deal was also commented by the headquarters of the league, which generates double-digit billions every year: “In this new partnership, RTL will play a key role in supporting the NFL in making football more accessible and more widely available and new and to provide current NFL fans with the kind of coverage that will further strengthen their connection to the sport,” said Sameer Pabari, chief executive officer of international media at the NFL.
