57 minutes before kickoff, Tom Brady came running out of the tunnel for the first time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback trotted all over the field to the south stand of the Allianz Arena and cheered on the spectators. It was the moment when the North American Football League (NFL) had finally arrived in Germany, because the show had already started and the spectators cheered louder than at a FC Bayern goal. “The stadium was already full when we came to training,” enthused the 45-year-old later. Brady is the all-time greatest football player, having played 372 games and won six titles, but on Sunday night he said: “It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had.” He hopes that everyone was entertained, “that was our goal here”.
German fans like to believe that Brady only continued his career, which was actually over, in order to be able to play the game in Munich, which is so important for the NFL. “Yes, it was a reason,” says Brady, “although that reason might not be top of mind now.” Already on Friday, after the first training session in Munich, Brady gave the impression that he really wanted to win this premiere game against the Seattle Seahawks. Big games are just his thing. “I told the players: You won’t remember every game of your career, but you will remember this one.” The fact that the game actually offered a very good show was also mainly due to him.
Brady ended the tactical skirmish at the beginning, Brady dominated, then Brady made a bad error in the form of an interception (catching a forward pass) – and thus the game was exciting again. In the end, the Buccaneers won 21-16, and when Brady waved his cap at the fans again after the game, the game was over but the party was far from over. There may have been so much cheering in the Munich Arena during a big football game – but probably not before or after.
Unusual whistles instead of boos, unlike usual in the USA
From a purely sporting point of view, two teams with playoff ambitions met on Sunday afternoon in front of 67,000 spectators, who played a relatively normal NFL game, not particularly exciting, a bit bland even at the beginning. In any case, there was no acoustic overweight for a team, even if it was classified as a home game for the Buccaneers, which was easy to see from the end zones painted red and black, or from the cheerleaders on the edge of the page, which by the way also include men in the Buccaneers. “The atmosphere was great, a lot of Seahawks fans here,” said Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles after the game.
Neither team played as if they felt home advantage at the start. Both offensives struggled and quickly lost the ball again, there were also some penalties. The loud fans, in turn, can possibly take credit for this: noise at the right moment can often contribute to the whole offensive on the field getting out of step. A German peculiarity that must have been very unusual for the players: whistles instead of boos, which were more reminiscent of whistling in football.
After a messed up first quarter, things soon went much better for the Buccaneers. At the beginning of the second quarter, Brady threw the first German touchdown in NFL history, the recipient of the 31-yard pass was Julio Jones. “I hadn’t even thought about that,” the passport recipient later said of the historical significance of his catch. He was also enthusiastic about the atmosphere in the stadium: “The people here love Football, incredible energy here,” he enthused. Certainly out of politeness, but as the game got more exciting, there was a noticeable build-up in the ranks.
In the days before this game, many high-ranking people from politics and sport had met. The owners of the two teams had also traveled to Munich, the Munich Consul General of the USA had invited them, and there was a meeting in the town hall. According to reports, it is often about the fact that the originally two planned games in Munich will not be over. Roger Goodell then said to BR on Sunday: “There will be a lot more to come.” The NFL and the many fans in the stadium had that in common: They were already satisfied before kickoff.
In any case, Seattle’s playmaker Geno Smith found his rhythm for a catch-up race late – but then with two touchdowns. It got tight again. The outcome of the game was then decided with almost two minutes to go. Rachaad White’s decisive run of 18 yards to the first down happened more or less by accident in a scene where a lot of people in the USA must have rubbed their eyes about what’s going on in Munich. No booming bass, no e-guitar scrubbing marked the emotional highlight of the evening, but the melancholic version of John Denver’s “country roads”. Tens of thousands of cell phone lights went on, everyone sang along, it was like the encore of a big concert. After the end of the game they sang: “It’s been a long time since you’ve seen anything like that”. It would have been more correct: never.