After the show they put on in 2022, I’m particularly excited for the Germany Games in 2023.
Your hosts for the NFL’s 2023 international games are the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and the Sunshine State’s very own Jacksonville Jaguars.
For the game in Germany, the Chiefs and Patriots will play hosts, while the Bills, Jaguars and Titans will all have their contests in London. For Buffalo and Tennessee, they will host their games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (the home of the English Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur), while Jacksonville will be at Wembley Stadium (the home of England’s national soccer team and the country’s FA Cup).
The NFL announced their international plans on Thursday.
All of the hosts’ opponents, as well as the dates and times of the games, will be released with the full 2023 regular season schedule later this year.
No games will be played in Mexico due to Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca undergoing renovations.
The 2023 NFL International Games designated teams! 🏈🌍 pic.twitter.com/zfQoUdNrxk
— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2023
When I first saw this announcement from the NFL, I immediately started thinking about the show that Germany put on when the league rolled into their country.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like what the NFL has been doing with their international expansion going into countries like the United Kingdom (shout out to London!) and Mexico, but Germany?
They took their [American] football fandom to another level:
And then you also had the Germans singing “Sweet Caroline”:
I think the NFL‘s international experiment has been a success. It’s been working great in the United Kingdom, Mexico seems to be good (when they can actually play), but Germany is what sold me on the whole international deal — and this is coming from somebody who didn’t necessarily want the league to expand.
I admit, I was one of those Americans who didn’t want to share the game, but years later, and I’m sold. (RELATED: ‘It Would Be Wild’: NFL Analyst Rich Eisen Names Miami Dolphins As Team That Makes Most Sense For Tom Brady To Join)
These (bleeping) Germans, man. And I absolutely love how they were still singing after the game started back up, bringing that European soccer flavor to American football — which mixes very well, by the way.
I’m in on this whole international thing, NFL, and I’m ready for another round. Let’s roll!