I’ll start with one word: unforgettable. Yes, for me it was the first NFL game seen live and therefore you have to allow me a bit of emotion and perhaps even some inaccuracies in the story.
Although the conditions did not seem good, given the progress and level of the two teams, the match was enjoyable and full of twists and turns, but above all the atmosphere of the Allianz Arena and Munich was wonderful and the expectations were not you have been betrayed.
I finally understood well, even if I had already guessed it, why the NFL decided to invest with the International Games in Germany, like in Frankfurt last year and in Munich itself two years ago.
As soon as I received confirmation of the accreditation, I booked the train and hotel and decided that it seemed right to share this first live NFL experience with another great lover of American football and sports.
Andrea, admin of the Blitz Nation Italia Instagram page, is again my traveling companion like at the MLB London Series last June.
Having arrived in Munich on Saturday afternoon and checked in at the hotel, we decide to head towards Marienplatz where there are the pubs of some NFL franchises around.
The Hard Rock Café, both pub and shop, has become home to the Seattle Seahawks, known for having a huge international fan base.
The subway is invaded by uniforms and caps of NFL teams: Kelce, Mahomes, Brady and Taylor (Lawrence), Cam Newton and McCaffrey are the most worn. There are many Germans wearing Panthers jackets, they too, like me, enchanted by the beauty of that blue.
Once we arrive at Marienplatz, I proudly display my Buffalo Bills hat and sweatshirt, but are almost invisible, given that you can count on your hands who isn’t wearing NFL-related accessories.
Finally arriving at the Hofbrauhaus, probably the most famous pub in all of Bavaria, it is an incredible sight: it would be the Giants party, because on Friday there was the Panthers party, but inside there were fans of all the teams, many even of the Bills.
Unable to find a place, we have to settle for a McDonald’s, seeing the pubs packed with people and we decide to return to the hotel dead tired from seven hours on the train.
The next day is Sunday. The Day. The emotion is great. We take it easy and take the metro which takes us to the Allianz Arena in an hour. The metro fills up dramatically from Odeonsplatz and most of the fans are German.
You will say: it’s obvious. However, it is not so obvious: in London for the MLB games most of the fans came from overseas. In Germany football is growing exponentially and very quickly.
Finally getting off at the stadium stop, it becomes a procession of uniforms of all kinds towards the Allianz Arena. A sensational show.
I reach the container to collect the accreditation and then we walk along the Esplanade where they have placed 32 giant helmets, one for each franchise, and the photo with the Bills helmet is a must.
We part ways with Andrea: he enters with the fans and I go towards the media entrance. A descent takes me towards the gigantic press room.
The smell of curry chicken and a warm temperature, after the frost I endured to enter, seem like paradise to me. They hand me the program and I’m ready to go to my place in the press gallery.
The tunnel that connects the lounge, which is adjacent to the Post Game Interview room, is parallel to the one that leads from the New York Giants’ locker rooms into the field. As I walk towards the press box, I pass Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence who is returning to the locker room.
From the press gallery, sideline of the Panthers, you can see very well and the stadium is packed: 70 thousand people for the only NFL game in Germany of the season.
The kickoff is at 3.30pm local time: first the US anthem played masterfully by David Garrett, an American violinist of German origin and then the German anthem sung by the local performer Florentina.
The game starts slowly and immediately proves the skeptics right: the first two drives end with two punts. Then the Panthers finally broke the deadlock with a 90-yard drive that ended with a TD thrown by Bryce Young for Ja’Tavion Sanders: 7-0.
The Giants continue to struggle offensively and are forced into another punt, while the Panthers move the scoreboard again with a perfectly kicked FG from Eddy Piñeiro to make it 10-0.
New York finally manages to move the chain, but not to break the deadlock: Graham Gano’s FG attempt ends up between the posts. The first half ends 10-0 for Carolina with an interception thrown by Daniel Jones.
The interval is all for Machine Gun Kelly, an American “punk” singer with a father born in Germany in which he performs his questionable version of Take me home, country roads by John Denver.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, the sky begins to get dark and the temperature hits zero. New York finally manages to break the deadlock and RB Tyrone Tracy’s 32-yard run into the endzone puts the game at 10-7.
But the following drive is all from Chuba Hubbard, the Panthers’ RB, an absolute dominator in the backfield who finishes with a run into the endzone to make it 17-7.
The Giants didn’t give up and at the beginning of the fourth quarter they responded with a 99-yard drive masterfully led by Daniel Jones, closed by the same QB with a TD run: 17-14.
The Panthers try to manage time with runs, but the mistake is just around the corner and it is made by someone who had been perfect up until that moment: Hubbard suffers a fumble and the Giants recover it close to the Panthers’ endzone.
In one of the breaks the whole Allianz Arena sings “Take me home, country roads” (the real one) by John Denver, the cell phone lights come on. An amazing atmosphere that I had rarely experienced before in my life.
But the (un)thinkable happens, because Jones throws the second interception of the evening which seems to close everything.
But the Giants’ defensive and timeout management on the next drive is perfect and they force the Panthers to punt.
There are 2 minutes left for New York to get to the FG area: with difficulty he gets there and this time Gano doesn’t miss the FG with time up. 17-17 and overtime in a very cold Munich.
The coin toss is won by the New York Giants who decide to receive to have the first possession. A touchdown on the first drive would seal the game.
But the Giants decide to be the Giants: RB Tyrone Tracy, on the first snap of the drive, loses control of the ball and the Panthers defense recovers it on NY’s 24.
It’s done, because the Panthers choose three runs and on fourth down they send Piñeiro onto the field who kicks the winning field goal.
The stadium explodes, perhaps to warm up from the temperature which has reached zero degrees: 20-17 Carolina, which wins its second consecutive match and third of the season.
I leave the press box to return to the lounge and get back to temperature and await the arrival of Giants coach Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones, both disappointed, especially the QB.
I leave an Allianz Arena beautifully lit in blue and white to celebrate the Carolina Panthers in an unforgettable setting.
I reunite with Andrea and we return to the hotel to enjoy the other matches with Redzone, in the warmth of the hotel though.
A wonderful atmosphere, a game that had surprises and ended with a FG in overtime.
I couldn’t ask for anything better and I wholeheartedly thank Play.it Usa for the opportunity of this experience that I will remember forever.
Because you never forget the first time…
Bear for friends. I love America’s favorite pastime: baseball. Lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, but first and foremost a Diamond fan. In love with Pedro Martinez’s fastball, Mookie Betts’ swing and David Ortiz’s home runs. Secret dream: watching a game from the Green Monster in Fenway Park. On Instagram I talk about baseball with the page @mediabattuta
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