(John Denver’s Country Roads is, as I understand it, a frequently-sung song during Oktoberfest in Germany.)
The NFL hit a home run staging two games in Frankfurt this season, and the fans – a mix of mostly Germans, Europeans and Americans making the trip abroad – were electric. And everywhere you went in Frankfurt, you saw football fans not of Eintracht Frankfurt, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, AC Milan, etc. You saw fans of the Colts, Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers, etc.
Patrick Mahomes’ face was plastered all over the main train station, and folks wearing a collage of NFL jerseys milled around – plenty of Patriots, of course, but just about every team was represented with some piece of apparel. A bustling lunch spot had an NFL special burger on its menu. Ex-Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler took the microphone at an NFL event in the city center and immediately began talking about his Super Bowl-sealing interception of Russell Wilson while a group of European Seattle Seahawks fans stood awkwardly.
And while this was a Patriots home game, Colts fans were all over Frankfurt. Some made the trip from the United States, while others travelled in from all over Europe for the game. At “Colts Haus” – the pub takeover the Colts had on Friday and Saturday – I met a die-hard Colts fan, Lucas, from the Netherlands, who became a supporter after studying abroad in central Indiana. And good thing Lucas got there early – it was one-in, one-out, with Colts fans from quite literally all over packing the bar and cheering as Owner and CEO Jim Irsay fired up the crowd and Hall of Fame Edgerrin James delivered some remarks.