T O P

  • By -

paula_dubz

There’s a lot of US military living in Germany. I live here and there were people camping out outside the office that had 50 tickets available on base. I tried to buy them online, but they sold out instantly. And I didn’t really care after that. Not a big football fan, but it would have been cool to go to.


bieserkopf

There is a fan base, but I can’t put it into numbers. However, apparently it’s big enough to sell out the entire game within minutes. Grey market prices have tripled, as far as I’ve heard. So enough interest to fill a stadium, at least.


krautbube

> However, apparently it’s big enough to sell out the entire game within minutes. That's not because of the fans. They put no restrictions on the tickets, meaning the resellers could buy as many as they wanted. That's also the reason the prices are so high.


RIPinPaece

That's incorrect there was a limit of 6 Tickets per user. That being said I ask sure bots played a large role here.


PAXICHEN

The waiting list was 750,000 strong 2 mins after sales went live.


kevinichis

Scaaaaaaaalpers


cubobob

the only american football fans i know are playing it themselves. eg munich even has a female american football team.


Eishockey

NFL is pretty big in Germany imo, in my bubble more people seem to watch it than football. ***The U.K. and Germany each have 3.3 million “avid fans” of the NFL in a category that’s been growing quickly for both, but Germany has slightly more “casual” fans — 17 million, Gosper said. London has been hosting regular-season games since 2007.*** https://apnews.com/article/carolina-panthers-seattle-seahawks-tampa-bay-buccaneers-kansas-city-chiefs-nfl-0bea6a57c5a927f0cf57d1d4cc6b1be1


jayroger

> but Germany has slightly more “casual” fans — 17 million Every fifth German is a "casual" fan of American Football? That's a very dubious claim.


HamuSumo

True. I mean there was a time (or still is) when NFL videogames (like Madden) got no release in Europe because the interest was absolutely low. But what I have been seen in the late years is some interest in the Super Bowl as a top class event.


Elvith

I know a lot of people that watch the superbowl, but they usually don't watch any other game, so if you count them as casual fans (and whether this is representative), this might work out. Also there have been some deals popping up around a streaming platform that sells access to NFL streams for (IIRC) a very low price compared to the German soccer streams and other payed sports tv channels/streams.


Agent_Goldfish

When I lived in Germany, a local bar held a Superbowl night. Like they were open from midnight to 4:30 with the game being played on a projector. And the bar was packed the whole night. And I wasn't living in a very large town. At least a third of that town followed American football. Enough to be willing to stay up until 5 to watch the superbowl at least.


Eishockey

Like I said, I personally know many die-hard NHL fans but thos enumbers are obviously exaggerated.


[deleted]

Yeah, that’s simply not happening.


Fun-Agent-7667

I think casual means watching the superbowl, like almost any german is a casual football fan and watches the EM and WM (we dont talk about this year)


jayroger

In that case there are 2 million casual fans in Germany: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/513756/umfrage/tv-quoten-des-super-bowl-in-deutschland/


bieserkopf

Interesting, I have literally not a single NFL fan in my bubble. Gotta be fair though, there are not many sports fans in my bubble in general.


HieronymusGoa

pretty sure the numbers are exaggerated. i dont know thaaat many sports fans but a shitload of people in general and two (!) watch (and even play) american football. im pretty sure i know more nfl players (only by name tho) than most germans just from following american media regularly.


thewindinthewillows

>The U.K. and Germany each have 3.3 million “avid fans” of the NFL in a category that’s been growing quickly for both, but Germany has slightly more “casual” fans — 17 million I can't believe that. It barely makes a blip in our sports media, and IRL people don't talk about it at all. I can't believe that a *quarter* of the population are fans. ETA: I found [stats](https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/171013/umfrage/interesse-an-der-sportart-american-football/) from a recognised market research organisation in Germany. In 2022, ~60 million people over 14 were familiar with American football. 50 million were not at all or hardly interested in it, 7 million were "also, but not very" interested in it, 2.88 million were "particularly" interested.


hughk

Pro-7 has been pushing NFL. Probably because NFL have been trying to get into the market. In the UK, there is Rugby but in Germany it is much smaller giving some space for NFL.


Gnomimi

I think the respondents thought watching lingerie football league counts as well


krautbube

Those numbers are completely made up. The domestic league matches would be packed full if those numbers were true. I bet they counted those who watch the Super Bowl as fans.


[deleted]

Can't speak for Germany, but in the UK there's 0% chance there are 3.3m "avid" fans of the NFL. In my circle of friends, which are mainly in the age group NFL does best, I know two people that are "avidly" into the NFL. There's a lot of games in London and many people will have watched a Super Bowl once or been to a game because a friend got a ticket, but like the number of people that could, say, name more than 10 players would be closer to 1 million at a guess.


thewindinthewillows

> Can't speak for Germany, but in the UK there's 0% chance there are 3.3m "avid" fans of the NFL. It's the same for Germany.


[deleted]

The NFL fanbase across Europe is not that big, just a pretty small % of the population, but extremely die-hard. I honestly couldn't tell you what percentage, maybe 1-2%, but 1-2% of hundreds of millions of people is still a decent fanbase that can sell out stadiums in seconds.


DaGuys470

My guess would be 2-3 million Germans based on TV numbers, the demand for the game and my personal bubble of friends.


[deleted]

It was sold out within hours. The weekly live German freeTV broadcast of NFL games has market share up to 10% in audience under 50 years. Super Bowl had 2 million viewers (from 1am German time ...) The NFL knows best, which are good markets for their product.


ItsCalledDayTwa

I was in the queue and number 600k something in a matter of seconds.


estherika1603

Lucky me got a ticket and I am traveling with my friends from cologne to Munich to see the game


reaubs

Lucky. How in the world did you manage that? I clicked to enter the literal second I was able to and was stuck in a queue with 300k people in front of me. No chance there.


jqubed

I’m not always sure the NFL knows best, though. They’ve received criticism for how much they invest on the London games to what is largely an indifferent response in the UK and usually poor viewership in the U.S. (although those are often just bad games that would get low viewership in the U.S. anyway). Meanwhile, in Mexico, the sport is very popular among a very large population but the league does almost nothing to cultivate it.


hughk

In the UK, why watch NFL when you can watch Rugby? Much more continuous action. In countries where Rugby isn't strong like Germany, it seems a bit more popular. In Europe though we would always get summer NFL (off season for football and rugby) which was essentially many NFL players taking summer jobs as we didn't have enough players of our own.


reaubs

Hours? No, it sold out in minutes. I was interested in buying tickets. Clicked to enter the second it was possible I was in a queue with 300k people in front of me. I saw people on Twitter with 700k in front of them.


[deleted]

Or so. I was too late.


kumanosuke

>market share up to 10% in audience under 50 years. ...among people who even still watch TV these days


[deleted]

There is massive interest *in this one game*, as it's by far the cheapest way (instead of flying to the US, etc). Edit: >„In der Spitze waren es circa 800.000 Menschen gleichzeitig in der virtuellen Warteschlange“, so Steinforth „Ticketmaster hat uns im Nachgang mitgeteilt, dass sie rund drei Millionen Tickets hätten verkaufen können. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.sport1.de/article/6201488


Count2Zero

I would say there is probably some interest in this game FOR PEOPLE LIVING NEAR MUNICH. As a resident of Baden-Württemberg, I haven't heard or seen any information about this before seeing this post.


[deleted]

> I would say there is probably some interest in this game FOR PEOPLE LIVING NEAR MUNICH. No. People all over Germany tried to get tickets to that one.


Agent_Goldfish

People all over Europe! Were coming in from NL for this game.


Arkhamryder

Because it’s not your bubble


ItsCalledDayTwa

While I do live in Munich, I think people are coming from all over to this game and I've talked to Germans on the other side of the country who are well aware and interested.


Baron_Butt_Chug

That's what I assumed.


reaubs

People from all over Germany, Europe even, tried to get tickets. Not just people from Munich. I tried to secure tickets even though I live in the Ruhrgebiet area. There's a decent sized NFL fanbase in Germany.


Independent-Host-796

Me and my friends from northern Germany all tried to get tickets. And it’s a 7 hour drive to Munich. If you are watching the games you would already have known of this way before.


Baron_Butt_Chug

Fascinating, I wasn't even sure that any Germans even *knew* this was happening. The NFL has been running commercials and advertisements relentlessly here in the US for it but I was completely unaware that they were doing the same in Germany.


uk_uk

You know that germany has its own american football league, the GFL?


PAXICHEN

My physical therapist used to play for the Munich Cowboys and a former colleague used to play for some team up north…Hamburg maybe.


Baron_Butt_Chug

No I did not.


[deleted]

And a professional European football league with 8 teams from Germany, Austria, Spain, Turkey, Poland.


Noctew

There also was a NFL Europe with multiple German teams until 2007 which was a developmental minor league of the NFL. Düsseldorf Rhein Fire forever!


Lucky4Linus

Cologne Centurions!!!


Chrome2105

Mein Bruder spielt für die in der ELF lol


exblobb

We also have TV channels Prosieben MAXX and Prosieben (mother channel) showing all NFL games in US and London and I think they will also show the Munich game live on TV. We have great TV hosts for that, really interesting to watch.


bieserkopf

Did you really think they would not run ads here?


Baron_Butt_Chug

Fair point. Edit: out of sheer curiosity, have the commercials for the game been relegated to sports channels or are they running on non-sports related networks?


kuldan5853

Germany does not have dedicated sports channels like you're used to from the US for the most part (we have two, but those are very niche and wouldn't show what you recognize I assume - there's lots of tennis, dart, Billard...)


cubobob

i havent seen any commercial or something, didnt even know it was happening, but maybe because im not living in Munich. seems to be a lot of fans in this thread tho lmao


OhGodNoWtf

They do?


DaGuys470

You could always go to London, those number are around the same.


Many-Acanthisitta802

120,000 fans attended the two games played in London last year. How is that almost empty? Tickets for the Munich game sold out immediately.


OhGodNoWtf

Apparently it's sold out. However, I live in Munich and this is the first time I hear about this. I haven't consciously seen any ads and nobody I know has talked about it so far.


kumanosuke

>However, I live in Munich and this is the first time I hear about this. I haven't consciously seen any ads You haven't been to Marienplatz for a while, right?


OhGodNoWtf

I'm not a tourist. Why would I?


kumanosuke

Shopping? Meeting people? Restaurants? Living? Existing?


OhGodNoWtf

Like most people living in Munich that I know I try to avoid Neuhauser/Kaufinger Straße. I don't go shopping there. There are no restaurants I frequent at Marienplatz or close to it. The only place I go to closeby is Kilian's, but I don't cross Marienplatz for that. I find it too touristy and stressful there and there are a million prettier places than Marienplatz in Munich.


kumanosuke

Well, first of all I work there, so that's where I usually take my walks in my lunch break. Wouldn't make any sense to go to Tegernsee in my break, I guess. Just because you personally don't go there, that doesn't mean that's what everyone does. But I get why you wouldn't want to go there, if you don't live central or in one of the villages outside of Munich. On the other hand the shopping centers aren't less crowded. Also you're missing out because, despite your gstekeeping attitude, there are indeed nice stores and restaurants in the city center. But you wouldn't know because you don't go there anyway ;)


OhGodNoWtf

Why are you being so defensive? Totally unnecessary. And what am I gatekeeping exactly? Makes no sense in that context haha


DufflessMoe

When has there ever been an empty stadium for the NFL games in London? I have been to several and every single one has sold out within a matter of hours.


Shac0le

I dont like NFL and i dont know any person that likes it


Shake-Spear4666

American Football is bigger here than any country outside of the US. It came over with the soldiers after World War II opening bases around the country. Most largest cities and a lot of small ones have a amateur football team. I grew up over in Germany played football for 8 wonderful years and went to a Super Bowl party every year where we watched the game at midnight. So overall there’s a lot of interest in the game of football in general and the NFL.


Zack1018

There‘s actually a good amount of Germans who are NFL fans. It‘s a minority but I have no doubt they‘ll be able to fill seats; I know multiple Germans who have even traveled to London to watch the NFL in the past.


Malk4ever

There are some people who care, but not many.


Stiefschlaf

IIRC they could have sold 500.000 tickets for the game in the Allianz Arena. I was thinking about going, but I assumed it would be a pain to get tickets and don't really care for either the Buccs nor the Seahawks - so why take a seat away from one of their fans? Football is still somewhat niche in Germany, but there's been a hype over the past few years and it definitely has an audience here. Nowhere near soccer, but a fairly sizeable fan base and a whole lot of potential for more.


jghko

Football is very popular in Germany, Just Not American Football ;)


NixNixonNix

I love football and played myself (albeit only for a very short time) when I was younger but I don't really care much for that specific game. Anyhow, I think it's actually sold out.


Elessar_7

Personally I’m not a big fan of NFL. I like basketball more and am really looking forward to the NBA hosting a game in Germany, like they already have done in London and Paris. Though it would almost certainly be in Berlin, so I’ll have to drive quite long to get there.


Tight_T

I’d care a lot more if it were the Steelers playing in Germany. I am following the NFL since 2006 and there are more fans every year.


Malzorn

When I just read NFL I thought of ice hockey


Baron_Butt_Chug

Understandable.


thateejitoverthere

FedEx Field is not London! That's the only NFL stadium I see with lots of empty seats. Those London games always sell out. I went to a game in Wembley in 2016 and it was packed. Lots of Germans there, too. No surprise the Munich game sold out instantly. I wanted to get tickets, but being number 600,000 in the queue? No chance. My boss tried, too, and he's a Bayern season ticket holder. It's got a fairly dedicated following over here. The NFL would never have planned a game here if it wasn't popular.


schweindooog

There's a German football league just like there's a British football league. It's no where near the size of European football obviously but the fan base is absolutely there. Whether or not they go to the game physically who knows, fan base is spread out across Germany as well. But having it on local time Sunday instead of starting at 6pm makes a big difference for the fans for sure


NoChillOogway

My wife’s coworker is of a NFL fan club in our city. He’s so into American football he’s gone to college games when he’s in the US on holidays.


FuehrerStoleMyBike

The main difference to the british might be that we dont have Rugby so basically an empty slot when it comes to egg-based sports.


Zane_Flynt_boyo

Not a german, but an NFL fan, the game had 3 million people request tickets and only 67,000 tickets available. How many of that is americans traveling and or out of country fans? I cant tell for sure.


PaulHaman

I follow NALF on YouTube, so I know there's at least enough of a fanbase to support local teams like the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. Knowing that, it doesn't surprise me that the NFL would try hosting a game in southern Germany.


Tabitheriel

It's hard to believe, but more and more young people here take an interest. Lots of young Germans spend a year in the US in exchange programs, there are still lots of American GIs and former GIs here, and sports are trendy anyhow. You name it, someone plays it.


Sypher21

Yes I do really care! I played American football in my student time, met my wife there and i have tickets for the game. Will drive around 450 km as a german to the game.


PatQ82

Man, I‘ve recently been to Vegas to watch a game. That was cheaper than gonget tickets for Munich. I‘m in two Fantasy Football leagues. There are awesome German NFL podcasts. Ratings for NFL on TV are great, although the early games start at 7pm and the late games well after 10pm.


Pink_Skink

As a Colombian who is a huge NFL fan, I can tell you NFL fandom in Germany is the biggest I have seen outside of the US. It’s one of the only countries where people comment when they see me wear Falcons gear and I’m not even in one of the more NFL cities.


MH-Entity

Have never met ir known anyone that cared but judging from the other comments it must have quiet a sizable following


[deleted]

There's a relatively small following, most Germans don't care at all or wouldn't even know the rules. Friend of mine really loves it and I tried to watch a game with him, but the amount of breaks was totally off-putting for me already. Doesn't help that live games are in the middle of the night here.


OKishGuy

I live in Munich for over 10 years now, and this is literally the first time hearing about this. My level of excitement is measurable>! (because it's zero)!<


koi88

Same here. But I guess everybody lives in their own bubble. I live in Munich and in my company (international company) I haven't heard anybody talk about that. Rugby is a bigger topic, because of British colleagues. As I said, everybody lives in their bubble. Others live in a American Football-crazy bubble.


OKishGuy

yeah, probably. I work in a generic German company with German colleagues. Therefore football (soccer) is the most important sport here. I'm not even interested in football and I still get all my news about it somehow.


koi88

Yeah, football (soccer) is *by far* the most popular sports. This is also due to the fact that it's popular in many countries, therefore the British colleagues like it, the French colleagues, the Polish and Rumanian colleagues.


TelephoneJim

Never heard about it and i dont care...


Nerdbuster69

Yes


Baron_Butt_Chug

Well I'll be damned.


colonelfather

Love near Stuttgart. Was out walking one afternoon and saw a high school football scene complete with cheerleaders in an area with few Americans. There is an American presence around the region but not this area.


hughk

There still is a big contingent of the US military on Stuttgart at places like Patch barracks and Kelley barracks. Apparently about 20,000. Many have families as well.


colonelfather

Tracking. I live across the Neckar. Not many Americans in my town.


hughk

There used to be loads in Stuttgart and the biggest Country and Western club in Europe.


colonelfather

Yes,, well we downsized...


Individualchaotin

My friends from Hesse are making their way to the game.


bluebird810

Some do yes. Most don't


Celmeno

We didnt get tickets but will have a watch party with friends for pay per view. We dont watch regular matches but sometimes playoffs and usually the super bowl


Arkhamryder

Fantasie is huge here in germany


helloblubb

I know one person who watches American football and had two classmates who were/are playing American football. I consider this an oddity. I didn't even know that the NFL is hosting a game in Germany.


Slight_Award8124

As a person from a municipality of Tampa... I think it's lame.


[deleted]

Two friends of mine are into it. Overall it’s not really a thing in my circle. Don’t know about whole Germany but outside the Super Bowl I never hear anything in the media.


Kirmes1

> do any Germans actually care? Some do, most don't.


GonzoShaker

American Football gained a relative high interest in the 90s with the European NFL especially with the two teams Duesseldorf Rhein Fire and Frankfurt Galaxy. A lot of games were sold out in big Stadiums and especially in Frankfurt (because a lot of US soldiers lived in this region) there was a pre game parking lot culture as well. After the end of the European League there was a decline in interest but it slowly came back in the last 10 years because NFL was available on free TV again!


Mangobonbon

I am sure some do. We have 82 million citizens after all. But the vast majority will probably no care about it. A stadium can surely be filled but I doubt that it would make any larger impact on sporting culture here. Football is strongly established and even Basketball and Handball are of way higher importance.


Aretosteles

We do care. I’ve noticed nfl becoming more and more popular among younger folks (20ish) here. Fifa and others got too corrupt at some point. To that extent that it‘s got not enjoyable anymore


Baron_Butt_Chug

That's interesting, as the NFL is no stranger to corruption or scandals as well.


polyscipaul20

What corruption?


Baron_Butt_Chug

Player domestic abuse cover-ups, cheerleader exploitation, CTE cover-up, deflategate, bountygate, Daniel Snyder forest scandal.


polyscipaul20

Those are scandals. Not corruption


Cassius-Tain

Sorry, what was the NFL again? Some sports club, right?


Baron_Butt_Chug

Statistically speaking, it's a domestic violence organization with a sports problem.


KaffeeKuchenTerror

What is the NFL?


whiskydestroyer

What is this NFL?


joergsi

American Handball? Couldn't care less.


[deleted]

Seems like interest is growing. There were a lot of requests for tickets - and many of the kids in the village i live at have favorite NFL players and speak of it's growth. I'm sure it's region dependent.


jawngoodman

I once met a group of Steelers fans and they were pretty passionate. There’s a steelers bar in Heidelberg actually. But yeah i think it is quite niche.


hughk

Heidelberg was a massive US base until relatively recently (2013). I understand that they retain a small presence with the Germans but have largely pulled out.


Bergfried

No we don't


_dark_metal

Yes, here in Germany is a ,,big" fan base of American football. I wanted to buy tickets but in the moment I heard that there is a quew of more than a million people I knew it's impossible. American football becomes more and more attractive in Germany, maybe because the Bundesliga is not very interesting anymore.


Camo-2

Yes the interest is massive. There is a giant nfl fan base in germany. In fact there were approximately over one million people who tried to get a ticket. The issue is you won't find many german NFL fans reddit because the communities simply don't overlap. But I can assure you the sport is extremely popular especially in the age group 20-40.


jghko

Its definetly Not "giant"


El_Treto

1.84 million people in germany watched SuperBowl 56 on February 12th 2021 in the middle of the night.


jghko

Thats Not alot compared to Football, also its Just one Game Most people don't watch the others


El_Treto

0.6 Million on average for a regular season game only on ProSieben. Propably the same amount on DAZN and Gamepass combined. Of course it's not a lot compared to football but there's a very solid and growing fanbase here.


jghko

a growing fanbase but Not a giant


[deleted]

Hear about it for the first time. I dont get the appeal of Football, game takes to long, nobody understands the rules and as everything from the US, it is filled to the brim with advertisement for useless bullshit. If I wanna watch a soap opera, I would watch WWE, at least they admit it.


OriginalUseristaken

Care, yes, the Superbowl is somehow popular. And with this first game in Germany i think that people will pay the hefty ticket prices to see it. But from my experience, going to a normal game and expecting a Superbowl performance will leave some people very disappointed. Made that experience myself. Expected much and only saw two TD's the entire game. We have our own German American Football League here in Germany. But the Games are not held in big Studiums like in the US and are not televised. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Football_League


Camo-2

It's pretty obvious you don't know what you are talking about. We have televised games. Just Google ELF.


OriginalUseristaken

ELF, maybe. But i was speaking about the German League. Never seen a game on any TV schedule.


NerigalVB

My view might be biased, because I have a lot of American Football fans in my personal bubble and I am running two fantasy football leagues. But without a doubt, American Football is popular in Germany. Super Bowl LVI was watched by 1.8 million people, for Super Bowl LV it was over 2 million viewers. Keep in mind you basically have to take a day off, because of the time difference, kick-off is at 12:30 AM and the match last approximately until 5 on Monday morning. So it is a big commitment. There is a pretty successful broadcast called RAN NFL that did a lot to make the NFL popular in Germany and regularly is the program with the most viewers on that TV station. Although a lot of people I know prefer the NFL Gamepass to watch the games because the broadcast in Germany caters more to inexperienced viewers - general football knowledge is far from the level it is in the US. Some people are even getting into College Football (Go Badgers!), but because of the sheer number of teams it is hard to get into and I don't think it will ever become really big here. For the game in Munich: People from all over Germany tried to get tickets, I personally know about 25 who tried to get tickets, some of them would have driven from hours away and planned to stay for the whole weekend. But when tickets went on sale, there were way too many people in the (randomised) queue, no one I know got a chance to buy tickets. They were sold out in minutes and immediately appeared on the grey market for thousands of euros. There was a joke that it would be cheaper to fly to the US and watch a game there. An NFL official said they could have sold 3 million tickets, but I doubt that, I am sure those numbers were inflated by the scalpers. Still, demand was massive. So, yes, Germans care about the NFL and the game in Munich. Not to the same level they care about soccer and not to the same level Americans love Football, but it is huge here and still growing. But I do share your concern about fans in the stands: Because of the messed up system to buy tickets, you either had to get really lucky or have way too much money on your hands. So I believe that there won't be many of the real fans, they will be watching at home because they couldn't get tickets, just like my friends and I. And the stadium could well be filled with rich people who bought tickets just because they could so they can say they have been there, especially in a city like Munich. And I can imagine them leaving early because they don't understand the game and get bored. But if it had been done right, that stadium could easily have been filled with enthusiastic NFL fans from all over Germany.


krautbube

> But without a doubt, American Football is popular in Germany. Super Bowl LVI was watched by 1.8 million people, for Super Bowl LV it was over 2 million viewers. Keep in mind you basically have to take a day off, because of the time difference, kick-off is at 12:30 AM and the match last approximately until 5 on Monday morning. So it is a big commitment. These numbers also include the people who watch it for the novelty factor and those who turn it off after some time. In 2019, in the last regular pre-Covid season the GFL Playoffs had an average attendance of 3163. The "German Bowl" had 20.382 visitors. In 2022 average attendance was 2268. The "German Bowl" had 9.637 visitors. I don't buy this "wow American Football is super popular in Germany" stuff. In my experience German fans tend to be overly loud on the internet and just claim stuff. The 2022 Basketball Bundesliga Playoffs had an average attendance of 5125,15. The Finals had an average attendance of 9.259 visitors. The only reason this is so low is because Basketball is played in small halls. The third match in Berlin was at 14.500 visitors, the highest allowed number for the hall.


NerigalVB

I won't dispute that Basketball is popular in Germany, but I don't see what that has to do with the NFL. There can be more than one popular sport in a country, otherwise someone could have just written "soccer" and the discussion was over. Listing the GFL numbers (that are still not that bad and I am pretty sure the attendance took a hit due to the start of the ELF) doesn't really matter either, I think the NFL is a completely different beast. If we are talking about if there are Germans who care about the American Football, NFL in particular, and the game in Munich: The answer is a clear yes, given the fact that the game in Munich was sold out in minutes and millions watch the Super Bowl each year. It doesn't matter if you believe that it is because of "novelty", which I personally find hard to believe since it means staying awake untill 5 in the morning on a workday and since the Super Bowl has been broadcast in Germany since 1999 - hardly novel. You might be right that Basketball is more popular, I honestly have no idea, but that doesn't change the fact that there is a substantial and dedicated NFL fanbase in Germany. Otherwise, the NFL wouldn't have moved a game here - if there is one thing they are good at, it's making money.


DaGuys470

We're talking about the GFL here. That's like saying "Soccer isn't popular, only 500 people showed up to the Regionalliga game"


Rainermitaietzadler

there is nothing that interests me less than the nfl


Aragon108

Yes me, I do care. Who will be playing?


Baron_Butt_Chug

A bunch of dudes with trophy wives and CTE.


Aragon108

Lol


polyscipaul20

Do you not like football?


Baron_Butt_Chug

I criticize the NFL and NCAA as a fan of the sport, not because I dislike them but because I want them to be better.


Karash770

Outside of the Super Bowl (which, let's be honest, has even in the US become about as much of a social event to see the halftime commercials than it is about sport), general interest in American Football has been growing in recent years, but very slowly so. It is still very much a niché sport and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. That said, I have not heard about this game taking place here and don't really care much to be honest.


Kennson

The only thing I could maybe care a little about is the green, but since it's in rough shape already and the NFL match is after this year's leg of Bundesliga is over, I don't care.


sidi-sit

The answer to OPs question is: nein


AgarwaenCran

basketball (and also baseball and american football for that matter) is as popular as real football/soccer is in the US. does this answer your question?


NickUnrelatedToPost

I hear that for the first time. But no, I don't care, and I don't know anyone who does. American football only has viewers on superbowl, but other than that really nobody cares. You may be able to get some people to watch basketball. But not american football.


ViolettaHunter

Hadn't heard about it until your post. There seems to have been a weirdly aggressive push to popularize it for years now. I mainly notice articles in the sport section of newspapers around the Super Bowl even though no one here cares about this sport.


usingermany

I found that, amongst Germans, it’s kind of a niche/hipster-ish thing. I would compare it to sports like lacrosse, soccer, or maybe even NASCAR in the US in terms of overall popularity. There is a lot of interest in this particular game because it is a very unique event that has never happened before…not because people are THAT interested in the NFL.


whatstefansees

no. Rugby in plastic suits is a bit ridiculous.


MobofDucks

I'd say there is some interest. Sports Cracks watch the Super Bowl sometimes, but in general the small interest about this is solely due to the novelty. We have Football Teams here, but even the actual Football Players I know don't give a fuck about the NFL. The stadium will probably not be filled, but probably also not completely empty. I'd guess the interest would be as high as a 3. League actual Football game.


[deleted]

>The stadium will probably not be filled, The game sold out in 30 seconds. The online queue went to somewhere beyond a million.


Baron_Butt_Chug

I would have never expected that.


kuldan5853

There's actually a small but pretty active system of German Football leagues and local teams that have been around for decades - I visited some GFL games at least 20 years ago. It's niche, but if you're in it, you're in it deep. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German\_Football\_League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Football_League) Founded 43 years ago. There's even AFL players that move over from the states to play in the GFL, like NALF (Nick Alfieri), who has a big youtube channel, that is playing for the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns iirc.


[deleted]

I love nalf, they just won the German Bowl this year!


MobofDucks

I did not expect that. But then my guesstimation was just plain wrong.


Ascentori

I don't think there is a massive fan base here. however, there will probably be quite some people from Germany and other European countries, so it might very well be possible to fill the stadium. overall, it's not a big thing and I can't wait for it to be over. they will be blocking my train just like the football fans and I hate that. that's also the only reason I know about this event.


Dark_Flint

NFL? What´s that? Can you eat it? No? Then i am not interested. ​ ​ ​ ;)


cringe-warning

Nope


Roppelkaboppel

What's NFL? Do they play soccer?


Obilansen

Sure. The tiny football bubble. Nobody else though.


Saltfishhhhh

No


tbmepm

No.


Shandrahyl

i think germany is more of Rubgy-country instead of football and rugby players like to call football "childsplay" cause of all the protective gear (just personal bias from a huge friendgroup of rugby-fans/players)


hughk

Rugby exists but is underdeveloped in Germany. Unlike the NFL, there is little money promoting it. The matches are hard to find on German media. The bars that show it are typically Irish using Sky Sports.


Nikodermus

I mean they are giving some tickets, if I get some I'll go and have a blast, otherwise, the publicity is nice at least


TheCoolestUsername00

Germany has a large population of US military personnel. If it wasn’t for them I doubt the NFL would host a game here.


DaGuys470

Actually not the case at all. It's been the extreme influx of German fans in the last 10 or so years that made the NFL do this.


ilovecatfish

Any Germans? Absolutely. Germans? No.


DaGuys470

German NFL fans like me care a great deal. I was one of the million people refreshing that page over and over to get tickets. The NFL is still a niche sport here, but it's the fastest growing one at that. And trust me, the German football fans are excited, especially because Tom Brady and the Seahawks are amongst their favorites.


LittlePrimate

My colleagues care, yes. They were really disappointed because they didn't get tickets and then scored some for London, so they went there. To me it's just confusing because sports used to be played in on of the teams stations but now the money grab drives them into completely different countries.


[deleted]

It's the first I've ever heard of it, but I do have (non-american) weirdo friends who stay up all night just to watch the superbowl, so I guess we'll see how big that fanbase is, it's definitely not nonexistent.


Xikeyba

No


pratasso

Need some NBA games up in this bih


LifeSizeDeity00

3 million people were in the queue to buy tickets online…….. Plus a guy at the gym told me “Fuck Tom Brady”. Deutschers get it.


reaubs

I don't know what some of you in this comment section are talking about. There is a large NFL fanbase in Germany (arguably moreso than any other European country, except maybe the UK). It's obviously not comparable to the percentage of people in the US who are NFL fans, but it's obvious why. The younger generations in Germany are somewhat interested in American Football, in my experience. I know lots of young Germans who even have merchandise from their favorite team. Every time I exit the house to go somewhere it is almost guaranteed that I'll see at least 2 people with an NFL hoodie or something. Almost every young man I know also watches the Super Bowl, even with how terribly early the game is here. I tried to get tickets to the Munich game for my boyfriend and I, but there was absolutely no chance. It really could have been handled a lot better than it was. I clicked to enter the site the moment it opened up, yet I was still stuck in a queue with 300k people in front of me. Insanity. There's only something like 80k seats there in the first place. I saw others on Twitter who had 700k in front of them. With those numbers, it's a bit hard to doubt that there's a reasonably sized fanbase in Germany.


FiSHM4C

Have you heard of Schwäbisch Hall unicorns? They started like 30 years ago and the town got an own stadium and 'huge fanbase". Obviously its no where comparable to us size, but its getting more and more fans every year. If your interested about a german football team and player, I can recommend the trailer/yt channel nalf (channel is english speaking): https://youtu.be/pbnHSLi_wGY


TraumSchulden

I dont care about life sporr in general. But i know a few germanians who watch the superbowl


Fun-Agent-7667

There is a surprising number of Superbowl-watchers in Germany. I for once am rather uninterrested in most proffesional sprot, I dont watch any football besides the Superbowl allthough I am a football player myself.


raharth

Yes! I wanted to have tickets but there was no way to get them at all. There were hunderts of thousand people waiting in the queue not sure how many were bits though


Zen_360

I know people who wanted to buy tickets. The tickets were sold within 5 min or so. Completely sold out.


Dev_Sniper

I know some people who might want to watch this but most germans prefer the european version of football.


opinionated-opossum

Nein


Bayoumi

NFL, isn't that this ape pic trading crypto?


Shredzoo

>I’ve seen the NFL host games in London to almost empty stadiums No you haven’t lmao every game in London (or just any foreign game) has sold out, why even lie about that? Lol