It will undoubtedly be another dazzling event when the Carolina Panthers and the <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/another-dismissal-in-the-nfl/" title="Another dismissal in the NFL“>New York Giants play in Munich on Sunday. After all, both NFL teams have many fans in Germany, and many will come from all over the world. Thousands of Munich residents will be on their feet to buy jerseys and hats. Or to get a selfie with a former player in one of the many restaurants in the city center where a total of nine NFL teams have rented rooms. But: There are indications that the huge hysteria that prevailed at the German premiere two years ago cannot be reproduced.
The clearest signal: there were still tickets available to buy until the end. Their number even increased slightly on Wednesday in the NFL’s resale portal; in the meantime, several seats were available next to each other, at the normal price, mind you. So there seem to be a lot of fans for whom the visit is no longer that important. Furthermore, there doesn’t seem to be anything like the black market that existed in 2022. At that time, prices of up to 1000 euros per ticket were quoted.
Not surprisingly, there are still plenty of tickets for the “watch party” including the RTL live broadcast from the SAP Garden. While the available tickets for the game usually cost between 100 and 200 euros (there were also hospitality tickets available for more than 800 euros), the much warmer indoor event costs 34.50 euros.
It was noticeable when the NFL, when asked two weeks ago, said that this time it would not comment on sales figures for the game in Munich – the figures from back then could no longer be topped anyway. There are said to have been three million inquiries in 2022. Jürgen Muth, the managing director of the Fröttmaninger Arena, enthused at the time that there hadn’t even been that many at the 2012 Champions League final.
This height is now becoming a problem because it is not exactly the heavyweights of the NFL who are traveling to Germany. The Panthers and Giants are currently among the worst teams in the league this season. Even more important, also for the PR machinery surrounding the game: The teams do not bring any big stars who would import enthusiasm or increase the popularity of the sport.
So no Tom Brady, who arrived with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022. At that time, the separation from Gisele Bündchen was still quite recent, which is why Brady was known even to a less football-savvy audience. It was similar with Travis Kelce in Frankfurt last year. When the Kansas City Chiefs played their game in Hesse, TV stations around the world asked: Is his girlfriend Taylor Swift flying in too? She didn’t, but that didn’t matter because ratings reached unprecedented heights. This time the only story seems to be which of the two teams is worse than the other.
The NFL itself has planned a little less all-round program for the city center than the first time, at least the events don’t start in the middle, but at the end of the week. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, the football league will come up with a lot of ideas to be able to send beautiful pictures across the Atlantic. An NFL commentator said last weekend that he was looking forward to the entire arena singing “Country Roads” by John Denver in Munich again. Arena boss Muth has indicated that a surprise awaits with regard to the outdoor lighting. And if European viewers don’t express political discontent, for example about the presidential election results in North Carolina, home of the Panthers, then they will still contribute to the beautiful images that the NFL wants.
