Good day from Germany. As the NFL returns to Europe, we lead you through the latest news stories and build-up to a big Sunday in Week Nine of the season.
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Frankfurt, touchdown! Where the German city’s renowned Mainhatten skyscraper tingles with football nostalgia as a steadfast beacon of NFL Europe and the spark for the league’s international expansion. It had the feel of long-distance relatives reconnecting. A real home away from home
The city had been waiting. Waiting for the NFL to return. That time has arrived, 16 years after the Hamburg Sea Devils defeated the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in front of 48,000 people at the Waldstadion in the final NFL Europe World Bowl on June 23, 2007.
The NFL has set up camp in mainland Europe for the second year in a row, following the first regular season game in Germany last November, when Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Munich. This year, it comes with the gift of a probable AFC Championship Game preview,Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, hailed by a Chiefs-decorated boat docked on the Main River, arrive to play Mike McDaniel’s explosive Miami Dolphins. Frankfurt did not only receive a game. They have a game-of-the-season contender.
Football has significant roots in this part of the world. Frankfurt Galaxy was Europe’s most successful team during the World League of American Football/NFL Europe’s existence from 1991 to 2007, winning four World Bowl championships in eight appearances as one of five German-based teams alongside the Sea Devils, Rhein Fire, Berlin Thunder, and Cologne Centurions.
Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck famously followed the Galaxy while growing up in Frankfurt during his father’s tenure as president of the World League of American Football, wearing the jersey of his favourite receiver Mario Bailey, the all-time reception leader in NFL Europe. Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, also worked as the Galaxy’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 1998.
Frankfurt has operated as the European headquarters of the American Forces Network radio station (AFN) since 1945, broadcasting to American soldiers following World War II and, more famously, providing NFL commentary across the continent. Sky Sports NFL statistician Benedict Bermange recalls a hazy wave that resulted in a Spanish Opera station intruding at critical parts of a game.
In the opening game of the NFL-driven World League of American Football, the London Monarchs faced the Galaxy at the Waldstadion in 1991. For many in Europe, this weekend is a special reminder of where their NFL devotion began.
A trip to Frankfurt kicks off a massive quadruple-header on Sky Sports, which continues with a matchup between division leaders the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks, followed by NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Damar Hamlin and the Buffalo Bills then make an emotional return to Cincinnati to face the Bengals for the first time since the defensive back suffered a heart attack on the pitch during a game last season.
In ‘Sin City’, things are changing. The biggest news this week came from Las Vegas, where Raiders owner Mark Davis dismissed head coach Josh McDaniels, general manager Davie Ziegler, and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi after the team’s 3-5 start. Antonio Pierce takes over as interim head coach, while rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell is expected to replace Jimmy Garoppolo as starting quarterback.
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