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The American National Football League (NFL) has been playing games in London for nearly a decade. As a huge football fan, I have been tracking which teams and dates have been selected since moving to Italy in the fall of 2013, and was very excited a year ago when the New York Giants – my home team – was selected to play one of the games this season.

The NFL games in London are not like international competitions or exhibitions, when one country’s national team plays another. Both of the teams involved are American, playing on British soil an ocean away. When I purchased my ticket for Sunday’s game, I really did not know what to expect.

Who would attend? Would there be a lot of American expats living in Europe, like me? Americans who flew over for the weekend to go to the game? A lot of British people? Would there be other Giants fans there?

I didn’t have a clue about the answers to any of my questions ahead of time, other than some intel from an American friend living in London that people would wear any NFL jersey they owned, regardless of whether that particular team was playing. Having brunch the morning of the game in central London I passed two people, each wearing the jersey of a different NFL team. I wondered, might they also be attending the game?

So, what was it like? On my way to Twickenham Stadium on London’s outskirts for the game, I took in the full experience, both for the things that were so familiar to me from other American sporting events (NFL games included) and those that were just a bit different.

Catching the Reading train line from Waterloo Station to Twickenham was the first time I saw fellow NFL fans en masse. There were a lot of other fans in NY Giants jerseys, so I was able to find the correct train platform easily just by following the crowd. I even ended up sitting in a section of the train that had other New Yorkers, although they had flown in just for the weekend. I was lucky to have found a seat, as all of the standing areas became packed with people as the train got closer and closer to Twickenham.

Upon leaving the train, the rainbow of different NFL team jerseys became apparent as most of the train’s occupants streamed onto the platform and formed a giant mass of people carried forward toward the station’s exits. There was basically one main road that led to the stadium, and as I walked with the pace of the crowd, the sight was a familiar one.

First, the NFL team jerseys. I haven’t bought new NY Giants attire in a while, so I was actually wearing the jersey of the previous player at #27, Brandon Jacobs – and I wasn’t the only one. While the New York jerseys I saw were mostly those of current popular Giants players (Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr. & Victor Cruz), there were actually quite a few older team jerseys being worn: those of Michael Strahan, Jeremy Shockey, Tiki Barber, & Lawrence Taylor to name a few.

Also, many of the houses and restaurants that lined the way to the stadium had food stands set up next to the sidewalk, with the smell of grilled meat and onions wafting up and tempting many of the people to pause for a snack and a beer. Options even extended into various ethnic options, from African to Asian to Latin American. Basically any street food you could imagine.

The official area surrounding the stadium was quite familiar as well, with more food stands, even some with Krispy Kreme donuts. And one of the beers on tap at the stadium was Budweiser, which I’m guessing is not standard fare at Twickenham for rugby games (although I’m honestly not sure).

When I arrived at my seat, I noticed quite a few Giants jerseys, and thought there might be a sizeable representation of Americans. I was wrong. While I did encounter plenty of Americans, the crowd was overwhelmingly British, which became apparent right before the game. For the national anthem, first Nicole Scherzinger sang the American one, with everyone standing at polite attention. Then, as the first few notes of the British national anthem started, an overwhelming number of people in the crowd starting belting out “God Save the Queen.” Yup, very British crowd.

And most of that British crowd was cheering for the Los Angeles Rams. As soon as the Rams players started taking the field, all of the free LA Rams flags that had been distributed came out and blanketed the stadium with the flapping noise of fierce flag-waving echoing throughout. Not only were the Rams the “home team” for this game, but they were actually slated for a while to play in London over three consecutive years. This was starting in 2012 when they were still the St. Louis Rams. Although the team backed out after their first year, some locals definitely adopted the Rams as their own.

There were plenty of New York Giants fans, too. Nowhere near as loud as the British booing at points, but as the Giants tied up the game and took the lead, decently loud chants of “LET’S GO GI- ANTS” clap, clap, clap-clap-clap would start and make it through a few cycles before dying out. Basically, you could hear the Giants fans when the Rams fans were relatively quiet, but it was still nice to know the others were there =)

The British fans are still learning the NFL rules. American football is different enough from the familiar similar local sports in the UK, like rugby and soccer, that there still is some confusion about the rules. The local commentators went out of their way to accentuate their booming voices for each Rams first down and play celebratory stadium music, even more so than you would expect at an NFL game in the States. And the video monitors had a lot of text explaining some of the game basics, like time outs.

And the game was great! (and not *just* because my team won) There were a lot of possession changes and dramatic plays, so this matchup actually turned out to be a great one for spurring interest in a mostly foreign crowd. While the Rams had some quick scoring and led 10-0 for a while, the Giants managed to tie it up before halftime. The 3^rd quarter was scoreless, and then after a second NY Giants touchdown and some key interceptions, they held a 17-10 lead until the end.

The undisputed ‘play of the game’ was the first-half interception by Landon Collins of the NY Giants, that resulted in a huge run for a touchdown. He seemed to magically dodge Rams players attempting to tackle him as he jumped and spun, traversing the field, and doing what seemed like a magical leap at the very end to cross the threshold into the endzone. The elaborate footwork by defender Collins rivaled any offensive player that day, and was incredibly memorable. Check out the video here.

Is London getting an NFL team? For now, I don’t think so. The NFL has been progressively negotiating both for stadium access. NFL games in London have been played previously at Wembley Stadium, and the Giants game I attended was the first of several that will be played at Twickenham. From the British people in attendance who I chatted with, games have high attendance because of the novelty, so far not more than 3 games a season. It is unclear both with the time difference to the US and the British interest level whether a full season for a single team could be sustained.

TIPS! for Attending an NFL Game in London

• From Twickenham Stadium, walk to the Whitton train station to head back toward central London. It is equally close to the stadium, but before the Twickenham stop on the Reading line so I was able to get a seat easily.
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• Beer cups are reusable and involve a £1 deposit, but if you’re like me, you just want the cups as souvenirs. I discovered that at least at Twickenham, different levels of the stadium use cups with different designs. If you’d like to collect some different ones, either spread out your beer purchasing, or spot someone with a cup you’d like at the line at the beer vendor at the end of the game for people who want their deposit back – you’ll either be able to trade cups or buy them out.
• Want to avoid long lines for refreshments or at the bathroom? The British still don’t know American football rules super-well – see above – so the pause for the “2-minute warning” (toward the end of the 2^nd or 4^th quarter) is a good time to go. I would start making my way to the entryway to the inside area with bathrooms when it seemed like it would be one more play before the pause, around 2:10 or so, and you’ll be back before the game starts up again.

And moving forward for the NFL International Series? Well, there is still 1 more NFL game to be played in London this season, this upcoming Sunday also at Twickenham Stadium between the Cincinnati Bengals & Washington Redskins. And another first for the International Series comes this November, with the 1^st game played outside of London – a Monday Night Football match-up between the Oakland Raiders & Houston Texans, which will take place in Mexico City!

Since the NFL is trying to build interest and fans outside of the US for American football, although there are travelling costs involved, tickets to the game itself can be more affordable, plus you get a weekend away.  Click to find out about the latest games on the NFL International schedule.

 

Would you fly to another country to see an American football game? Anything else about attending an NFL game in London that you’re still curious about? Leave a message in the Comments, I’ll reply personally to each one.

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