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Tom Brady in Munich: German-American Friendship – Sport

There was a lot of hope in this last question to Tom Brady: Will you see him again in Germany in the next four years? “If you mich will see again in Germany? Oh man, that’s a really tough question,” Brady replied shortly before leaving the Munich Arena. Brady is 45 years old, he already declared his career over at the end of last season of the National Football League (NFL), before resigning from retirement – reportedly his divorce from model Giselle Bundchen had something to do with that decision.But there will inevitably come a time when the NFL will have to make do without Tom Brady when it comes to to open up new markets.

Not everything went smoothly in the first game of the NFL in Germany, or maybe it went too smoothly. The players of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as those of the Seattle Seahawks noticed that the natural grass in the Allianz Arena is rather unfamiliar terrain for them, especially in the foggy German autumn. Brady had slipped once when he slipped from the role of playmaker to that of pass recipient for a spectacular play, which after a win (21:16) is also good for heaving this game into the category “unforgettable”.

Brady had delivered the show everyone wanted to see. Late on Sunday evening he posted a photo of himself in his accounts showing him on the field, in the background the many cell phone lights that they had turned on in the stadium to sing “Country Roads”. “What an atmosphere. Thank you Germany,” he wrote.

At the stadium, he was once seen on the big screen shouting, “Let’s go, Germany!” Sounds like an everyday sentence. The knowledgeable audience understood the implication, however. Brady’s semi-official cheering on the Buccaneers isn’t ready to say in American, it says: “Let’s f****** go”, so to speak: let’s go, but with emphasis. If, in turn, the Americans at home see on the television that the Germans have understood the implication, then the Germans somehow also belong to the football community. The Germans are then proud and the Americans make more money. This is how NFL expansion works.

2.71 million people watch the TV broadcast at the top

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced years ago that he wanted to increase sales to $25 billion a year. Realistically, this only works if the league expands, first in terms of sport and then economically. That’s why they didn’t want to leave anything to chance and send those to Munich who promise the greatest success in sporting and economic terms and who break a record in every game.

A week earlier, Brady had passed 100,000 yards in yards thrown. Now the only professional league player to have played in four different countries, Brady has also been to Mexico and London with the New England Patriots. Of course, Brady left the place as the winner in all four countries.

“Tom Brady is next”, Tom Brady is now coming to the press conference. Murmurs among the journalists, many of whom can no longer hide the fact that they are fans. Brady thanked for the hospitality after the success over the Seahawks, the guest performance in Munich was one of the greatest experiences of his career. The press conference took place exactly where FC Bayern football players usually give their analyses. Thomas Müller, Jamal Musiala or Serge Gnabry ran through the room during Brady’s press conference, probably for the first time without anyone asking them for a statement, after all the very greatest was speaking on the podium.

Later there was a friendly handshake. It is likely that the Kansas City Chiefs will stop by soon, most likely even in Munich, because the Chiefs’ owner, Clark Hunt, has been cooperating with FC Bayern for years. The aim is global networking from which everyone should benefit. Whether that means that FC Bayern will one day have to play competitive games in the USA is a question nobody is asking at the moment. But wouldn’t that be conceivable: home games of the red-white Chiefs in Munich, in exchange for home games of the red-white Bayern in Kansas City? A lot is conceivable for the NFL.

The game in Munich was a complete success. In the stadium everyone was happy anyway, probably also at Pro Sieben: The TV broadcaster recorded a market share of more than 25 percent during the game, 2.71 million people watched at the top. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had made it clear before kickoff that German fans would soon be able to marry into the big football family. Three more games, two in Frankfurt and one in Munich, were planned anyway. Now the rumor is spreading that Mexico City could also lose their annual game to Munich. The demand for tickets and the atmosphere in the arena were probably just too good.

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