MUNICH, Germany — On game day, we like to root for our hometown heroes, but when your hometown is half a world away, you get all kinds of fans.
Outside Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, fans gathered more than five hours before the Seahawks and Buccaneers Sunday match-up to soak it all in. Many traveled from America to be here. But European NFL fans had an impressive showing at the league's first-ever regular season game in Germany.
It appeared every one of the NFL's 32 teams had a jersey represented in the crowd.
"We just like the sport," said one German fan. "We like all kinds of teams."
That's exactly what the NFL is going for. The Munich game is the latest effort by the league to expand interest in American football worldwide. The Seattle, Tampa Bay game is only the fifth time in history that the NFL has played a game abroad.
Allianz Arena was sold out with nearly 70,000 fans packed into the stadium which is home to FC Bayern soccer.
For those that traveled from Seattle, it was an unforgettable experience.
"It feels like it's 40% Seattle, 40% Tampa and 20% every other team," said Tara Jacobs. Jacobs and her husband, Alex, are from Seattle.
They also traveled to the Seahawks and Raiders London game in 2018.
"Germany is doing an amazing job with this," Tara Jacobs said.
Similar to soccer matchups, the game experience included group chants and singing.
In the end, Tampa Bay came out on top. But at the conclusion of the game, most attendees stayed in their seats and continued singing.
In a way, it felt as if both teams won.