Madrid, your turn: Bernabeu takes London matches into account

Anyone who thinks the NFL is bringing just the game of American football to Madrid next year is mistaken. The league that makes the most money on the entire planet will land, as AS exclusively announced, in the Spanish capital in 2025, probably in November, and This will be done by offering a complete “NFL experience.” Because the spectacle of this competition, when it crosses its boundaries, goes far beyond the boundaries of the meeting itself. which is also full of exciting moments, but provides the most accurate representation of how this premier sport is perceived in the United States. AS experienced the duel at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London this Sunday from the inside. in which the Chicago Bears beat the Jacksonville Jaguars (35-16) to find out what awaits the Santiago Bernabeu.

“It looks like Chicago now,” commented the Spanish press as they strolled through Tottenham Stadium, where the 10th NFL game took place yesterday and which is a mirror in which the Santiago Bernabeu can and should (Real Madrid already visited last year , and this year they plan to go to Munich to see the “Panther-Giants”), to watch. Firstly, because of the modernity of both establishments, which allows them to be at the forefront of entertainment, and also because they share similar characteristics:

Like the Bernabeu, Tottenham’s stadium is in a residential area and does not have very large esplanades (which is why the Metropolitano was in pole position for a long time before the NFL came to Madrid).

However, the league manages to offer all kinds of activities: concerts, games such as shooting hoops. field goal or throwing balls, countless food and drink options… All of this has contributed to the league “invading” the rest of the city with a slew of other events at iconic locations (Plaza Mayor is “priority number one,” as the NFL says). or identifying official pubs where fans can gather. American football in many cases is a reason to socialize, have a good time and enter a world that is interesting to those who follow it closely. To achieve this goal, the competition is an expert in awakening worm among people.

NFL numbers in London

• £1,970 million (approx. €2,350 million) is the economic impact the NFL had in London in its first 36 games (approx. €65 million per game).
• 2.8 million spectators at matches played in London since 2007. Yesterday there were 61,182 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and over 85,000 at Wembley.
• Between 5,000 and 10,000 fans come from the United States for each game.
• About a million dollars (about 930,000 euros) is what it costs the NFL to prepare a stadium: decoration, logistics…
• Last year, 14 million people watched the three matches on television in the UK.

Because this “NFL experience” is not just about game day, it extends much further: during game week, the city is filled with the atmosphere of college football. Of course, locals come, but there are also many people from other parts of the country or other countries, even from the United States itself, who see this as a great opportunity to combine tourism with the sport that runs through their veins.

Perhaps a few years ago the NFL was seen in Europe as something very distant, as something Yankees It was hard to understand, but those clichés have dissipated over the past few years, thanks in part to the work the league has done to bring its product to far-flung places.

That “it’s like Chicago” is a reality, because if there’s one thing this marketing giant does, it’s make fans escape for a while and transport them to the environment they’ve always dreamed of living in. In the case of this Sunday’s matchup, the vast majority of fans were from the Bears, who were playing at home, and The atmosphere was not far from that which prevails on any Sunday from September to January at Soldier’s Field. Windy City.

Approaching the stadium on game day, always on those classic fall Sundays when the NFL becomes the main character in the lives of millions of people, It’s amazing that “99%” of fans play sports. merchandising some team, not necessarily those who play (The official store is a money-making machine on the day of the meeting, where even to enter you have to stand in line). Here it really doesn’t matter who you support, because what really matters is to witness something special, something that was unimaginable a few years ago and is now available to many more people.

During the game people are constantly coming and going, usually for beer or junk food. And every time the game stops, a new show revives the anticipation: kiss on camera

karaoke of such iconic songs as Mr. Brightside or Sweet Carolineeven a halftime concert (the Spanish press suggested to the NFL that Rosalía was an artist to consider). Clean USA. International NFL games are a holiday for the most devoted to this sport, which is no longer something distant and geek for a long time. Most people spend a few days in the city, meet people with whom they share passions, and have a great time, regardless of their knowledge of American football. Because the magic of it is that the NFL tries to be accessible to all types of audiences, and it succeeds because everyone leaves with a smile from ear to ear. Madrid is keeping a very close eye on everything, carefully noting every detail that needs to be taken into account, and what can be seen at the Santiago Bernabeu in just a year is already taking shape. It depends on Spain.