Munich gets the full Daniel Jones Experience... and a lot more
Our international correspondent, Peter Varnum, was on-hand for Giants-Panthers. Once again, he captures both the atmosphere and the game. (It just might've been Jones' final start as a Giant, too.)
Note: This season, we’ve occasionally handed the pen over to longtime Go Long subscriber — Peter Varnum — across the Atlantic Ocean to fill us in on these international games. Peter captures the atmosphere and the future of football abroad.
Over the offseason, he authored this story on the big-picture mission of the league.
Here’s his story from Germany.
By Peter Varnum
MUNICH — In this tale of two franchises, the 3-7 Carolina Panthers and the 2-8 New York Giants, it is certainly not the best of times. One could make an argument, though, that it hasn’t been much worse for the Giants.
Sunday’s game in Munich brought some of everything: a little bit sloppy, a little bit exciting. A little bit cold and dark as November settles in, and a little bit warmer as 70,132 belted out “Country Roads” and “Sweet Caroline” in unison. For the fans — and for the Panthers, winners of two straight under an improving Bryce Young, a strong running game, and a confident defense — the game was a lot of fun.
The NFL can wrap up its International Series feeling good about the game’s future abroad.
Fans of both teams were under no illusion about this season. A quartet of fans from New York called this a “feel-good game.” Another from Carolina dubbed this their “Super Bowl,” adding, “honestly, I couldn’t care less who wins. It’s about the experience. And one of us has to come away with a third win today.” Even German fans donning Carolina or New York blue talked more about the showy aspect of the game, rather than the competitive aspect. “It’s exciting,” one said. “We can come here with our friends, drink some beer, and be entertained.” Many Americans, unsurprisingly, made a trip out of it, spending the weekend in Munich before travels took them to Switzerland, the Netherlands, France. One couple — an American and a Brit — came from their home in Qatar simply because “it was the closest game to us this year.”
But despite the low expectations for the season, the buzz for American football was palpable. In many ways, the 2024 Munich game was a litmus test for the NFL’s popularity in Germany. In 2022, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers defeated Geno Smith and the Seahawks in a tilt Brady described as “one of the great football experiences I’ve ever had.” The Bucs were fresh off Brady’s un-retirement and the Seahawks were in the midst of a Smith-led resurgence; storylines that were a far cry from the disappointing Giants and Panthers of 2024.
Last year in Frankfurt, a marquee matchup between two 6-2 AFC contenders, the Chiefs and Dolphins, meant that the game had significant playoff implications for both sides. Before that game I mingled around and asked a Chiefs fan who had traveled from Kansas City if he had enjoyed his time in Germany. “I don’t care,” he responded, “as long as we get a win.” Didn’t hear anything of the sort this go-round. Also, this game was on the heels of the final London matchup, featuring a rebuilding New England squad against the Jaguars, perhaps the most underperforming team of the year. I wondered whether fans abroad would be up for such mediocrity.
I needn’t have worried.