Image courtesy of New England Patriots
Tickets for the Colts-Patriots game in Germany during Week 10 of the NFL season went on sale Tuesday morning and almost instantly sold out.
Every seat in Frankfurt Stadium will be filled on November 12 when Mac Jones, Bill Belichick and the rest of the Patriots take the field against a (most likely) mediocre Indianapolis teams. It’ll be the fourth time the Pats have played an international game and the first time since 2017.
The sellout says a few things, but the biggest (and most important to the owner) is that this team is still going to be a draw, even without a playoff win in four years. Part of this is obviously just a unique, rabid interest from the German fans as we all saw during the Seattle-Tampa Bay game last year, but I can’t imagine many Colts fans were gobbling up seats to go party in Frankfurt. The question marks surrounding the present and future of this team are all intriguing, so don’t be surprised if there are a lot of jorts and Bruschi jerseys crushing beers all around Germany. People still care.
This has turned into a football town first and foremost since about 2008, and the cloud of mystery that continues to surround the greatest coach of all time still draws a ton of attention. How many other places can have full phone lines on two different radio stations yelling about the football team in July? Sure, the Red Sox sucking helps, but there’s only a handful of cities that can match the passion Bill Belichick brings out of people, whatever side you’re on at this point.
If this game was between the Commanders (I wrote Redskins twice before finally remembering what their friggin name was) and let’s say, the Panthers, there’s no chance that the the “virtual waiting list” reaches 3.1 million and that every ticket is gone within a half hour. There’s also no chance that the Colts fan base is bringing that type of instant demand for tickets.
The Patriots also announced on Wednesday that they’ll be practicing at the German National Soccer Team’s facility when they head to Frankfurt, and Germany’s National Team will practice at the facilities in and around Gillette Stadium during a trip here for a match in Hartford in October.
“We know how popular the Patriots are in Germany and can’t wait to travel to Frankfurt this fall to play before so many passionate fans,” Joe Dorant, senior director of sales operations for Kraft Sports & Entertainment said in the release. “As the Patriots continue to expand our reach into the DACH region in year two of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, we are looking for strategic partners to help build stronger business relationships to help us reach new audiences. With DFB’s proven success, both domestically and globally, they are the perfect partner to do so. As owners of the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution, Kraft Sports & Entertainment will benefit from this partnership and on-going collaboration.”
The national and local media here may think the Patriots are dead and buried as a contender, but that’s not how the rest of the world views this organization. International fans are still sort of getting into American football the same way many here are getting into the Premiere League and other international soccer entities. The current roster and coaching staff certainly can’t sit back on the six championships that are now a distant memory, but the Patriots brand can and will continue to do so for quite some time, especially in other countries.
The ‘flying Elvis’ logo isn’t on the same level as the Cowboys star, the Lakers logo or Yankees’ NY, but it most definitely is at the table and there to stay.