NFL in London - The games home away from home

By Thomas Willoughby

Spurs is out the way, for me. The major knock against White Hart Lane, and the (numerous) attempts surrounding Tottenham Hotspur’s development/relocation has been transport links. One of the reasons they were so keen on taking on the Olympic Stadium (now London Stadium, embarrassingly) was the sheer number of underground lines and national rail services that ran through the area. They didn’t and still don’t have that. Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale stations are your nearest underground stops, and you’re looking at around a half hour walk to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from either of them. There is an overground station, White Hart Lane, but it’s far too small to properly serve the 60000~ attendees at the stadium. Like I said, it’s a bit out the way. Especially when I personally have a near direct line Wembley Stadium, the NFL’s first (and now second) stadium in the UK.

Despite that, this is home. I’m fortunate to have been to NFL Games in the at 3 different stadiums. If you want to talk about “out the way”, be glad the days of multiple games at Twickenham are behind us. Lovely ground, but I remember taking a shuttle bus to and from the station. Less than ideal.

Not our first rodeo

This the NFLs 17th season hosting games in London, and the operation feels far smoother and far more natural with each passing year. Speak to anyone in the know from 2007, and they didn’t know if there’d be another game in London full stop, let alone a year after. And the year after that. Of course, with experience comes knowledge, and with knowledge comes the ability to learn and grow. And grow these have.

As the experiences have grown, the fanbase has grown with it. You don’t get endless Facebook groups and Twitter threads filled with moaning about touts and how REAL FANS are being shafted if you’re putting on an event no one wants to attend. Like, these games are always well attended (either at, or close to, capacity), despite how lacklustre the fixtures are perceived to be.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Count 'em up

A staple of the NFL London experience is seeing how quickly you can spot all 32 teams. The first game I went to, 49ers vs Broncos in 2010, every team had been seen before the rail replacement bus had pulled into the stop. This weekend, I’d only seen a handful by the time I’d reached the stadium. There’s been a tribal shift in the attitude of fans, I think. 

Now, there are circumstances surrounding the why and the how of me only seeing 5 or 6 different teams represented. For one, I set off far earlier than usual. This was a rare “Journo Willo” experience, and part of that means I was in the ground like 3 hours before kick off. There aren’t many people that choose to set off 6 hours before kick off, though that’s exactly what one Titans fan chose to do at 8.42am. The closer to kick off we got, the more punters showed up, and obviously all 32 were represented. I’m always confused by the amount of Falcons over here, by the way. Far more than expected.

The main reason, however, is that most of the fans I spotted were decked in Jaguars or Bears gear. Like, obviously, we’ve got a Jaguars @ Bears game. You would hope that the majority of the fans in attendance are here for one or the other. It’d be a shame if there were big fans of either side at home because they couldn’t get a ticket, rather than because they chose not to.

Bear Down in N17

But it’s that shift in attitude that has made these games feel more homely. It’s one thing to have the stadium dressed to the nines in blue and orange, it’s another entirely to have the place deafening on a Jacksonville third down. That isn’t to say the Jaguars weren’t well represented or supported. They’re London’s team, after all. But they were the away side this weekend, and they certainly feel that way. Despite 11 years of appearances in the UK, Jacksonville still feel a little under supported over here. Maybe all their fans are saving themselves for next week.

I don’t think the disparity was more obvious than in the third quarter. As Gabe Davies hauled in his first of two touchdowns. Pandemonium in the stands? Not quite. The crowd went mild. As quiet as the ground had been all day.

Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

Fans making the difference

That support didn’t go unnoticed. Matt Eberflus was glowing in his appraisal of the Bears faithful. “I want to thank the fans. You know, the fans were great all week. We had a big group out there in the stadium. So, my hat’s off to them. Bears fans always travel well, and that was proven again today.” Something I noticed was the number of American fans in the stadium, and it seems Eberflus noticed that too. “Our fans at home in Chicago do a great job of that and are loud and always into the game and impact. It’s very difficult for the other team.”

That was the Bears 9th straight home win. The last time they lost at home was October 1st 2023. That’s some run, no matter which way you slice it. They might have been nearly 4000 miles from home, but they played like they were still in Illinois.

Home away from home

Like I said, this wasn’t 100% Bears and Jags fans. Every side was represented this weekend. It was an NFL game in the UK. But the tide feels like it’s turning. Maybe Wembley next week, with it’s 30000 extra seats, will be more in line with the sea of colour we’ve become accustomed to with games in London. At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however, that’s where the road feels like home. Regardless of how much longer you need to travel for to get there.

Features Image Credit: Alastair Grant – AP Photo

Thomas Willoughby

NFL ANALYST & SOCIAL MEDIA

THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER

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