I had the great opportunity to help run the first ever NFL game that took place in Spain. The Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins came to play at the Bernabeu.
I was helping the communications team with running the event. In particular, I helped provide the photographer bibs and armbands for accredited photographers. It took a very long time for the photographers to come which was very surprising as I thought there would be more of a rush to get in. It was really cool to see which organisations wanted to get photos for this game, in particular, the American companies who had to travel a long way to Spain.
What was even better was that we were allowed access to the VIP zone which had a crazy array of food to choose from. Food such as burgers, hotdogs, fried chicken (all American themed) etc. were on offer, all for free!
I was then able to watch the game. Luckily, I understood the basic rules of the game and the strategy involved in the sport. Nonetheless, the pace of the game is something that I don’t find particularly interesting. For me, it is like rugby but after every phase there’s a pause in play, with players only playing one side of the ball. The game went to Overtime but this did not last long as the Dolphins won it in minutes.
After I had to help get the media get to the post match press conferences for each team. This was surprisingly easy as the journalists knew already where to go.
Although I do not particularly care for American football, it was a great chance to experience the most popular sport from across the pond (Atlantic Ocean) and help ‘be part of history’. I doubt I would willingly go to another NFL game but if I was offered the chance to go I would take it.