At a packed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Sunday, 6th October, over 61,000 fans erupted, some in despair and some in elation, as the Vikings scored their winning touchdown. With jerseys of every single NFL team on display, the success of this year’s London games shows that the NFL has a second home here in the UK.
The UK has hosted NFL games since 2007 and the sport keeps growing in popularity with British fans. Among these British fans are my younger brother and me, and we went to the Vikings vs Browns game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It was like no other sporting event I’ve ever been to before; my whole family arrived home shattered. My dad even said, “it felt like I was out there on the field!”
It didn’t surprise me to see fans wearing jerseys from all different NFL teams. As only six teams are playing in London in 2025, not everyone gets to see their favourite team. Luckily, my brother and I are both big Vikings fans so we got to see a team we love. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case for many people. A lot of fans were there for the atmosphere and love of American football, rather than because they support either team.
My brother and I spotted jerseys for all 32 teams; it was great to see them all represented. The stadium’s NFL store sold jerseys for every team, not just the Vikings and Browns, making the event inclusive for all fans. The store even stocked the new “Rivalries” jerseys for teams such as the Miami Dolphins, which surprised us, considering these jerseys were only released for sale in early September.
Even though not everyone at the game was a diehard Vikings or Browns fan, the atmosphere was anything but quiet. The Browns had home-field advantage for this game – their chants and first down announcements thundered louder than the Vikings. This didn’t make it a less enjoyable experience for us Vikings fans, as I think there were more Vikings than Browns fans overall.
Raye, three-time Grammy nominee, performed two songs during halftime – a brilliant surprise, cementing this game as very different to any other sporting event I’ve ever been to. When the Vikings scored their winning touchdown, right in the corner where my brother and I were sitting, everybody erupted. It was thrilling to see such a tight game in person; everyone was on the edge of their seats.
I was delighted with the result because the Vikings took home the win – even if my dream of seeing Justin Jefferson hit the griddy in real life didn’t come true. The sense of community you feel when you walk onto a Tube full of people wearing jerseys of a sport you love is unmatched.
Being at such a huge venue like the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was incredible, but we were still very close to the action.
Although NFL and even college games in the US have truly unmatchable atmospheres, the London match didn’t disappoint. There are still two left: Broncos vs Jets at Tottenham Hotspur (12th October), and Rams vs Jaguars at Wembley (19th October).
The growth and popularity of the NFL in the UK shouldn’t be underestimated, and the sheer number of fans at the game I attended proves this. After a brilliant experience in London, seeing an NFL game on American soil is definitely something I’ll add to to my bucket list!
