Giants revel in NFL London atmosphere
The second of three London NFL games happened when the Giants beat the Packers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but it was the Packers fanbase who showed up.
Since 2007, the National Football League has held some of its games in London, England. It’s part of an ongoing objective to promote football across the pond and eventually become a permanent presence in England. When the Green Bay Packers played the New York Giants in London on Sunday, they became the last of the NFL teams to play an international game.
Previously, the Packers were the only NFL team never to have played a game outside of the United States. The reason for that is that the Packers would lose a home game, which would be a financial blow to the franchise. They typically sell out their stadium in home games and a regular season game at Lambeau Field is estimated to earn them around $15 million. Well, their fans are everywhere it seems. Although technically, it was the Giants who were the home team, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England was filled with Packers fans.
“It felt like an away game,” said Giants head coach Brian Daboll.
“Green Bay, they showed out,” said Giants running back Saquon Barkley. “I don’t know if they came from Green Bay or if there’s just a big fanbase over here. But they showed out.”
Despite the Packers’ presence, the Giants were able to pull off the win over the Packers. After a 10-point deficit in the first half, the Giants’ defense held Green Bay to just two points on an intentional safety in the second half while they had two touchdown drives and a field goal to win the game 27-22 in London.
“First of all, we’re sorry,” said Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “We wanted to come here and put on a show, win a football game. The crowd was outstanding.”