What a great time in Frankfurt, Germany!
On May 10, 2023, I found out that the Indianapolis Colts would be playing the New England Patriots in Frankfurt, Germany. I was immediately on a mission to figure out how I could get there for the game. I missed the Colts 2016 trip to London to play the Jaguars, and I swore that I would not miss the Colts next international trip.
I have been a Colts season ticket holder since 2010. I immediately emailed my Colts season ticket holder representative about how I could obtain tickers. I was disappointed to learn that as the away team, the Colts would only be receiving enough tickets for the friends and family members of the players, coaches and staff who wanted to attend and there would not be any left to sell to season ticket holders. What’s funny is that my wife came home from work that day and told me she had found out about the game and was trying to send me there.
Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, has a capacity of 51,500 fans for American football. It is the smallest venue to host a game in the NFL International Series. Having a stadium this small for American football made tickets pretty scarce. The only way to purchase tickets was to sign up to purchase tickets on July 11, 2023, so I signed up for it. A few days later, I received an email about a presale for Colts season ticket holders that would occur on June 10, 2023, and I was able to obtain two tickets on the 50 yardline about 16 rows back for about $240.
My flight left Indianapolis on November 10 at 2:00 pm with a layover in Charlotte. It was a long flight but I eventually made to Frankfurt at around 7:00 am Frankfurt time. I was so tired but I knew that I did not have time to waste. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel and quickly looked for the NFL area. We saw the Colts transform a local bar into a Colts themed bar called Colts Hause. There were appearances by Blue, Jim Irsay, and Edgerren James, just to name a few. I was even called onstage to participate in a Colts trivia contest, which I won, of course.
I convinced my friend, Ed, to join me in Germany. He is a Saints fan but he has attended many Colts games with me. I wrote about him in my article about the Colts vs. Saints that can be read here. The Colts had a record of 0 – 6 with Ed in attendance. The losing streak with Ed in attendance is broken, and the Colts are now 1 – 6.
I have been to many a Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium, and games in Denver, Miami, and Las Vegas to watch the Colts. An NFL game in Europe just has a different vibe. The atmosphere around the stadium was electric! People were just dancing and having fun. There was even Patriots parade. Food and beverage carts and stands were everywhere inside and outside of the stadium. The lines for concessions were ridiculously long, even with sheer amount of them available. Basically, if you saw a line for something then it was best to just get in the line if you wanted something. I was able to only get one beer, and it was one of the best beers I had ever had. Oh, I almost forgot! There was a game going on, but the atmosphere was so great inside the stadium that it made a boring 10 – 6 game between the Colts and Patriots very entertaining.
Now the clock is ticking and I cannot wait until the Colts play in another international game.
