Speaker 1: NFL Inside Report is the production of the NFL in
Speaker 1: partnership with I Heart Radio. I'm Rett Lewis and this
Speaker 1: is NFL Inside Report. Huge episode here post draft as
Speaker 1: the NFL today announces the slate of international games for
Speaker 1: the NFL season. You heard it live on Good Morning
Speaker 1: Football Wednesday morning, and the five games are now officially set, teams, locations, times,
Speaker 1: in days TV deals. The whole thing is all set
Speaker 1: and we're gonna get into that in a big way.
Speaker 1: We'll also talk a little bit about the international Pathway
Speaker 1: program in the NFL, which is also a little bit
Speaker 1: in interconnected. And here to help us with all of
Speaker 1: it is the new general manager of the NFL UK,
Speaker 1: Henry Hodson. Of course, has been with us here for
Speaker 1: twelve years in Los Angeles before spending time in London
Speaker 1: with the NFL UK office there. And if you are
Speaker 1: a follower of the NFL podcast network, you are no
Speaker 1: stranger to Hank Handsome. Hank is back here. Whether this
Speaker 1: looks up, Henry, welcome, Thank you for having me right,
Speaker 1: sorry to be here. I'm glad to have you make
Speaker 1: your debut on this podcast, um and excited to chat
Speaker 1: here because this is so exciting, Like the the International
Speaker 1: series keeps growing and you know, despite the you know
Speaker 1: the issues we had that you know, put a pause
Speaker 1: on it with the COVID season, it's great to kind
Speaker 1: of see it really flourishing once again. And in a
Speaker 1: brand new country. We're going to Germany. So let me
Speaker 1: just say, as a like literal German in my heritage,
Speaker 1: both of my mom and dad's side, how do I
Speaker 1: essentially become bureau chieffl Germany? Can we arrange that? I
Speaker 1: think it just happened. I think I think just by
Speaker 1: volunteering this would be great. Um yeah, it's it's it's really.
Speaker 1: Germany is a market that we've been really focused on
Speaker 1: over the last five six years and it's grown so much.
Speaker 1: The fan base there is incredibly passionate. The sport has
Speaker 1: played a lot there as well. Um, so it was
Speaker 1: a natural progression to to have a game in Germany.
Speaker 1: And and the really cool thing is we went through
Speaker 1: this bid process last year to try to find, you know,
Speaker 1: which city should be played in and and three cities
Speaker 1: kind of emerged as as the ones that wanted to
Speaker 1: bid for a Munich Frankfort and dustledorff Um and in
Speaker 1: the end, we really couldn't you know what. The bids
Speaker 1: were so good that we couldn't separate Munich and Frankfurt.
Speaker 1: So we're we're going to be playing games over the
Speaker 1: next four years in both cities, which is it's amazing.
Speaker 1: And of course this year it will be the Seattle
Speaker 1: Seahawks in Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing at the FC Baron
Speaker 1: Munich Stadium and that will be November Eastern time, and
Speaker 1: you see it right here on NFL network. How much
Speaker 1: better to get exactly. Um No, it's really cool. You
Speaker 1: mentioned you've been working for the last five or six
Speaker 1: years on the Germany project. How did the interest I think,
Speaker 1: how did you learn of the interest? Like, where did
Speaker 1: it come from? How did you see it? Because I
Speaker 1: will tell you my wife and I about a year
Speaker 1: after we got married, UM went to Germany as part
Speaker 1: of a larger europe trip. And you know, obviously the
Speaker 1: UM this soccer influence is massive right almost anywhere in Europe,
Speaker 1: but certainly in Germany. And we were there during the
Speaker 1: World Cup, which was insane. So we were in Munich
Speaker 1: and in Berlin and just seeing just the I guess
Speaker 1: the passion for sport in general was pretty apparent. How
Speaker 1: did you see it manifests itself in terms of the NFL. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I so dating myself a little bit here,
Speaker 1: but I grew up in the NFL. I guess my
Speaker 1: first role was when NFL Europe was still around this
Speaker 1: you were called. By the end of that five out
Speaker 1: of the six teams were based in Germany. UM, so
Speaker 1: got to spend a lot of time in Germany. Ryan Fire,
Speaker 1: Ryan Fire, the Hamburg Seed Levels, Frankfurt Galaxy, et cetera.
Speaker 1: We can go through that, UM, but spend a lot
Speaker 1: of time in Germany. And although you know, I think
Speaker 1: people towards the end of that the crowds weren't big,
Speaker 1: there was a there was a lot of support for football.
Speaker 1: Football is you know people even back then and people
Speaker 1: probably don't appreciate it, but it is played very widely
Speaker 1: in Germany UM and I think the influence of the
Speaker 1: US military presence there certainly helped grow the sport. And
Speaker 1: you know, it is played by Germans, but the fact
Speaker 1: that there was a U. S military presence definitely elevated
Speaker 1: the sport and made sure that it was seen in
Speaker 1: more places. So it was interesting because having been there
Speaker 1: and then NFL, you'rebended, and the NFL kind of change
Speaker 1: its strategy I think obviously rightly, from having a developmental
Speaker 1: league in that market to saying, look, if we're going
Speaker 1: to export the NFL, let's export the best for all
Speaker 1: the best product. And so headed to the UK and
Speaker 1: and obviously we've been playing regular season games there since
Speaker 1: two thousand and seven. So then for me, when I
Speaker 1: came into the role that I mean I'm currently in
Speaker 1: before I move into that uk GM role that you mentioned,
Speaker 1: which is international marketing, it was for me it was natural.
Speaker 1: I knew that there were fans back in Germany. So
Speaker 1: there were a lot of people who are like, Okay,
Speaker 1: well look we've got to We've grown a big audience
Speaker 1: in Germany. It was like, well, they were kind of
Speaker 1: already there. I'll take some credit, and he was, um
Speaker 1: so um. You know, we really put a focus on there.
Speaker 1: We found the right media partners, we we did everything
Speaker 1: we could. You know, one of the sort of levels
Speaker 1: that we like to pull to help grow the sport is,
Speaker 1: you know, how do we make it more locally relevant
Speaker 1: and how do we introduce We were very lucky at
Speaker 1: the time with a few German players in the NFL. Sure,
Speaker 1: how do we really help grow their profiles? In Germany?
Speaker 1: One of them, Sebastian Valma, was on the Patriots, which
Speaker 1: certainly helped when they're winning a lot, so that that
Speaker 1: sort of helped them grow their profile. So really it
Speaker 1: was just about you know, growing the sport, growing the game,
Speaker 1: and getting it to a point where it wasn't just
Speaker 1: those kind of laps NFL europe fans who were focused,
Speaker 1: but we'll bring a whole new generation of fans in
Speaker 1: as well. And that that that's sort of what we've
Speaker 1: been able to do over the as I say, the
Speaker 1: last sort of let's say six to ten years. Uh
Speaker 1: and and as I said at the beginning, that then
Speaker 1: led to a natural progression of you know, we can
Speaker 1: we can play a game there, and just as of
Speaker 1: this morning, so we announced you know, munich as the
Speaker 1: host city for the first game during Super Bowl weeks. Subsequently,
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks after that, we announced that the
Speaker 1: Buccaneers We're going to be the whole team. Then today
Speaker 1: that the Seahawks are going to be their opponent. And
Speaker 1: what happened out of that was we we put a
Speaker 1: registry of interest people could sign up to you know,
Speaker 1: I'm interested in buying tickets because we can't obviously go
Speaker 1: on sale. Interesting, you're you're on the thing. I'm interested,
Speaker 1: So you're not alone. Five more than five hundred thousand
Speaker 1: people put their email down and said I'm interested in
Speaker 1: buying a ticket to this game. And that's just individually,
Speaker 1: and you know, normally most people are going to want
Speaker 1: to go with one to Pere. We you know, as
Speaker 1: they say, we need for this one. So um, you know,
Speaker 1: the great news is that that game is going to
Speaker 1: be incredibly popular and people are thrown and it's not
Speaker 1: just although it helps that Tom Brady and the Buccaneers
Speaker 1: are coming, of course. This is the excitement around around
Speaker 1: the game in Germany. Oh my gosh, that is that's amazing.
Speaker 1: And then just to kind of relate this back to
Speaker 1: the origin story that you were talking about and this
Speaker 1: year's draft mobile, Ringer was of German descent and was
Speaker 1: one of the great one of the great draft stories. Absolutely. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a part of our International Player Pathway program. The
Speaker 1: very first year we had it, um, you know, it
Speaker 1: sort of shocked us. Came from a team called the
Speaker 1: Swabish Hall Unicorns in Germany. And he was a unicorn
Speaker 1: in that he was six ft four and ran I
Speaker 1: think four three or four years something, four or four
Speaker 1: or something like that. Um got that opportunity, I mean,
Speaker 1: really kind of showed that the buzz that can be
Speaker 1: built around a player during the draft, and the Vikings
Speaker 1: took a took a took a shot at him in
Speaker 1: the sixth round that year. Sadly he didn't work out,
Speaker 1: but you know, he got a bunch of different shots
Speaker 1: didn't work out with him in the Vikings and then
Speaker 1: subsequently with the Bengals. But since then we've we've developed
Speaker 1: a lot of German players. And in fact, one of
Speaker 1: those guys yesterday was part of our player Pathway program
Speaker 1: that's ration for this year with the Colts, Marcel Dabo,
Speaker 1: and he was he had the incredible athleticism that he
Speaker 1: showed it the pro day at Arizona exactly. Yeah, that
Speaker 1: was incredible, incredible athlete. I can't wait to see what
Speaker 1: he does in his opportunity here. But another you know,
Speaker 1: kind of going back to which is what you were
Speaker 1: talking about, in American football is played in Germany. Still. Um,
Speaker 1: another guy who was drafted in this class from Central
Speaker 1: Michigan Bernard Ryman from Austria learned about the game essentially
Speaker 1: by happenstance. His family had moved to a suburb of Vienna,
Speaker 1: I believe, and then he essentially just saw these guys
Speaker 1: playing this game in a field at a park right
Speaker 1: club team and then he joined one. Yeah. Absolutely, And
Speaker 1: you know, there are a lot of stories like the
Speaker 1: Sebastian Valma, who who obviously mentioned and played in the
Speaker 1: NFL with the Patriots again found his way to the
Speaker 1: sport playing in dustled Off for a youth team. There
Speaker 1: so a lot what we're trying to do and it's
Speaker 1: funny literally speaking to Sebastian about this in the last
Speaker 1: month or two, is how do you kind of remove
Speaker 1: the element of luck, um, both from discovering the sport,
Speaker 1: whether that's you know, as a fan and or on
Speaker 1: TV or whatever, then through playing the sport, how do
Speaker 1: you create some pathways for kids to be able to
Speaker 1: play flag football in these in these countries and then
Speaker 1: a pathway that could take them, you know, to college
Speaker 1: to the player pathway program to to to the pros.
Speaker 1: And we've done that with an NFL academy that we've
Speaker 1: launched in London, which is bringing kids at a high
Speaker 1: school level, because really the player Pathway program is very
Speaker 1: exciting can give these guys like myrself that I just mentioned,
Speaker 1: the opportunity at the age of two. But you and
Speaker 1: I know that really the best time to get these
Speaker 1: kids is going to be as early as possible, whether
Speaker 1: it's from a kind of you know, developing their body
Speaker 1: standpoint or understanding the sports, etcetera. So certainly, the early
Speaker 1: we can get them, the better training and coaching we
Speaker 1: can get them, the more likely they are to have
Speaker 1: an opportunity in college, whether that's just to play football
Speaker 1: in college and get a great education in the US,
Speaker 1: or you know, hopefully to to have that pathway that
Speaker 1: takes them all away to the NFL. No, it's a
Speaker 1: great it's a great point, and that it's really exciting
Speaker 1: all of the things that the the league and the
Speaker 1: initiatives that we're doing to to continue to grow the
Speaker 1: game and to grow you know, those natives of those
Speaker 1: countries interest in the game and ability to play the
Speaker 1: game in the NFL level here. Um, it's really cool
Speaker 1: to see. Obviously, you know when we talk about the
Speaker 1: International series, London is still kind of the marquee right,
Speaker 1: and and with three games this year to at Tottenham
Speaker 1: Hotspur Stadium and then one back at Wembley with the Jaguars.
Speaker 1: Who have you know, have been a popular team in
Speaker 1: London since we started the international series. How have you
Speaker 1: seen the series grow? You know, from one game in
Speaker 1: London to multiple games in London now to three in London? Like,
Speaker 1: where have you seen the popularity or maybe the biggest
Speaker 1: areas of growth as we sit now? Yeah, I mean, look,
Speaker 1: I think it's I think it's across everything. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: you know, the first game, I was lucky enough to
Speaker 1: be in the UK office when we played that first
Speaker 1: game in London. It was fin actually on the our
Speaker 1: friends of Good Morning Football this morning. Um Shawn O'Hara
Speaker 1: was on the show this morning and he was part
Speaker 1: of the part of this game there, and we had
Speaker 1: O Human or who our ambassadors in the UK and
Speaker 1: works for the BBC and does a terrific job there
Speaker 1: was on the show as well. And just looking back
Speaker 1: at those videos and shots of of of that game,
Speaker 1: it was hard to imagine at that time that this
Speaker 1: will become something as regular and kind of as as like,
Speaker 1: of course there are games in London because it took
Speaker 1: so much to get to that point. But I think
Speaker 1: across the board when you see the growth of the
Speaker 1: fan base in the market, you see how well the
Speaker 1: NFL is covered by the media in the UK as well. Um,
Speaker 1: it's just you know, it's it's been exponential growth and
Speaker 1: and it will will will look to continue that in
Speaker 1: the coming years with more games, more to do around
Speaker 1: the sport and um and you know, hopefully delivering more
Speaker 1: UK athletes to the to the NFL as well. No
Speaker 1: doubt Minnesota Vikings in New Orleans. Saints will kick things
Speaker 1: off in London, so we get all three games in
Speaker 1: London this year will come in the month of October,
Speaker 1: so that Viking Saints game from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will
Speaker 1: be October two. Again. That's all of these are nine
Speaker 1: am you stern time kicks and you can see that
Speaker 1: one exclusively on NFL Network. That will be followed up
Speaker 1: the very next week by the Giants and Packers getting
Speaker 1: together at Tottenham Hotspur that again October nine, m E
Speaker 1: s Durn here on NFL Network and then the Denver
Speaker 1: Broncos will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars from Wembley October
Speaker 1: thirty I am eas during that game can be seen
Speaker 1: on ESPN plus. I mentioned the Germany game Seahawks and
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay Bucks at f C Bayern Munich Stadium November
Speaker 1: am Eastern right here on NFL Network. And then finally,
Speaker 1: and we'll get to this here in just a second,
Speaker 1: but from the studio Esteco once again in Mexico City
Speaker 1: the San Francisco forty Niners in Arizona Cardinals in a
Speaker 1: divisional matchup November twenty one, eight p m. Eastern time,
Speaker 1: that game on ESPN. Um let's just talk about a
Speaker 1: couple of the some of the cool instances here with
Speaker 1: the UK. I mean, there have been teams that, over
Speaker 1: the course of the international series have somehow or have
Speaker 1: you know, I have not been a part of the slave.
Speaker 1: Now we get the Packers, the last one that the
Speaker 1: full set as all the thirty two helmets are now
Speaker 1: in London, I mean, is it like a little bit
Speaker 1: of a sense of satisfaction to get maybe arguably one
Speaker 1: of the greatest players to ever played the game now
Speaker 1: in London. It is, And it would have been frustrating
Speaker 1: if we'd got the Packers finally and we hadn't hadn't
Speaker 1: got Aaron Rodgers with them, So so that's that whole thing,
Speaker 1: That whole thing kame together nicely. But also for them
Speaker 1: to be playing the Giants, who, as you mentioned, the
Speaker 1: first team one of the first two teams to play
Speaker 1: in London, but also you know first and last really
Speaker 1: well not last, but yeah, you know, really popular team
Speaker 1: in the UK as well. So I think that's going
Speaker 1: to be a terrific game. Um and yeah, as you say,
Speaker 1: great to have the Packers there finally and for fans
Speaker 1: to get a chance to see Aaron it's gonna be
Speaker 1: really cool. Yeah. What goes into figuring out which teams
Speaker 1: are going to go and be a part of the
Speaker 1: international series, Yeah, it's so it's it's evolved a lot
Speaker 1: actually in the last year or so so with the
Speaker 1: extra game with the seventeen game of the season. Part
Speaker 1: of that was a commitment that every team would have
Speaker 1: to go every eight years and play in an international game,
Speaker 1: um and so. Um that then flip flops depending on
Speaker 1: which team has the extra home game, which conference has
Speaker 1: the game exactly so um this year obviously that meant
Speaker 1: that NFC clubs were the ones that we're going to
Speaker 1: be able to to go and play internationally, and it
Speaker 1: was then a combination of some teams that really wanted
Speaker 1: to go. Part of what we've done to grow the
Speaker 1: game internationally is have teams um be able to market
Speaker 1: themselves in some of these territories. So they've been able
Speaker 1: to go and sort of put together a bid to
Speaker 1: say we are focused on Germany or the UK or Mexico, etcetera,
Speaker 1: to to grow our brands. And so some teams that
Speaker 1: are natural affinity to to want to play in these
Speaker 1: markets and they put their hands up and said we
Speaker 1: want to go. We you know this is important to us.
Speaker 1: For the Packers, it was a case of um, they're
Speaker 1: not one of the teams that at this point have
Speaker 1: have signed up for the UK. But it was a
Speaker 1: case of like, you know, here we go. You're going
Speaker 1: to have to do at some point the next day years.
Speaker 1: Whereas before they were able to say no, we're not interested.
Speaker 1: This was really a chance for us to say, look,
Speaker 1: let's let's get this done. Let's get you, let's let's
Speaker 1: collect the set, let's get you to London. Um. And
Speaker 1: then for the other side of the matchup, it's about
Speaker 1: you know, looking at who's on on their slate for
Speaker 1: that season as a as a visiting team, UM, and
Speaker 1: then trying to decide, you know, what's the best matchup.
Speaker 1: And clearly, you know there are clubs that want to
Speaker 1: protect games, they want to have games that do get
Speaker 1: played in their own stadiums, Um, but we were able
Speaker 1: to to to get I think, um, you know, probably
Speaker 1: biased here, but I think it's the best across all
Speaker 1: across all five games, the best slate of international matchups
Speaker 1: that we've ever had, I would agree. I mean the
Speaker 1: fact that we're gonna get Tom Brady. You know, we're
Speaker 1: gonna get Russell Wilson with the Denver Broncos. Now we're
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, you get the Saints and Vikings to you know,
Speaker 1: really explosive offensive teams too, because I think that sells
Speaker 1: you know a lot Um and Um Lawrence are redubing
Speaker 1: to Jags team exactly. Yeah. I think, I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's a it's a fantastic slay the matchups. And then
Speaker 1: as you mentioned, for Mexico to have a rivalry game
Speaker 1: in the NFC is super exciting and well, now you
Speaker 1: know one thing I have not unfortunately been able to
Speaker 1: get to London for one of the games yet. But
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of the stuff I hear the
Speaker 1: you know, the the great swath of jerseys that you
Speaker 1: end up seeing at a London game and in and
Speaker 1: around the city during the week, And I think that's
Speaker 1: awesome that you have that many people that are that
Speaker 1: that can identify with that many teams in one country,
Speaker 1: Whereas in Mexico City at least, the matchups have felt
Speaker 1: more regionally um located. You find that the interest there
Speaker 1: is still a little bit more regional when it comes
Speaker 1: to the NFL in terms of Western teams, NFC a
Speaker 1: f C West teams, that sort of thing. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: I think the NFL is obviously more established in Mexico. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's been. It's been a big sport in there since
Speaker 1: the seventies. So you know, the teams that actually resonate
Speaker 1: the most is funny in other markets, as we've grown recently,
Speaker 1: the Patriots the team that kind of over index a
Speaker 1: month fans because you know, a lot of the way
Speaker 1: that people discover the sport is by watching the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl their first touch for it. So inevitably they're like, okay, well,
Speaker 1: let's look like a good team for Mexico. Those teams
Speaker 1: are the Steelers and Cowboys. So that tells you kind
Speaker 1: of the vintage of of fandom in Mexico of sort
Speaker 1: of seventies eighties, um, when when those teams were obviously,
Speaker 1: so there's part of that, and then partly definitely regional.
Speaker 1: You know, it's obviously easy for fans to reach the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: which he into the Cardinals, the teams in California. So
Speaker 1: you see a lot of that as well, and we
Speaker 1: tried to lean into that with the matchups and look
Speaker 1: that we had a division game. I mean, it just
Speaker 1: kind of builds the intensity up. And also a repeat
Speaker 1: of the very first game played internationally. So in two
Speaker 1: thousand and five we had the opportunity to take one
Speaker 1: game internationally. That game was played at a Stadios Techa
Speaker 1: and it was the Cardinals against the forty nine. Is
Speaker 1: the cool thing was that? Um? In that game, it
Speaker 1: was Larry Fitzgerald's rookie season, so you know he was
Speaker 1: him and Kurt Warner were there, um in Mexico City.
Speaker 1: Now they are back again, um doing doing their things?
Speaker 1: How cool? How cool? Is that? All right? And then um,
Speaker 1: as you look for further expansion, as I mentioned where
Speaker 1: we were getting started. You know, my my dad worked
Speaker 1: in the NFL for forty years and was a part
Speaker 1: of a couple of the American Bowl Games, you know,
Speaker 1: which were preseason games played abroad, and it was you know,
Speaker 1: it was one in London that he went to with
Speaker 1: the Saints, Saints and Raiders, and then it was one
Speaker 1: later in the early part of the two thousands with
Speaker 1: the now Washington Commanders, get who they played, but it
Speaker 1: was in Osaka, Japan. Do you see a potential expansion
Speaker 1: to the Far East um as as an option for
Speaker 1: the NFL. I think it's definitely an option. I think
Speaker 1: it's harder to do with the you know, if we
Speaker 1: we want to be playing regular season games as opposed
Speaker 1: to preseason games, I think, you know, what's apparent is
Speaker 1: that whether it's that or like we mentioned with NFL Europe,
Speaker 1: you want to be exporting the real deal. And there
Speaker 1: was you know, I used to as a kid go
Speaker 1: to those American ball games in the UK and it
Speaker 1: was great, be like, hey, the Dolphins are coming, We're
Speaker 1: gonna see the marina and it's like, wait, where do
Speaker 1: you go? You know? That lasted like three minutes and
Speaker 1: then and then you have someone else playing instead. So
Speaker 1: I think the difficulty with going that far east to Japan,
Speaker 1: to China, et cetera, is how do you schedule that
Speaker 1: in the season, because that it's it's it's a long
Speaker 1: way for people to go. It's longer from California to
Speaker 1: the far East that it is from the Eastern Board
Speaker 1: exactly to learn exactly. So you know that that's that's
Speaker 1: an issue we've certainly talked about. Could that be done
Speaker 1: around you know, the beginning of the season. Could you
Speaker 1: play a kickoff game, even a week one game. Um? There,
Speaker 1: I don't think we're there yet. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: for now, it's about really how do we continue to
Speaker 1: grow the fan base in the now three markets that
Speaker 1: we're playing in. Um. But look, I mean expansion to
Speaker 1: to other markets is certainly something that we're always looking at.
Speaker 1: How have you noticed player buy in Because it felt like,
Speaker 1: you know, it was initially maybe there was a little
Speaker 1: skepticism or push back. It feels like now, just based
Speaker 1: on the guys that interviewed on on GMFB this morning,
Speaker 1: that there is a real, legitimate, true excitement players in
Speaker 1: doing this. Yeah, I mean right, look, I think people
Speaker 1: are definitely excited about going there. Inevitably, it's it gets
Speaker 1: you know. I guess there are two ways of looking
Speaker 1: at gets you out of your routine through the season.
Speaker 1: For some players that's not a good thing. They like
Speaker 1: their routine that oughtn't to be kept in that routine.
Speaker 1: For others, the difference that the slight change can be
Speaker 1: really good. And I know that there are teams you
Speaker 1: certainly you know you speak to SHAWNA. Harrod. Those guys
Speaker 1: felt like that year that they went to London two
Speaker 1: thousand and seven, where they were pretty average team going
Speaker 1: into that game and then obviously came out and went
Speaker 1: on a run and ended up in the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: against Patriots. They talk about how going to London, spending
Speaker 1: some time together and kind of a training camp environment
Speaker 1: was actually a moment that that really kind of was
Speaker 1: the catalyst for them to get to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: So I think it can go both ways. Typically, what
Speaker 1: you'll find is that players have had a winning experience
Speaker 1: there tell you it's fantastic and they loved it. And
Speaker 1: players that didn't win will tell you, well, it took
Speaker 1: me out of my routine and and we shouldn't be
Speaker 1: doing this. Someone if someone's going to come away with
Speaker 1: a good experience and someone's probably going to be less
Speaker 1: excited about it. That's a part of it. And then
Speaker 1: then lastly, um, as the series relates to the International
Speaker 1: Player Pathway Program, how has it kind of helped shine
Speaker 1: a light and kind of help kickstart and really kind
Speaker 1: of grow the Pathway program getting more players from abroad
Speaker 1: into the NFL game. Yeah, I mean I think, um,
Speaker 1: you know, the Pathway program is a fantastic one and
Speaker 1: and this certainly helps. We've actually used last year, we
Speaker 1: used the weekend between the two London games to have
Speaker 1: an international combine to help identify the guys that wound
Speaker 1: up being the eleven that was selected to go to
Speaker 1: the Player Pathway Program that then came down to the
Speaker 1: four where allocated yesterday. So it definitely helped on that front.
Speaker 1: I think the other honestly one of my favorite stories,
Speaker 1: and it's probably not being particularly well told, but the
Speaker 1: first year we talked about the Dolphins and Giants playing
Speaker 1: in London, there was a kid in London named Jermaine
Speaker 1: Aluminore who switched on the TV and was looking for
Speaker 1: an arsenal soccer game. Had grown up in the UK
Speaker 1: and was like, what's this thing that I'm watching? And
Speaker 1: he watched that very first London game in two thousand seven,
Speaker 1: was like, oh wow, this sport is cool, told us
Speaker 1: that about it, tried to find a team that was
Speaker 1: playing in London, wound up persuading his dad to move
Speaker 1: them to New Jersey, ended up getting drafted by the
Speaker 1: Baltimore Ravens in I don't know what year that was,
Speaker 1: probably and that was because he watched that game on TV.
Speaker 1: So if you're talking about kind of the fairy tale
Speaker 1: of what does this, you know, what's this actually do?
Speaker 1: And obviously it's about growing fandom and everything else. But
Speaker 1: there will be a kid, probably in this year, whether
Speaker 1: it's the UK or Mexico or Germany, that will watch
Speaker 1: this game decide that this is something they want to
Speaker 1: do and find the a pathway, whether it takes them
Speaker 1: all the way to the NFL or to college or
Speaker 1: two whatever. That's that's the power of of the exposure
Speaker 1: of these games. So I think it's, um it's definitely
Speaker 1: very powerful thing. That's so cool. Yeah, it's it says
Speaker 1: here and um, I mean Chuck Farm, England to Lackawanna
Speaker 1: Junior College to Texas A and M drafted by the
Speaker 1: Ravens in the fifth round. And then that first year
Speaker 1: when I'm played back in London, which was a very
Speaker 1: crazy event that that the Ravens was elected. I think
Speaker 1: they played the Jags that year and in his rookie
Speaker 1: season and has played five years in the league and
Speaker 1: has been a part of fifty three NFL games, all
Speaker 1: because he flipped on the TV one day. So that's
Speaker 1: the That's that's what this is supposed to do. How
Speaker 1: cool Red lewis here with Henry Hodson getting a chance
Speaker 1: to chat about the International Series in the International Pathway
Speaker 1: Player Pathway program. Uh, it's so cool again. Five games
Speaker 1: here in this year's International Series that will be played
Speaker 1: in NFL schedule. We have three games from London, one
Speaker 1: from Munich, Germany, and one from Mexico City, Mexico. Can't
Speaker 1: wait for The International Series starts October two Tottenham Hotspur
Speaker 1: Stadium and then wraps up November twenty one the Studio
Speaker 1: Stecca in Mexico City. We'll take quick break here in
Speaker 1: NFL Inside Report when we come back, but a little
Speaker 1: Inside Report Trivia International edition. We're gonna test Henry's knowledge
Speaker 1: of the International Series when we come back, all right
Speaker 1: back here with you on NFL Inside Report. It's our
Speaker 1: pleasure now to be with for this episode, a very
Speaker 1: special episode as we focus it on the International series.
Speaker 1: With are now the NFL's GM of NFL Europe. Henry
Speaker 1: Hodgson is here with us. And Henry, you have exhibited
Speaker 1: some fantastic knowledge of the International Series and all the
Speaker 1: international players that have been a part of the NFL
Speaker 1: as well. We're now going to really put that knowledge
Speaker 1: to the test. Thanks to Ben McWilliams of our fantastic
Speaker 1: NFL research team for putting together some tribute questions. Okay,
Speaker 1: Aaron Rogers will become only the second raining MVP to
Speaker 1: play a game in England. Do you know the other
Speaker 1: rain m v P to do it by process of elimination?
Speaker 1: It's got to be Tom Brady, right, raining and training? Yes,
Speaker 1: Adrian Peterson. Okay, so Aaron Rodgers will be the first
Speaker 1: reigning a VP quarterback to play in England. Second at
Speaker 1: any position, um and I s got me quickly with
Speaker 1: Adrian Peterson story in London. So on when the Vikings
Speaker 1: played the Steelers that year in London. I happened to
Speaker 1: be in um Piccatilly Circus, very central London, and you
Speaker 1: know there a lot of crowds, and when you're going
Speaker 1: through crowd, you're looking for the you know, trying to
Speaker 1: get to the I was trying to get to the
Speaker 1: tube pop. You're looking for a gap, right, you're looking
Speaker 1: You're looking for the vision to get to the gap.
Speaker 1: And I was sometimes you get behind somebody're like, oh,
Speaker 1: they're going in the same direction as me, and they're
Speaker 1: pretty good at finding the gap. I was like, Wow,
Speaker 1: this guy really knows how to find his way through
Speaker 1: a crowd. Adrian Peterson, Adrian Peterson was my lead fullback
Speaker 1: through the crowds and picket of the circus. He was complete.
Speaker 1: No one knew who he was because you know, here
Speaker 1: he is in London and sent to London. But he
Speaker 1: was picking his way through the guys. Like this guy
Speaker 1: really is has someone to follow. And then I was like,
Speaker 1: is Adrian Peterson would be of course Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: worthy vision as a running back for sure? For a
Speaker 1: for a good story, we do get half a point
Speaker 1: for a fantastic story. So Rogers will be the first
Speaker 1: reigning MVP quarterback to playing food with Adrian Peterson having
Speaker 1: done so as a running back. All right, moving on
Speaker 1: which quarterback has the most passing yards in international games
Speaker 1: in NFL history? Well, reasoning, Tom Brady's played in three,
Speaker 1: two in London, one in Mexico, So I think I
Speaker 1: would go with that. The other guy, I mean, Blake
Speaker 1: Buds played in a bunch with the Jags. But I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go Brady. Oh you had it was Bartles one
Speaker 1: thousand nine. Tom Brady needs twoft eight passing yards at
Speaker 1: FC Bayern Munich Stadium this year to surpass play. I
Speaker 1: was projecting, well, get that. The guys behind the US
Speaker 1: are celebrating too much. Actually, Ryan Fitzpatrick has over a
Speaker 1: thousand um. I mean it could have been with any
Speaker 1: number of teams. Derek carrs over a thousand uh, and
Speaker 1: then Philip Rivers exactly one. There you go, all right,
Speaker 1: back to number question number three. We gotta get we
Speaker 1: gotta get Henry a win. Here. Of the forty regular
Speaker 1: season games that have been played internationally now we've had,
Speaker 1: forty six have been in Toronto. Can you name the
Speaker 1: only NFL team to appear in all six of those
Speaker 1: games in Toronto? The Buffalo Bills. That was a trick question.
Speaker 1: I think Thomas back had had had tricked me somehow,
Speaker 1: but not Buffalo. Yes, all six games in Toronto have
Speaker 1: featured the Buffalo Bills. All right, moving on, there are
Speaker 1: six teams that have played at least two International games
Speaker 1: and are undefeated. I think you can name the undefeated
Speaker 1: teams in the International Series that have played multiple games.
Speaker 1: The Patriots, correct three and only three? And okay, um
Speaker 1: the okay, working my way down, it's not the Bills,
Speaker 1: not the Dolphins. Uh, let's see. Two of them will
Speaker 1: play each other in a game this year. Okay, so
Speaker 1: one of them is not so the Saints and Vikings
Speaker 1: there it is. Okay, that's two. There's three more. There's more.
Speaker 1: The we've talked about one of them today. One of
Speaker 1: these teams will bring a new quarterback to the International
Speaker 1: Series this year, and the quarterback that they Giants. Yes,
Speaker 1: but yes, um, are you are you telling me that
Speaker 1: Tyrod Taylor is gonna start for the Giants? Um? No?
Speaker 1: I was thinking of a different team who will also
Speaker 1: see their former quarterback play in an International Series game
Speaker 1: this year. So that former quarterback is also playing with
Speaker 1: his new team in an international game. And yeah, Seahawks
Speaker 1: and then the last one Kansas City Chiefs undefeated. No,
Speaker 1: they they played in London too, do they played in London?
Speaker 1: And then there you go, so they are undefeated, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, in two countries, which is just pretty darn impressed.
Speaker 1: All right, now for your international game fandom Dolphins edition.
Speaker 1: You know who the Dolphins played in the first ever? Clearly?
Speaker 1: Do you remember the score of that game? Uh? Nineteens
Speaker 1: seventeen very close? Does uh? Do you know the Dolphins lost?
Speaker 1: The Giants won thirteen ti alright, um? Tega his first
Speaker 1: half the NFL touchdowns right, yes, okay, and consolation touched him.
Speaker 1: So this may not be as great of a deal
Speaker 1: for you as it was for me. But the head
Speaker 1: coach of the Dolphins that year was also one of
Speaker 1: my college head coaches, Cam Cameron. Yes, indeed, there you
Speaker 1: go to give him a ding. It's hard to come by.
Speaker 1: I know exactly whatever I can get Dolphins starting quarterback
Speaker 1: in that game. Um, not Dan Marino. It wasn't Dan Marino.
Speaker 1: It was Cleo Lemon. Yes, Um, it was meant to
Speaker 1: be Trent Green, but Trent Green got injured that season
Speaker 1: and so Cleo stepped in. That was a tough year.
Speaker 1: It was a tough year. That was the Greg Camarrio
Speaker 1: got the got the one win. Give me a ding,
Speaker 1: Come on, give a take. That was the bonus question.
Speaker 1: Who did the Dolphins beat for their only win that season?
Speaker 1: And what yes, Ravens And then you even gave us
Speaker 1: the extra bonus Cleo Lemons sixty four yard touchdown pass
Speaker 1: to Greg Camarrio. Um, all right, how did I do
Speaker 1: well with my overall school? Did I at least get
Speaker 1: I think we got back to by the end, So
Speaker 1: that's pretty So that's not too bad. That's pretty solid.
Speaker 1: But I was always aiming for Henry. Congratulations on the promotion.
Speaker 1: Thank you for getting back home now right, Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: exciting as well. I will miss the NFL media family,
Speaker 1: though I've had a great time here. So that's that's
Speaker 1: that's the sad piece of it. But you guys are
Speaker 1: all welcome to to come visit London and come to
Speaker 1: need bureau chief example, you gotta write that into the
Speaker 1: next deal, Bureau Chief Germany of the Incestral series, got it.
Speaker 1: Gotta cover Henry Hotch and everybody here with this NFL
Speaker 1: Inside Report. Thank you, all right, that's gonna do it
Speaker 1: for this episode of NFL Inside Report. Thanks so much
Speaker 1: for being with this reminder to download, rate, and review
Speaker 1: our show and the I Heart Radio app on Apple
Speaker 1: Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. We appreciate you
Speaker 1: guys being along for the ride for our producers Thomas Warren,
Speaker 1: Tim Paraca, and Harry since Sanford. I'm your host, Bret Lewis.
Speaker 1: We'll catch you next time. NFL Inside Report is the
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