Football is amazing. It has guided my life since I randomly started to play it with my friends when I was 14. Lucky for me, it was right before the Super Bowl. At 14 years old, with no money and not a single clue about the sport, my two friends and I decided to watch the game and bet between us. We had no idea what a fumble was, so one friend predicted 5, I said 7, and the other 6. Did we ever pay each other? No, but we also got everything wrong. But I’ll never forget the night I watched Super Bowl 50 with my friends.
I already knew the Vikings existed because I loved How I Met Your Mother, so they were the first team I looked at. I instantly fell in love with the uniforms, logo, and Adrian Peterson’s highlights. It’s also a bit weird, but I liked the fact that it had never wo. It meant I could be there to see the first (still waiting, by the way). My friend went the other way, becoming a Steelers fan because they had six rings, while the third one didn’t like it that much.
For almost ten years now, I’ve spent most of my free time learning everything possible about football and the NFL. It led me to study Sports Science at one of the best universities in Brasil. Next year, I hope to follow it with a master’s program. Peyton Manning is one of my favorite players, and I always think it’s funny that it was his last game that opened a huge door for me in my life.
Since watching my first NFL game, all I wanted was to be in one. But, due to being only 14 years old, with no money, and barely speaking English, I thought it’d be an impossible task. Fast-forward ten years, and I have seen three live NFL games – although none in the United States. And that’s exactly my point. This is just my story, and I’m one in millions.
I was fortunate enough to be in both games in São Paulo and also managed to see the game in Dublin thanks to some crazy luck. The best part about the Dublin game was being with my best friend (the Steelers fan), watching the teams we’ve cheered for since 2016. This is an experience that wouldn’t have happened if the game had been in the U.S. He moved to Europe in 2022, and his parents live in Dublin; that’s how I managed to stay there.
I see a lot of fans complaining about the international games, and I understand why. A lot of Vikings fans from Cleveland were mad because the last two times they were supposed to play in Cleveland, the game got moved to London. But all I ask is that you all look at it from the perspective of a fan from another country. It’s unbelievably hard to work with football in Brasil, and a lot of people pour sweat and tears into making it work. Just like in England, México, Germany, Ireland, Spain, and so many other countries that fell in love with the sport.
I know some of you are season-ticket holders and are mad that you get one less game. But you still have eight home games from your favorite team. All we ask is one game. The sport getting more popular around the world won’t be a bad thing. Quite the opposite, by the way. Imagine how many athletes could be phenomenal football players if given the chance. Who knows, maybe in fifty years we’ll be talking about how a quarterback from Egypt, Chile, France, or any other country broke Tom Brady’s records.
I quickly fell in love with the NFL. All I want is for more people to experience the joy I have every Sunday from September to February. Please allow that to happen.
