NFL game in Germany
In front of 72,000 fans: football spectacle in Berlin
November 9, 2025 – 7:59 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
36 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons are creating a historic football moment in Berlin. 72,000 fans experience the spectacle live.
The “Wind of Change” blew through the Olympic Stadium, during the touchdown the grass shook to Scooter’s techno beats – and at the end, of course, “Country Roads” echoed through the arena from the throats of over 72,000 football crazy people. The NFL celebrated its spectacular premiere in Berlin with a mixture of capital city flair and US charm. Overtime crime thriller included.
And on the pitch, the Indianapolis Colts lived up to their role as favorites in a thrilling game at the “German Super Bowl”. Led by brilliant star running back Jonathan Taylor (three touchdowns), the Colts defeated the Atlanta Falcons 31:25 (25:25, 13:14) after overtime. With eight wins and two defeats, the surprise team of the season remains one of the best teams in the league.
However, the guest appearance in Berlin was a complete success for the league. With the fifth official game on German soil, Munich and Frankfurt were the venues in previous years, the NFL consolidated its expansion strategy. While the Germany stop for 2026 has not yet been determined, there will certainly be more games in Berlin in 2027 and 2029. The NFL is investing a total of 48 million euros for this.
Even in the days before kick-off there was no getting past the NFL in the city. Children played flag football at the Brandenburg Gate, 20 kebab stalls served Berliners’ favorite fast food on NFL paper – and all eleven teams with marketing rights for Germany took over pubs and restaurants across the city, to which local fans and visitors from overseas flocked in large numbers.
Before the game, the Olympic Stadium was dedicated to the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Based on the national flags of Germany and the USA, the approximately 72,000 spectators bathed the arena in black-red-gold and blue-white-red for an impressive choreography, while German-American singer Malik Harris belted out “Wind of Change” by the Scorpions.
After US artist Norma Jean Martine and the German quartet German Gents sang the anthems, the teams started the game with a similar amount of enthusiasm. Early in the first quarter, Taylor carried the ball over the line from close range. The stadium boiled when HP Baxxter, frontman of the Hamburg techno band Scooter, performed his hit “Maria, I like it loud” live to celebrate the touchdown.
An exciting game developed until the break, with both teams scoring points. Colts quarterback Daniel Jones shone with clever passes and courageous runs for first downs – but also made an interception shortly before the end of the second quarter, which is why the favorite went into the dressing room with a 13:14 deficit.
After the rather lukewarm halftime show by the Australian pop musician The Kid Laroi, things continued unspectacularly for a long time before the lightning-fast Taylor, “Taylor Swift” so to speak, dealt the Falcons what was supposed to be the decisive blow. With a run of 83 yards, the longest of his career, the 26-year-old scored the touchdown to make it 22:17. But Atlanta hit back through running back Tyler Allgeier, after a Colts field goal and the game went into overtime.