From ‘power party’ to ‘Patriots Haus,’ Germany loves the NFL – even a little American silliness

FRANKFURT, GERMANY — As the New England Patriots get set to play the Indianapolis Colts in Germany this Sunday, one thing is clear. The city of Frankfurt and a growing population of fans are psyched for the big game.

Now, this is where things get a little lost in translation.

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For American fans, excitement for the “big game” has meant checking out the “NFL Fan Experience” in downtown Frankfurt and taking advantage of fun pop-up events like the “Patriots Haus.” That much is sort of implied.

For German fans, it has meant that, yes, they will attend the big game. Many will even attend the “power party” (the German equivalent of a pregame tailgate) beforehand. But like many things in German, it’s a pretty literal translation.

German fans here are excited for “the game,” not so much this midweek silliness that the Americans brought over.

Max Wacha, a Frankfurt native who showed me around the city, summed it up best.

“They try to do it like you do it in America. But it doesn’t work,” he said.

The NFL in Germany: What’s it like ahead of the Patriots-Colts game?

There’s a clear buzz about the city of Frankfurt as it hosts its second game in two weeks. It was apparent moments after stepping off the plane, with immigration personnel recognizing the Americans coming through and droves and simply asking, “Are you here for the game?”

To be fair, it wasn’t a hard mystery to unravel when a good portion of the flight from Boston by way of Dublin was decked out in Patriots gear.

In Frankfurt proper, there’s a strong NFL marketing presence. From the subway to shopping centers, there are ads across town promoting the arrival of NFL football. On the Zeil (one of the city’s busiest shopping streets), there’s a spectacularly lit Adidas outlet with Patrick Mahomes’ face plastered all over it.

A block over, there’s an eclectic store promoting international candies on the ground floor and NFL apparel on the first floor (which is a story above the ground floor, because things can never be simple abroad).

Walk a few more yards and you’ll see the NFL Fan Experience in the bustling Roßmarkt (one of the city’s downtown prominent squares). There, you’ll find jumbo-sized Instagram-ready helmets for all 32 NFL teams, a big frame for taking photos, a display featuring every Super Bowl ring, an NFL apparel shop and even a “quarterback challenge” where fans can try out their passing skills.

Now, if you head north past Goetheplaza and up a street called Börsenstraße, you’ll find the Patriots Haus. Located at a Hilton hotel, it’s a spot for Patriots fans to gather. They’ve got couches to lounge on while highlights of Super Bowl LI play in the background.

On one side, there are Pat Patriot and the Patriots cheerleaders. On the other side, there were the Patriots’ Super Bowl trophies on display. There were even Patriots legends like Rob Nonkovich and Malcolm Butler stopping by to meet fans and give autographs.

It’s a similar setup to what you’ll find at the Super Bowl, a football-crazy hub of activities to cater to fans who want to bask in the festivities all week long.

American fans who made the trip over were quick to swarm the Patriots Haus. The German fans? It didn’t seem like they had much interest in the mid-week fluff for much of the week — though things did pick up by the time Saturday rolled around.

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A little lost in translation: American fans vs. German fans

The NFL clearly took the playbook that’s worked so well at Super Bowls and applied it to the city of Frankfurt.

It’s been a hit for American fans. Take Pat Haley and his son, Jack. They’re a pair of Patriots diehards originally from Boston but now live in Virginia. The Haley’s made the trip to Frankfurt and showed off their custom-made shirts plastered all over with different pictures of Bill Belichick over the years.

“Haven’t lost faith in Bill yet,” Pat says, proudly showing his support at the Patriots Haus.

The autograph sessions at the Patriots Haus had a line going out the door as former linebacker Rob Ninkovich left the party, with former cornerback Malcolm Butler subbing in shortly after, arriving to a round of applause as he entered.

There were good times to be had. But it was odd. There weren’t many German fans around. It was something I’d noticed, and I wasn’t alone. Another Patriots reporter from Boston was in the process of working on a story about fans attending the Patriots Haus. He had talked to plenty of American fans making the trip. But he was struggling to find any German fans to talk to.

This isn’t a knock on the NFL or German fans. But sides are doing their thing. It’s just a funny example of two approaches to sports getting lost in translation.

Don’t sleep on “power parties”

The mid-week festivities didn’t really pick up in the city center until the weekend. But by Saturday at 7 p.m., the jumbo-sized NFL helmets in the city center were put under blankets while the “quarterback challenge” was being dismantled.

But let’s make one thing clear: The German game day experience should be something to behold.

In America, we have tailgates. German fans have something they like to call “power parties.” It’s a term that’s made the rounds since NFL Europe was still in operation back in the early 00′s. Nowadays, even league executives are using it to describe fan activities in a briefing with reporters.

“Power parties” are a pregame gathering where fans get to revel in the unique buildup that comes with an American football game.

Fans would be hard-pressed to hold an actual “tailgate” at Deutsche Bank Park on Sunday. An American tailgate usually involves pickup trucks and SUVs taking over acres worth of asphalt parking lot. You won’t be finding many of those at the venue that was once known as Waldstadion, which literally translates to “Forest Stadium.”

Once again, that’s a pretty literal translation. The stadium’s location is what would happen if you plucked Gillette Stadium off Route 1 and plopped it right in Wrentham State Forest.

But when fans descend on the game Sunday, don’t expect them to be outshone by their American counterparts.

Whether it was Chiefs-Dolphins in Frankfurt last week, Buccaneers-Seahawks in Munich last year or NFL Europe fans over a decade ago, the German “power party” has become something to witness.

“They had these sing-along songs, power parties that started hours before. They just wanted a taste of Americana, so they got their face painted up. It was like a carnival and a concert, part state fair, part athletic event,” Brian Baldinger said to The Athletic, recounting his days calling NFL Europe games.

There’s no superiority of fandom here — just some cultural differences. Since NFL regular season games have landed in Germany, there’s been nothing but sold-out stadiums and bombastic crowds. Germany is here for the long haul with the NFL.

Just don’t expect them to show up at noon on a weekday to throw passes at some cardboard cutouts. There are better things to be doing.

American fans who made the trip have shown that as well. Two days before the game, I was getting dinner at a place called Zum Gemalten Haus, a popular traditional restaurant that dates back to 1936. I thought I was getting a unique dive into German culture by hitting up a hidden gem.

That was until I saw a group of Patriots fans gathering to say hi to broadcaster Steve Burton, who’s been covering the Patriots for WBZ for years.

It looks like the cultural spread goes both ways.

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