On Nov. 13, 2022, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the first regular-season game played in Germany.
Toward the end of the game, the entire crowd started singing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” It was featured on the broadcast, with Kurt Warner joining in and Rich Eisen describing the scene as “awesome.”
Fans watching the game from the United States were surprised to see an entire stadium in Munich singing along to this song. Former New York Jets center Nick Mangold posted on social media, “Did not have Country Roads on my NFL Germany bingo card.”
Let’s take a look at the history of the song and its popularity in Germany.
John Denver’s First Hit
Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert wrote the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The track was recorded and released in the first half of 1971 and reached No. 2 on Billboard’s US Hot 100 singles in late August that year.
The song was certified gold in 1971 and remarkably reached platinum status in 2017, over 35 years after its first release. It was on the B-side of Denver’s second album, “Poems, Prayers, and Promises.”
At 53 years old, Denver tragically died in a plane crash in 1997.
The Song’s Popularity in Germany
It’s unclear why the song became so popular in Germany, but Denver did tour in Germany six times from 1979 to 1995 and has an official fan club based in the nation.
“I have no idea. I’ve never been to Germany,” the songwriter Danoff told the Washington Post in 2013.
The entire Allianz Arena singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is incredible 🙌
(via @JennaLaineESPN) pic.twitter.com/wkenSlTfGg
— ESPN (@espn)
He said when they wrote the song, they were trying to create something catchy.
“We’re pop songwriters, and we were trying to write hit songs,” Danoff said. “It sounded good, the structure was right, the chorus was right.”
Danoff has even performed the song at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., during an event.
For years, the song has been played at Munich’s Oktoberfest, an annual festival that features beer, food, and activities. Oktoberfest runs from the middle of September to the first Sunday of October.
Thousands of fans enjoyed Denver’s hit during the Bucs-Seahawks game in Munich, which took place weeks after Oktoberfest had ended.
Fans also sang Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” during the game.
Brady, who led the Buccaneers to victory that day, said, “The end of the game with them singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ and ‘Country Roads,’ that was pretty epic.”
The Bucs have since started playing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” at their home games at Raymond James Stadium.
West Virginia’s Song
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” is about West Virginia and is a symbol of the state. It became the official state song of West Virginia in 2014 and is one of four songs to receive that designation.
Denver, Danoff, and Nivert sang the song when the University of West Virginia opened a new football stadium in 1980.
𝙊𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙚 in 1971 …
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” was released by John Denver!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/s0yn198fev
— WVU Sports (@WVUSports)
It is often heard at West Virginia sporting events, and the entire crowd (and many of the athletes) sing along.
The Origin of the NFL’s International Series
While the International Series as we know it was created in 2007, the league started playing games overseas many years earlier, including multiple games in London back in the 1980s.
Between 1950 and 1983, 13 games involving NFL or AFL teams were played outside of the United States; seven of those games were against CFL teams in Canada. Three other games were also played in Canada — one in Toronto, two in Montreal — but they were against fellow NFL teams rather than outside opponents. The final three games were played in Tokyo in 1976, Mexico City in 1978, and London in 1983.
In 1986, the NFL launched the American Bowl, an annual preseason game that was held outside of the United States. The first-ever American Bowl was played in London on Aug. 3, 1986. Over the years, games were played in Japan, Canada, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Ireland, and Australia.
However, after the 2005 exhibition game between the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts in Tokyo, the NFL decided to abandon the American Bowl.
At the same time, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the end of NFL Europa, the league formerly known as the World League of American Football and NFL Europe. The final season of NFL Europa took place in 2007 — the same year the NFL started the International Series, which featured annual regular-season games in London.
Initially, the belief was that the NFL was assessing whether it made sense to give London its own NFL franchise and examine how a UK-based team could work logistically. In recent years, the NFL expanded its International Series to five overseas games being played during the 2024 season, including three in London and one in Munich.
In Week 10 of this season, the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers will face off in Germany, so don’t be surprised if we get another crowd rendition of Denver’s hit song.