Los Bären! According to NBC Chicago personality David Kaplan, the Chicago Bears will travel overseas to take on the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs in 2023.
Aside from a chance to test the revamped roster against the league’s best, the Deutschland game will represent an opportunity for fans to keep their sleep schedules on track. European contests generally force U.S. viewers to wake up early, with games starting at 8:30 a.m. CST.
Since 2005, the NFL has made an effort to reach new fans across the globe. The inaugural regular season game on foreign soil featured the Arizona Cardinals taking on the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City. However, the NFL’s international reach spans several decades to the 1950s. Teams in both the NFL and AFL played 13 preseason games on foreign soil between 1950 and 1983. Then, from 1986 to 2005, another country hosted one preseason game per year dubbed The American Bowl.
Following a Super Bowl-winning season, the Chicago Bears defeated the Dallas Cowboys 17-6 in the first American Bowl at Wembley Stadium in 1986.
In 2011, the Bears played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London. Running back Matt Forte rushed for 145 and an exhilarating touchdown leading the way to a Chicago victory.
As part of the global outreach, the league has also assigned teams to represent specific countries. In 2021, the Chicago Bears, in conjunction with the NFL, announced Spain and the United Kingdom as the team’s International Home Market Areas (IHMA).
“Being awarded the Spain and United Kingdom International Home Marketing Areas by the league is an honor,” Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey said. “We’re passionate about growing the game of football abroad and continuing to develop the robust Chicago Bears fanbase internationally.”
McCaskey serves on the NFL’s International Committee
The Bears are reportedly one of the five most popular NFL franchises in London.
Image Courtesy of Bears Wire.
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