MUNICH — Tom Brady gave Germany its first taste of the NFL in 2022. Patrick Mahomes put on a show there last year.

This Sunday, Germany hosts the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants, both with 2-7 records and no star power. However, there are still NFL rumors in Munich.

Watch the game on Channel 7 starting with the pre-game show at 9:00 am

On Saturday, fans could be seen in the city center wearing caps and t-shirts from almost every team in the league. For the growing community of NFL fans in Germany, the game means a chance to spend the weekend with people who share their passion.

Among the crowd on the historic Marienplatz square were Annika and Robert Peter, from Bonn in western Germany. They are Chiefs fans who watched the team beat the Dolphins 21-14 in Frankfurt last year, and they will attend Sunday’s game to experience the NFL atmosphere for the second time.

“We said even if the Chiefs aren’t here right now, everything that comes with the game, the experience, is also something special,” Annika Peter said. “It’s a feeling of togetherness, no matter who the fans are. It’s like a big family coming together in the city to watch these games.”

As the NFL grows in international markets and sends more regular-season games overseas, it raises the question of how much the quality of the on-field product really matters.

This year’s game between the Giants and the Panthers, who are nominally the home team, sold out in just over 90 minutes when tickets went on sale in June. Long before it became clear how difficult the season would be for both teams.

However, in a sign of some fans’ enthusiasm, online platforms listed hundreds of tickets for resale on Friday and Saturday, with many being offered at face value or even slightly less. It’s far from the frenzy when Brady played the same venue in 2022.

Another team that largely failed is at the forefront of the NFL’s global expansion plans. The Jacksonville Jaguars lead the league with 13 international games, all in London, since 2013, including two this season. The Jaguars have only made the playoffs twice in that time and, like the Giants and Panthers, are 2-7 this season.

According to data from Sportfive, a marketing agency that works with the league, 3.6 million Germans are closely following the NFL this year. Stefan Chatrath, a professor of sports marketing at the European University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, said the NFL’s appeal in Germany skewed toward a younger demographic, even if older, wealthier fans tended to buy more tickets. Over time, the influence of younger fans will grow, he predicted.

“Hopefully the full potential is not close to being realized yet,” Chatrath said, adding that the teams that are in the field are less important. “Right now, the NFL brand is at the forefront and that means it’s something special to be at an NFL game.”

One way the NFL is trying to differentiate itself from European sports is by creating a sense of occasion around the game. Fans coming to Munich from all over Europe are encouraged to turn it into a mini vacation with NFL-themed events spread throughout the city. The 10 NFL teams with marketing rights in Germany took over a Munich bar, partly owned by historic breweries, this weekend to host fan parties and hospitality events.

The NFL’s emphasis on parity also gives European fans of struggling teams like the Giants and Panthers particular hope. Some are tired of football, where the richest teams tend to monopolize the titles of national competitions and the Champions League.

Boris Helleu, senior lecturer in sports marketing at the University of Caen Normandy in France, attends NFL games in Europe. But he is also a fan of French football club Caen, which has yet to win a major trophy since its founding 110 years ago.

“We haven’t won anything, anything, anything in our history. And I’m very sure that when my time comes, I will never see my home team win anything,” Helleu said. The NFL offers something different, he added.

“When you’re a fan of a weak (NFL) team, you can firmly believe that in five years you can, maybe, win a championship.”