Getty Image
Perhaps the best game of the 2023 NFL regular season is set to be played in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday.
Nearly 60,000 fans will watch the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs take on Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins.
But while fans are fired up about it, one person who isn’t is Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling.’
“Yeah, it sucks,” he said during an interview with CBS Sports. “I mean, obviously it sucks that we have to travel nine hours for a home game when Arrowhead is right down the street. But obviously we do have other fans that are all over the world, not just in the United States. So it gives them the opportunity to see some of their favorite players play”
The Chiefs are giving up a home game in order to play in the contest, and Valdes-Scantling doesn’t exactly appreciate the logistical hurdle the game presents.
“I know we’ve got a lot of fans over in Germany, so I’m grateful that we get to give them that opportunity,” he said. “But it does suck for the players to have to be away from their families, or (I’ve) got to find a babysitter for my dogs for a couple days. Things that we’ve got to take into account. But past that, it is what it is.”
NFL International Series Continues To Grow In 2023
The NFL International Series began in 2007 when the Giants topped the Dolphins, 13-10 in London.
Since then, the league has had at least one game overseas every year other than the COVID-affected 2020 season.
The NFL scheduled five international games for 2023, split between both London and Frankfurt. But the matchup between Miami and Kansas City is undoubtedly the headliner.
Here’s hoping the travel and new environment doesn’t affect what could otherwise be a game of the season candidate.