When the New England Patriots played in Germany during the 2023 season, Marcus Jones was on injured reserve and couldn't make the trip.
With another opportunity presenting itself this offseason, though, he jumped on it – joining teammate Cole Strange, alumni players Sebastian Vollmer, Brian Hoyer, and Markus Kuhn, and other members of the organization for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Patriots' new flag football field in Düsseldorf last weekend.
Aiming to increase the growth and popularity of football in their international home market, the Patriots are now the first NFL team to commit to a long-term presence in Germany. After his first time stepping foot in the country, Jones could see why the team is so bullish on investing there.
"It was an unbelievable experience," Jones told Patriots.com.
"When we're here, of course the fans show out. But in Germany the fan base is wild. They love us and you can just tell how in tune they are to the Patriots. In Foxborough, people are born here and have been here and love all of Boston sports. So seeing people in a different part of the world that excited, and having kids come up to me to say, 'Marcus, I love you, I'm a big fan,' is so wild."
Arriving in Germany on Thursday, April 2, Vollmer's first stop was to visit Bayer Leverkusen, the reigning 2023-24 Bundesliga champions, for a jersey swap. Their first full day in Germany was on Friday, and the group split up for a few activations.
Hoyer and Kuhn hosted a "combine" with prominent German sports personalities and influencers while Strange joined Vollmer, a Düsseldorf native, to explore the city and immerse themselves in local German culture as they tried the cuisine and beverages.
"When we got there on Friday we had some time to just go around downtown Düsseldorf. We went to some pubs and saw a bunch of different places. Sebastian was telling me all about how old everything was, and almost everything was older than the United States of America, so I was mind blown by that."
Strange had only been out of the country once before – when the Patriots played in Frankfurt.
The offensive lineman considered that a business trip, though, and didn't indulge in one of Germany's greatest specialties as much as he would have liked. This time around was different.
"I love it," Strange said of German beer.
"I didn't try too much beer in Frankfurt because we were playing, but this past weekend I didn't have the same restrictions. They serve it in these little glasses – not quite shot glasses – but it was like two sips."
While Vollmer was playing tour guide for Strange, Jones visited Porz Studio to meet with local children to distribute food and clothing.
The children had something for him, too, showing him the personalized rap song they wrote for him. Jones, a music aficionado himself, contributed a few verses in the studio.
"When I walked into the building the kids were cheering for me, and then they played me a song they made for me," Jones said.
"They translated it to English and the message of the song was about moving forward in a positive way. Hearing that, and seeing their setup – they had a Universal Audio interface – so their interface was better than the one I record with. They were doing it big. Just being able to record with them and do something I love to do, especially with kids, was great."
The main event on Saturday was the Flag Football Fest.
The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Patriots flag football field featured Vollmer and Düsseldorf mayor Dr. Stephan Keller, and following that was the unveiling of a second adjacent field named after Vollmer.
Jones conducted the ceremonial coin toss for the NFL U14 Flag Football competition that followed.
"That was great to see," Jones said. "Having both genders play the game of football – it's always been male dominated here, but there are girls who are picking up football as their first sport."
Strange shared a similar sentiment, and was surprised by how much this emerging sport has grown.
"I didn't know flag football was quite as big as it is, or that it's going to be in the Olympics in 2028," Strange said. "So it makes sense to see how it's spreading and as big as it is, but it was cool. There were eight to 10 teams, just a bunch of little German kids running around playing flag football. I was like, this is crazy."
The Patriots had giveaways during the event, and players and cheerleaders held an extensive autograph session that drew quite the crowd.
With over 2,000 fans showing up, attendance far exceeded initial expectations.
"It really blew my mind because I just thought to myself that we were halfway across the world and still have a massive fan base," Strange said. "I didn't even really know how to comprehend that. They have social media pages for just the German fans, they have watch parties, I just think it's cool as hell."
