This summit really demonstrated the interest and potential of establishing a more permanent and prominent franchise in Europe. Industry experts such as Ridpath were also able to gain new insights into the sport from a global perspective and network with other leaders in the industry. The night before the game, Ridpath attended the NFL Europe Alumni Reunion hosted by former NFL Europe President Oliver Luck, along with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his mother, Ohio State native Donna Kelce, as well as NFL Commissioner Roger Luck. Goodell and others all attended.
“It was incredible to not only see an interesting game, but also to see how it's played in other countries,” Ridpath said. “The game was played by flipping a soccer stadium into an American football stadium, so I'm there concentrating on everything but the game at the point. If you look at the sessions, how they changed the way the screens worked in the stadium, they did a great job in every aspect.”
Thanks to the response from the summit, by connecting various stakeholders of local American football teams with politicians, concerned community members, experts and administrators, and even students at their own universities, Strobel believes that Summit was able to contribute to the creation of an American football network in Germany. You can greatly benefit from these types of connections.
“The summit comes at a perfect time and is very representative of where we are right now in the context of interest in American football. We are at the summit,” Strobel explained. “More and more people are interested, and it's only going to get stronger. This isn't just something that's talked about in the media, it's something that's been going on for a long time, and we at Ohio University want to learn more about its impact. They have the ability to investigate and analyze.”
