The NFL plays its first game this season in Frankfurt, Germany, with the Kansas City Chiefs meeting the Miami Dolphins. Before the game kicks off, the national anthems for the United States and Germany were played.
This is the second regular-season game played in Germany in NFL history. Last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Munich. In that game, they sang both the Star Spangled Banner and the German National Anthem. That is something we also saw this week when the Dolphins played the Chiefs.
Who Sung the US and German National Anthems in Week 9?
The US National Anthem was sung by US Air Force Senior Airman Dana Bowers. This followed the same tradition of having a member of the armed forces sing the US National Anthem for the NFL Germany game.
The German National Anthem was sung by singer/songwriter Gregor Hagele. This also follows the same tradition as last year when recording artist Sophia had the honor.
US Air Force Senior Airman Dana Bowers did a wonderful rendition of the National Anthem but #ChiefsKingdom reminded everyone that today is a home game for the #Chiefs!pic.twitter.com/qcEDBWqjJz
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 5, 2023
What Is the German National Anthem?
The German national anthem is called “Song of Germany” and is also known as the “Deutschlandlied.” The song has taken on several roles, variations, and purposes since being created in the 1790s.
When first performed for Holy Roman Emperor Francis II’s birthday in 1796, the music was by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn and was known as “Emperor’s Hymn.” The music was Austria’s anthem until 1918, when the Austrian-Hungarian Empire fell.
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August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics as a poem in 1841 as a call to unify Germany. The song was adopted as the country’s national anthem in 1922, after World War I. The song remained the national anthem through World War II, but only the first stanza was used starting in the 1930s.
After World War II, Poet Johannes Robert Becher’s “Auferstanden aus Ruinen” (Risen from Ruins) was adopted as East Germany’s new anthem in 1949 and remained until 1990.
West Germany adopted Deutschlandlied in the 1950s but only used the third stanza, which focused on unifying Germany. Deutschlandlied’s third stanza became the national anthem in the 1990s when West and East Germany unified following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
What Other Games Are Played in Germany?
The NFL is back in Germany next week with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts at Frankfurt Stadium. This will be the fifth and final game played outside the United States this season. There were three games played in London earlier in the season.
The league confirmed last month that Spain and Brazil are being considered to host an NFL regular-season game. Commissioner Roger Goodell said it was possible that the league could play in one of those locations as soon as next season.
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