Saturday is the quiet football day of Munich game week and the loud one for everyone else. Both teams held their day-before-game walk-throughs, the Patriots had roster decisions to make before the league’s afternoon deadline, and downtown Munich filled up with Lions and Patriots fans. Big Sean checked in from the Fan Fest stage before his free show, a German artist gave Amon-Ra St. Brown a painting she valued at €10,000, and Roger Goodell spent Friday evening at the Bavarian State Chancellery with FC Bayern and city officials. Kickoff at FC Bayern’s stadium is 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET. Friday’s events are in day five.
Big Sean opens day two of the Lions’ Fan Fest
The Lions’ Fan Fest at Odeonsplatz opened again at 11 a.m. local time for its second and last day, with Lions legends, the cheerleaders, the mascots Roary and Leo, and the St. Brown family foundation on site. The club posted a video of Big Sean on the empty stage during his sound check. “Fan Fest. We out here early,” the Detroit rapper said. “Make sure you come out. Free concert, free everything you need. Good times, man. We here celebrating, having a good time.” Barry Sanders was scheduled to appear at 4:30 p.m., ahead of Big Sean’s 5 p.m. set. On Friday, the Detroit techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson closed the first day.
Big Sean at the Fan Fest stage on Saturday. Video by the Lions.
A €10,000 painting for Amon-Ra St. Brown
The German-American receiver, playing his first regular-season game in his mother’s country, was handed a large painting of himself in his No. 14 Lions jersey, with the words “written in the stars,” outside the FC Bayern Campus on Friday evening. The artist, who posts as the.creativeway, said the work was worth €10,000 and also gave him a handwritten letter. St. Brown read it in front of a crowd of young fans, and the league’s German account said he got emotional. He has already called Germany his second home this week, and Dan Campbell said he could feel St. Brown’s “pep in his step.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown receives the painting at the FC Bayern Campus. Video by NFL Deutschland.
Goodell at the Bavarian State Chancellery
On Friday evening, FC Bayern and the league were guests at the Bavarian State Chancellery, the state government’s seat in Munich. The panel included Goodell, Bayern marketing and sales board member Rouven Kasper, U.S. Consul General James Miller, Florian Herrmann, who heads the State Chancellery, and Munich city councillor Kathrin Abele, and it focused on the long partnership between the club, the league and the city. Bayern headlined its post with Kasper’s line: “creating great moments together.” Bayern helped bring the league to Germany for the first time in 2022, and Sunday is the third regular-season game in Munich, after Seahawks-Buccaneers in 2022 and Giants-Panthers in 2024. Earlier this week the league and the Bundesliga extended their partnership, and Munich is also scheduled to host a game in 2028.
The reception at the Bavarian State Chancellery on Friday evening. Post by FC Bayern.
Patriots Saturday: walk-through and roster moves
The Patriots, who have practiced at Säbener Straße, Bayern’s first-team training ground, since Thursday, finished the week with their usual day-before-game walk-through. Mike Reiss listed the to-do list: roster moves and practice-squad elevations were due by 4 p.m. ET, which is 10 p.m. in Munich. He wrote that left guard Greg Van Roten was expected to fill the open roster spot, and that cornerback Kindle Vildor and running back Terrell Jennings were among the elevation options. Sunday is also the first time Mike Vrabel and Dan Campbell will meet as head coaches.
The Patriots’ Saturday notes. Post by Mike Reiss.
The Lions, who arrived Friday morning and practiced at the FC Bayern Campus, had one more day to adjust to the six-hour time difference. Campbell had said Friday would be the hardest day of the trip and that “every eight hours here, we’re going to begin to acclimate.” The final injury statuses for both teams, including A.J. Brown, Rhamondre Stevenson and St. Brown as questionable, are in our Friday injury updates.
Lions fans take over the Hofbräuhaus
The Hofbräuhaus is the Lions’ official team pub this week, and Brad Galli filmed one packed table of fans who looked like old friends but had just met. “Uniting in the name of Dan Campbell (and German beer),” he wrote. He also met a veteran who was stationed in Germany in 2010 and is a lifelong Lions fan; when the league announced the game, his wife surprised him with tickets and the trip. Justin Rogers, after more than two days in the city, reported seeing his first Patriots fan, joking that he was avoiding sudden movements so as not to startle him. The Patriots still drew their own crowds, at the Patriots Haus at Herrschaftszeiten in the Tal and at Boston in Bavaria at the Augustiner Stammhaus, where a surprise Patriots Super Bowl champion was set to tap the first keg between 4 and 6:30 p.m.
Lions fans at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. Video by Brad Galli.
A veteran and Lions fan who was stationed in Germany. Video by Brad Galli.
Game day: anthems, halftime and the forecast
Country singer Drew Baldridge will sing the U.S. national anthem, and LaBrassBanda, the Bavarian brass band from the Chiemgau, will play the German anthem. Cage The Elephant has the halftime show. The fan zone outside the stadium opens at 12:30 p.m. local time, and the league is urging fans to take the U6 subway to Fröttmaning. The forecast is dry, overcast and cool, with a temperature in the mid-40s Fahrenheit at kickoff, about 7 degrees Celsius, light wind and little to no chance of rain. Sunset in Munich is at about 4:35 p.m., so most of the game will be played under the lights. After the game, the league is paying about €200,000 to replace the stadium’s grass so Bayern can return to it.
The German anthem at last year’s Berlin game; LaBrassBanda plays it in Munich on Sunday. Video by NFL Deutschland.
| Sunday (local time) | What |
|---|---|
| 12:30 p.m. | Fan zone and stadium campus open |
| 1 p.m. | Watch party at the Patriots Haus, Herrschaftszeiten |
| Pregame | U.S. anthem by Drew Baldridge, German anthem by LaBrassBanda |
| 3:30 p.m. | Kickoff, Patriots (5-4) vs. Lions (6-2), 9:30 a.m. ET |
| Halftime | Cage The Elephant |
| About 4:35 p.m. | Sunset in Munich |
The Lions are going for a fifth straight win and their first win outside the United States since 2014 at Wembley. The Patriots, coming off a 45-27 loss to Green Bay, have their bye next week. Our interactive preview breaks down the matchup.
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