The National Football League continues to expand its global reach, crossing into another international city this weekend.
The Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders will play in Madrid on Sunday, marking the first time the league will play a game in Spain.
For Alejandro Villanueva, the game hits close to home in more ways than one. Not only did he grow up in Spain, but his father is based at Naval Station Rota, where a flag football event was held on Wednesday. The former NFL offensive lineman, who served in the US military, is spending time in Spain on behalf of USAA, the NFL’s official Salute to Service partner.
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“The US military and the country of Spain have been the two entities that I have grown up under. I have always prayed for a good relationship between Spain and the US because if there was a break or a friction between the two, I would always have to either choose or be put in a terrible position. But to see the fact that an American football game is going to take place in Spain is pretty surreal with Foxeva,” said a Digital interview with Foxeva News.
“It’s quite interesting living in the US and seeing the development of how Spain and the US come out of it, how the base has meant so much to the US Navy and how the sport is now starting to interest Spanish fans. All those things – I could never have hoped for a better development when I went to the US. So the full moment of coming back to my hometown, and now working on the US base, to be out here on an English base. pretty amazing.”
“It’s just an incredible experience to be out with everyone on base earlier today,” added Theismann, who is in town to see his former team. “That’s one of the things that I love about USAA — it’s honor through action. That’s what USAA is all about, honoring the military through action. I was at the Army-Navy game last year, and now I’m out here in Spain and I’m able to honor the troops again.”
Theismann discussed the importance of growing the game globally, saying that as long as every game is “packaged”, there is no reason why the NFL should not continue to go across the Atlantic.
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“With the attendance we get at the international games, it tells you the insatiable appetite that people have for the NFL,” Theismann said. “If people didn’t show up, you wouldn’t have these games. But still, you get packed stadiums — everybody’s got their jerseys on, their banners, their faces painted. They’re just as enthusiastic in different parts of the world as they are back in the States. So I think it’s just an effort for the NFL and by the NFL to continue to grow.”
Villanueva echoed similar sentiments but took a different route. He called American soccer a “cultural weapon” that could bridge the gap between the United States and Spain.
“There’s no hiding the fact that players represent stories, and those stories represent values, and those values are the values that represent all of us. I think American football represents hard work and sacrifice that supersedes everything else. It doesn’t matter where you come from — if you work harder and you sacrifice more than the person next to you, you deserve to win, you deserve the best in the NFL. to happen to you, and I think those are the values that you have in United States,” Villanueva said.
“I think American sports fits into that category of entertainment. You can learn so much about what we value just by watching American football. I think the rest of the world is much more traditional. America has incredible things to sell through American football. Everybody watches Sunday night, Monday night — whoever’s playing, you watch.”
“Everyone can learn and be a huge fan of this sport, just like the British were able to expand soccer to the whole world,” added Villanueva. “I hope the NFL continues to expand internationally.”
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