Long earlier the NFL staged regular-season games extracurricular of the United States, it dipped its toes into planetary waters successful what it called "The American Bowl."
From 1986-2005, the league played 40 preseason games nether the American Bowl banner, with matchups arsenic adjacent arsenic Montreal and Mexico City to arsenic acold distant arsenic Tokyo and London. Those games didn't substance successful the standings but they meant plentifulness to a league that was trying to grow its planetary reach.
After each that experimentation, the NFL decided successful 2005 that it was going to halt wading successful the shallow extremity and dive into planetary games headfirst. So it was that the Arizona Cardinals hosted the San Francisco 49ers successful Mexico City, the archetypal regular-season NFL crippled not played successful the United States.
The Cardinals beat the Niners 31-14 connected Oct. 2, 2005, astatine Estadio Azteca. With 103,467 fans, it acceptable the attendance grounds for a regular-season crippled that stood for astir 4 seasons. The crippled itself wasn't peculiarly memorable for what happened connected the tract but inactive holds plentifulness of value successful what it meant for the league.
For proof, look nary further than Monday night's matchup (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN), wherever the Cardinals and 49ers volition conscionable astatine the aforesaid spot they opened the regular-season planetary doorway much than 17 years earlier. In that time, the league has played 43 regular-season games extracurricular of the U.S.
Of course, the NFL's archetypal planetary regular-season foray didn't travel without hurdles. Whether it was players pursuing passports for the archetypal time, lengthy meetings with the Drug Enforcement Administration oregon large concerts extracurricular the squad hotels the nighttime earlier the game, determination were plentifulness of obstacles some foreseeable and unpredictable.
Here is the communicative of however the NFL's archetypal regular-season planetary crippled came to be, arsenic told by those who enactment it together, played successful it and coached successful it:
WILL WILSON, FORMER DIRECTOR, NFL MEXICO: I was primitively successful Frankfurt with the [NFL Europe franchise] Galaxy and I ended up successful Edinburgh, I was determination for 7 years and the past 3 years I ran the team. As portion of being successful NFL International, the accidental presented itself for maine to tally the concern successful Mexico. My brag astatine the clip enactment that connected my plate, astir apt due to the fact that I lived determination before, truthful they assumed I'd beryllium capable to spell down determination and fig it out. My woman is Australian, we met successful Edinburgh, and for america it was -- wherefore not? We didn't person immoderate kids astatine the time, we were precocious married, we were some surviving successful antithetic countries than wherever we were from, truthful we moved to Mexico successful 2000, and I started moving the concern astatine that constituent successful time.
GERALDINE GONZALEZ, FORMER PR & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, NFL MÉXICO: There was a squad called the Scottish Claymores, and Will Wilson was moving there. He had a transportation with Mexico, due to the fact that helium had spent immoderate of his adolescence studying here. His begetter astatine that clip was an enforcement astatine a precise important planetary company, truthful Will already knew a small astir our ways, which was what we liked.
WILSON: The American Bowl games successful Mexico were successful, [but] we were starting to spot them conflict successful different markets. They were starting to taper disconnected a small spot and determination was a consciousness that the exemplary was getting bushed oregon needed thing new. And that fans wanted much -- they were looking for much than a preseason crippled successful planetary markets. I deliberation it was astir apt 15 oregon 20 years of American Bowl games earlier we got to the regular-season crippled [in Mexico City]. It was ever 1 of those far-fetched ideas that was retired there, I don't callback the nonstop infinitesimal that it truly [became] thing to excavation into. But maine and my unit worked with the strategy folks successful New York and started to look astatine what it would look like, however it could enactment and what the concern lawsuit would be, what we'd request to deliberation astir if we were to marque it happen. That was surely successful that 2003 scope erstwhile it started to prime up steam, and excavation in, to spot however we could propulsion it off.
GONZALEZ: Every clip a regular-season crippled is played distant from the location of the squad that would person to big it, past you suffer that game, and you suffer concessions, parking money, everything from nutrient sales, everything from merchandise sales. It is said that you "lose," due to the fact that you are not astatine home. And that is wherefore it was a indispensable to fig retired however to transportation each that to a antithetic market, due to the fact that though Mexico is simply a marketplace of large consumption, it is simply a antithetic market.
WILSON: The archetypal large situation was conscionable getting everyone to hold to bash it. I retrieve being connected a telephone with strategy folks successful New York and my brag successful New York, we'd done each this enactment connected however we'd propulsion it disconnected and what it would take. And I retrieve saying, 'If we don't bash this, we're going to regret this forever.' Something to that effect. We're astatine this point, let's propulsion the trigger and let's go. That was hurdle fig one. Doing each the enactment to get folks comfy with pulling the trigger. That was a batch of wherever my efforts were. After that it was 'which teams and however bash we fig that out?' A squad would person to suffer a location game, and that was backmost successful that constituent of time, unheard of.
GONZALEZ: Then it was brought distant and discussed astatine immoderate of the owners' meetings that instrumentality spot each year. At that clip the 49ers and the Cardinals were successful debased spirits. The Cardinals are 1 of the oldest teams successful the league and due to the fact that of their geographical proximity, due to the fact that of everything that was taking place, from the beingness of Mexican players successful the improvement league, arsenic good arsenic those who had been successful NFL Europe -- including Rolando Cantú, who had already been connected Arizona's signifier squad -- an accidental was seen there.
ROLANDO CANTU, CARDINALS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN (2004-06) AND NATIVE OF MONTERREY, MEXICO: I was connected the signifier squad successful 2004, got cut, and they signed maine backmost again. The docket for 2005 was past released, and I retrieve precise good that I had a large grooming campy that twelvemonth and they told maine I was doing precise well. I did excellently. When the last 53-man rosters were announced, they chopped maine but told maine they would motion maine backmost for the signifier squad. I had a accidental to beryllium successful the crippled successful Mexico and debut there. I didn't [play], but I had the accidental to beryllium there.
WILSON: I springiness the Cardinals a batch of recognition for taking the situation and doing it. Folks wrong the league successful New York truly had to thrust the effort to fig retired which squad and who to speech to arsenic acold arsenic the ownership groups. Logistic things came into play too, similar clip zones, question -- however acold are they going to person to question -- that's wherefore I deliberation Mexico was specified an charismatic country, it wasn't going to person to beryllium a large trip. Relatively casual from a clip portion perspective. A batch of that went into the calculus, and astatine the time, the [Cardinals] felt similar they'd beryllium consenting to springiness up a location crippled arsenic agelong arsenic it made consciousness for them economically to travel down and play. Geographically, they're beauteous close.
MIKE NOLAN, 49ERS COACH (2005-08): I retrieve we had a meeting, [team owner] John York and I successful the meeting. He said, "Do you privation to play successful Mexico City oregon bash you privation to play successful the Hall of Fame game?" And I said ... I truly don't privation an other crippled successful the preseason my archetypal year. I would alternatively conscionable play the in-season crippled successful Mexico City. And I besides thought from a instrumentality standpoint, the 49ers person a batch of fans down there. I didn't cognize astatine the clip who we'd play, but we ended up playing Arizona. That's however I retrieve it began.
BERTRAND BERRY, CARDINALS DEFENSIVE END (2004-09): The archetypal happening I retrieve was a batch of our guys didn't person passports. So that, archetypal off, was thing I recovered precise interesting. With each of the players we had connected the squad, determination was a agelong enactment to get passports and I conscionable retrieve reasoning like, 'Man, we hadn't been anywhere. We hadn't done thing different than play shot our full lives.'
GONZALEZ: Oct, 2, the day connected which the crippled was to beryllium held, is simply a day that successful Mexico we person to instrumentality with large respect, owed to the humanities events (Tlatelolco Massacre) of which we are good alert here, but that we had to marque wide to our colleagues successful the United States. Yes, the pros and cons were weighed, but it was decided that we had to spell up due to the fact that we had to judge that we connection a amusement and a crushed for fun. So, alternatively than focusing connected the not-so-favorable contented due to the fact that of the meaning of the date, we chose to connection an alternate and say, 'Today, Oct. 2, determination are besides reasons for celebrating.'
BERRY: I conscionable had a bully feeling astir the full thing. I wasn't 1 of those guys apprehensive astir it. I was excited. I ever liked doing worldly that cipher had ever done. So to maine it was, 'Hey, bring it on. Let's spell radiance successful Mexico. Let's spell bring immoderate Cardinals fans backmost with america from crossed the border.'
NEIL RACKERS, CARDINALS KICKER (2003-09): I thought it was beauteous cool. I was a small tense astir the situation and benignant of what to expect, arsenic acold arsenic the crippled goes. But past again, increasing up arsenic a shot player, I was truly excited to get to play connected a nonrecreational shot field.
BERRY: There was decidedly immoderate apprehension and is this the close happening to bash and wherefore are we doing this present and wherefore wasn't this a preseason game? I mean, determination was tons of conversation.
NOLAN: When I archetypal got the Niner job, successful my archetypal preseason game, we had a player dice successful the locker room. That archetypal twelvemonth was not lone a modulation twelvemonth for a atrocious shot team, we had the archetypal prime successful the draft. .... So, aft a portion you bash benignant of get your caput connected a swivel erstwhile you question to Mexico City. I'm thinking, OK, we're doing a batch of things for the archetypal clip successful this play and truthful what's going to beryllium next? I retrieve reasoning to myself, 'My gosh, I spot disconnected a batch much than I tin chew.'
The week of mentation starring up to the Cardinals/49ers crippled astatine Estadio Azteca was similar nary different for some organizations, who faced caller protocols for security, antithetic circumstances astir the determination of hotels, and different constituent immoderate players and unit had failed to relationship for -- the altitude, with Mexico City implicit 7,200 feet supra oversea level.
NOLAN: Our radical made a travel down prior. As anyone would do, you nonstop the full unit down, they spell for 4 oregon 5 days, I'm talking astir months successful advance. And past they program it out. But arsenic a coach, each I retrieve erstwhile we got there, it was benignant of interesting. The level flies in, we're taxiing and there's equipped soldiers each astir the plane. Even erstwhile we were taxiing the past portion of the taxi, they each got automatic weapons.
BERRY: They told america to permission jewelry, wedding rings, thing of worth astatine location due to the fact that astatine the clip that they were having tons of kidnappings and it was conscionable not a precise harmless clip successful Mexico City. So, basically, our radius was our edifice and the 1 adjacent to us. That was astir it. Yeah, we couldn't spell anyplace without immoderate benignant of spouse oregon immoderate benignant of supervision. You conscionable weren't going to beryllium capable to permission the edifice for immoderate reason.
NOLAN: Basically, their service is protecting the plane. And truthful that made maine consciousness secure. And we get disconnected the level and we're escorted onto these buses, and past we've got this escort that drives america to the hotel. As soon arsenic we get to the hotel, everyone is single-file into this large room. All the squad sits down and the DEA proceeds to archer america what we tin and can't do.
GONZALEZ: In New York, [the NFL has] a information squad that works successful conjunction with section information teams. And we had a information squad from Mexico and they already knew astir ample quality agencies similar the CIA oregon the FBI, for which they already knew the codes and protocols.
RACKERS: They conscionable wanted america to marque definite we stayed connected the aforesaid artifact to wherever our hotels were located, worldly similar that. The constabulary uniform's a batch antithetic successful Mexico than successful the United States. That was a small intimidating but different than that, we weren't excessively worried. The NFL information benignant of took attraction of america portion we were down there.
GONZALEZ: A task of this size takes practically a twelvemonth to organize, and we had to get it retired successful 8 months. The past 2 weeks we lone had an mean of 3 hours of sleep, but that was erstwhile we finalized coordination with the section information team, with the information squad that came from the United States, oregon the backstage information of immoderate celebrities.
CANTU: I retrieve that week precise vividly. I met [Grammy Award-winning band] Los Tigres del Norte astatine the Intercontinental Hotel. I was giving a property league and they thought I was a musician. They stared astatine me, they were successful a backstage section, and I had to devour successful beforehand of them. I knew who they were, but they asked maine who I was. I had the accidental to [visit] each the TV stations successful Mexico, to those that traveled from the U.S. It was a precise engaged schedule. I did assemblage relations events, camps and clinics. It was a three-day nonstop media blitz. It was each astir promoting the game, and I had to spell done each of that. But it was a pleasance and an enactment of love, to beryllium capable to talk successful beforehand of a camera.
LARRY FITZGERALD, CARDINALS WIDE RECEIVER (2004-20): I conscionable retrieve Rolando Cantu was the astir fashionable feline successful the full city.
CLANCY PENDERGAST, CARDINALS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR (2004-08): The biggest interest going into the crippled was the altitude. We were acrophobic astir that going successful due to the fact that of the conditioning level and that benignant of thing. So it was precise important for players, going into the game, staying hydrated and things that you bash erstwhile you're playing successful higher elevation.
NOLAN: One of the things I retrieve excessively is determination was a concert, I can't retrieve if it was each 3 nights oregon conscionable the nighttime earlier the game, but they had this immense all-through-the-night performance close extracurricular our edifice and I'm talking similar a large concert. I'm talking astir 100,000 oregon much people. And it was close adjacent doorway to the edifice and it was truthful loud, I don't deliberation anyone connected the squad adjacent slept. ... it was the worst night. I couldn't judge it. I thought, however could we ever person not been alert of this oregon whatever. And I was truly pissed astatine the clip astir that. ... I'm telling you it was, you couldn't enactment a pillow implicit your caput and support the sound down. It was that loud.
RACKERS: I truly enjoyed it. Our edifice had a truly bully parkland successful beforehand of it. A batch of the large sponsors had gone with us, truthful being determination that early, I was capable to walk a small spot of clip with a batch of the Cardinal sponsors. But we were besides successful beforehand of wherever each the circuit buses picked up and stuff, truthful it was, it was truly chill to benignant of, people-watch and spot however they run there. I deliberation determination was a performance going connected crossed the thoroughfare which apparently, they person each Sunday. It was conscionable a chill environment. It's a precise close-knit community, precise family-oriented down successful Mexico, truthful it's benignant of amusive to spot however they interact.
FITZGERALD: [The altitude was] very, precise tough. The archetypal fewer days erstwhile you get to grooming campy successful Flagstaff, you would beryllium sucking air. It was pugnacious to assimilate to it, conscionable walking up the stairs to your dorm room, you would beryllium like, 'Damn.' It was pugnacious for maine and I felt that aforesaid mode [in Mexico City]. I retrieve vividly, I was roommates with [fellow wide receiver] Sean Morey and the elevator was truly jammed up, truthful I conscionable took the stairs to the 5th floor. I retrieve getting to similar the 3rd level and I was like, 'That was a atrocious determination connected our part, Sean.' We should person waited for that f---ing elevator.' I retrieve conscionable huffing and puffing. We're successful the mediate of the season, some play wide receiver truthful we're moving each the time. It's not similar we're not successful 'top 1% of radical successful the world' shape, you know? And inactive climbing those stairs, it made you recognize that altitude was nary joke.
RACKERS: The radical are truthful grateful, truthful appreciative that you're there. That's what I noticed the astir is they're friendly, excited. The assemblage astatine the crippled was beauteous fascinating due to the fact that they didn't truly cognize who to basal for. They were conscionable excited that we were there. The large happening that I ever noticed is however overmuch radical convey you for being determination and however grateful they are that the NFL is taking the clip to person events down successful Mexico.
BERRY: We had a small spot of a pugnacious commencement to the play and truthful we felt similar we could get backmost connected way against San Fran, who we had truly had immoderate occurrence against successful similar 2004 and past that year. So, we felt bully astir what we were doing and our chances of going retired determination and being successful. And then, again, to beryllium the archetypal to bash something. I mean, I ever said, 'Hey, if you're going to beryllium the first, hey, acceptable the barroom high.'
Both the 49ers and Cardinals entered Week 4 of the 2005 NFL play seeking momentum. The 49ers were sitting astatine 1-2 successful Nolan's archetypal season, with calls for the squad to seat starting backmost Tim Rattay (five interceptions implicit the erstwhile 2 weeks) successful favour of rookie and No. 1 wide draught prime Alex Smith increasing louder. The Cardinals were 0-3, and had mislaid starting QB Kurt Warner to a close groin wounded the erstwhile week. For 2 teams that were struggling, the pageantry astir the crippled seemed to person an energizing effect.
NOLAN: Some of the things I thought were benignant of neat were, they had a batch of celebrities from Mexico City and astir their state that were astatine the game. It was a large deal. It was similar a Super Bowl would beryllium for us, each the large names travel out.
GONZALEZ: When crippled time came around, we were coming disconnected a precise beardown workflow. There had already been a precise ample magnitude of anterior promotional events and we had already logged galore hours of work. ... The time of the game, I got up and said, "Lord, not everything has to spell well." I was hoping it wouldn't rain, that determination wouldn't beryllium problems with the teams' accomplishment to the stadium.
BERRY: The stadium was antithetic due to the fact that it had the mosh pit [trench surrounding the playing surface] astir it, and it had the barbed ligament connected apical of the stadium. So that was a small different. I had ne'er seen thing similar that. ... In the United States we're beauteous aggravated sports fans, but barbed ligament was a antithetic level for us.
CANTU: It is specified a feeling -- it's similar a gladiator entering an arena. Everybody knew I was going to beryllium there, astatine the stadium. That day, [Cardinals coach] Dennis Green kept maine adjacent to Kurt Warner, who was inactive that day. Many things happened that day. The U-17 nationalist shot squad was playing successful the World Cup final. Every clip they scored, they played the extremity connected the video surface and radical cheered. The players didn't recognize what was going connected and basically, I had to construe for them what was going on.
LUIS ZENDEJAS, CARDINALS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS (2001-19), FORMER NFL KICKER AND NATIVE OF MICHOACAN, MEXICO: I knew we had much than 100,000 radical successful the stadium, but I focused connected 1 small group, the kids from Michoacan. There were not a batch of cameras, [but] 1 of the kids brought a small 1 and took immoderate pictures. But it was thing special. For me, the crippled wasn't that large of a deal. What was a large woody was the people, the Mexican people, the ones who were there. When I spell backmost to Michoacan, the kids amusement maine the things they bought astatine the stadium. They were kids backmost then, present they're men.
RACKERS: They were chanting for the Niners. I judge there's a batch of 49ers fans due to the fact that earlier the crippled they were benignant of chanting "San Francisco." But past erstwhile [Cardinals safety] Robert Griffith ran retired with the Mexican flag, that changed beauteous quickly.
GONZALEZ: Luis Zendejas, who astatine that clip was portion of the organizational operation of the Cardinals, and who had been a kicker and whose 2 brothers had been kickers arsenic well, said, 'We request an constituent that truly rocks everyone and makes them place with 1 another.' And helium had a precise bully idea. He said, 'I request a Mexican flag.' At that time, determination was a idiosyncratic who ran Estadio Azteca, called Carmelita. I don't cognize wherever she got the emblem from. They went to get the emblem and gave it to 1 of the Cardinals players. And erstwhile helium went retired onto the field, it resulted successful an iconic photograph due to the fact that helium runs retired waving the flag. That was a precise affectional moment.
ZENDEJAS: Michael Bidwill had asked maine what we tin do, what we tin bring. You person to recognize that the Cardinals weren't favored successful that game, they weren't the instrumentality favourite either. It was important to enactment with the assemblage and each that, and I told them to enactment connected the U-17 lucifer astatine the stadium and to travel retired with the Mexican flag, due to the fact that it's astir the respect you're going to show. I said, "Don't travel retired with an American emblem oregon thing similar that." The 49ers' proprietor was upset astir that, but it's a substance of respect.
RACKERS: It was amazing. We couldn't adjacent truly person a pregame speech due to the fact that radical were stomping successful the stands and successful the locker country you person benignant of the cutouts for the steps oregon the ceiling, truthful the full locker country was conscionable shaking and loud, truthful we couldn't hear, we couldn't truly perceive thing earlier the game. Other than the NFC Championship Game successful Arizona, it was the loudest crippled I was ever a portion of.
GONZALEZ: I had to locomotion from the property container to the transportation astir 10 times, and erstwhile I was astatine transportation level, and would perceive that scream, it was genuinely impressive. That's erstwhile I realized that it had besides made a beardown content connected the coaches and players.
PENDERGAST: It was conscionable truly an electrical crowd. There was implicit 100,000 radical there. They cheered relentlessly passim the full game.
WILSON: It was awesome. There's nary different mode to picture it. I'd been to Estadio Azteca for galore games. I'd been determination for Club America [soccer] games, I've been to U.S. vs. Mexico [men's nationalist squad soccer] games, evidently NFL preseason games and to this crippled -- truthful to me, it wasn't immoderate antithetic arsenic acold arsenic the experience.
Despite the pro-Cardinals enthusiasm ignited by Griffith's flag-bearing, it was the 49ers who got disconnected to the speedy start, scoring touchdowns connected a fumble betterment successful the extremity portion by linebacker Derek Smith and a 78-yard fumble instrumentality by cornerback Derrick Johnson to involvement San Francisco to a 14-0 first-quarter lead. The 49ers would not people again, arsenic Rattay and the discourtesy struggled to prolong drives and near Nolan with a hard QB decision. Meanwhile, Arizona backup QB Josh McCown (32-of-46 passing, 385 yards, 2 TDs) and wideouts Anquan Boldin (8 receptions, 116 yards,1 TD) and Fitzgerald (7 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD) moved the Cardinals, though it was the kicker, Rackers, who would person a vocation crippled astatine Estadio Azteca, connecting connected a career-high six tract goals successful the eventual 31-14 win.
BERRY: I retrieve the archetypal 2 drives. I mean, I retrieve the discourtesy having 2 turnovers and we're looking up and we're down 14-0 earlier we ever touched the field. On the defense, we're like, "What the hell's going connected here? Like, this is the 49ers now. We're not expected to beryllium down 14-0 to these guys." ... And we're each benignant of looking astatine each different connected the antiaircraft side, like, "All right, I conjecture we gotta spell triumph this happening ourselves." So we went retired with a batch much absorption and resoluteness and, and erstwhile the discourtesy was capable to bash what they needed to do, and we did what we did, we had a beauteous bully clip and I retrieve having a beauteous bully crippled myself.
NOLAN: It was a packed house. I did not cognize that erstwhile they whistle, that means they privation things to prime up. Things are going slow, it's similar a shot thing. If that's the information and I'm close successful what I'm saying, I retrieve from clip to time, everybody successful the assemblage would commencement whistling meaning, "Hey, this is slow." But I didn't cognize that astatine the time. I conscionable heard the whistling thinking, "Well, I wonderment what that means?" But I retrieve determination was implicit 100,000 radical I deliberation astatine the game, which was immense and 100,000 radical are whistling. It's a small different.
RACKERS: In warm-ups we deed [field goals] from 75. And past Denny Green told maine we were going to effort a 72-yarder during the game, but past we got a third-and-13 conversion, truthful we didn't extremity up doing that. It's decidedly a assurance boost erstwhile you're sitting astatine distances similar that and past opening drive, you get retired for a 47-yarder, it seems beauteous adjacent astatine that point.
FITZGERALD: I retrieve getting punched successful the rima aboriginal successful the game. I remember, I deliberation they jumped retired connected america 14-0, and past Anquan [Boldin] and Josh [McCown] got america started and I made a mates plays and our defence helped adjacent it out.
RACKERS: It conscionable was a batch of fun. There was a batch of excitement. I was evidently capable to get connected the tract a lot. It felt bully to person fans that enactment a batch of banal successful the tract extremity portion of the crippled and the kicking portion of the game.
BERRY: I felt atrocious due to the fact that it was against my lad [49ers violative tackle] Anthony Clement, who we were teammates the twelvemonth before. You hatred to person those benignant of games against radical that you genuinely like, and I genuinely liked AC, but we some had a occupation to bash and I was going to bash my job. It was the opening of [No. 1 pick] Alex Smith's clip arsenic the backmost due to the fact that Tim Rattay was a starter and they took him retired and past Alex Smith got his time. And, so, I retrieve getting a sack connected some those guys. So, it was a bully time. Like erstwhile we got to the 2nd half, we were capable to benignant of truly found ourselves connected each 3 phases of the game. And it was amusive for us. I can't talk for San Fran, but I cognize we had a batch of fun.
With the crippled slipping away, Nolan made the fateful telephone to spell to Smith, who would log the archetypal of 3,250 vocation completions astatine Estadio Azteca earlier going connected to marque his archetypal NFL commencement the pursuing week. Smith was 6-of-10 passing for 34 yards successful the crippled but would mostly conflict passim his rookie twelvemonth for a squad that finished 4-12.
NOLAN: There was a full happening of erstwhile bash you play [Smith]? When don't you play him? I tin retrieve calling Peyton Manning aft the draft. We had [selected] Alex. And I said, "Look, what's your instrumentality connected playing a feline aboriginal versus not?" Well obviously, helium played aboriginal erstwhile helium was a rookie and helium powerfully suggested "play him early, get the experience," that's what benignant of helped me. ... But if Alex, [who] was precise young -- helium was 20 erstwhile we drafted him -- was the aforesaid property and spot arsenic Peyton Manning, past that's past that's a bully feline to perceive to. But helium wasn't the aforesaid benignant of guy. He was a feline that was precise young. He wasn't adjacent the assured idiosyncratic that Peyton was. And so, it was a mistake to play him excessively overmuch excessively aboriginal due to the fact that helium needed to beryllium brought on differently.
When we talked astir playing Alex aboriginal we were dilatory to bash it for bully reason. I didn't wanna ruin him and scare him, but the occupation that happened was we were truthful bad, truthful fewer players, it was we had truly nary prime but to say, "Look, we gotta find a mode to triumph immoderate games. Let's conscionable spell with the young feline and spot what we tin do."
RACKERS: The bully portion for maine was usually radical spell to the concession basal during a tract goal, but successful Mexico a tract extremity is simply a large woody due to the fact that they similar the kicking portion of the game. It was benignant of bully -- the cheers for tract goals down there. And past aft the game, the different acquisition I had was, usually a kicker does a property league with astatine the astir 15 to 20 reporters and they asked maine to travel into this country and determination were astir 500 reporters and I had to truly constitute myself earlier that, due to the fact that I walked successful and the look connected my look was benignant of like, whoa. So, that was benignant of a chill acquisition arsenic well.
CANTU: It was rather a game; we were losing, and we ended up with the win. It was a watershed infinitesimal for us, to commencement nurturing a instrumentality basal successful Mexico.
The palmy lawsuit successful Mexico City would connection impervious of conception for a league that would spell connected to formally denote the enactment of the NFL International Series opening successful 2007 with a New York Giants triumph implicit the Miami Dolphins from Wembley Stadium successful London. The league would not instrumentality to Mexico until 2016 but is acceptable to play for the 4th clip successful 7 seasons from Estadio Azteca with an encore of the Cardinals/49ers matchup. The league besides expanded its International Series into Germany opening this season.
WILSON: I'm immensely arrogant of it. It's a defining infinitesimal for the NFL and the International Series. This twelvemonth determination are what, [five] games overseas? There's [five] games, and the planetary circular of games has taken connected a level of value that surely didn't beryllium erstwhile it archetypal happened.
FITZGERALD: I retrieve Robert Griffith moving retired of that passageway with that Mexican flag, and I'd ne'er seen oregon played successful beforehand of that galore people. Those are the things that stood retired to me. It was an grant to beryllium capable to benignant of person the archetypal [regular-season] planetary crippled and beryllium a portion of immoderate truly chill history, particularly arsenic I spot the crippled grow into Germany and to London and hopefully continues to bash that.
CANTU: The emblem [carried by Robert Griffith] was loaned to america by the Estadio Azteca and its staff. [Former Cardinal question liaison] Anthony [Edwards] and Luis Zendejas went to springiness the emblem to Griffith. The emblem belonged to the stadium, and we had to instrumentality it. That flag, I didn't know, but it was adjacent to me. It was kept connected the bench. After the victory, Griffith grabbed it again and helium ran with it each implicit the field. Then, helium gives it to me, and I instrumentality it to the locker country and erstwhile Dennis Green congratulates us, it's each implicit and we leave. I near the flag, but the h2o lad saw it with maine and thought it was mine. He enactment it successful my bag. I had the thought that the emblem was lost. But during the pandemic, I was browsing the boxes -- determination are 120 of them -- of worldly I person kept passim my career, which I support successful my garage. My woman recovered the emblem and present it is.
WILSON: When the Colts played successful London successful 2015 oregon 2016, I went to that crippled arsenic good and I had a existent consciousness of idiosyncratic pride, due to the fact that of what this had become. The merchandising successful London [outside the stadium] was astir apt 100 yards long, screens showing what was sold out, and what I deliberation is large astir it is NFL fans successful general, it doesn't person to beryllium a circumstantial team. What it does is rise the illustration and springiness much to the fans overseas, it's big. It was a large archetypal step, an important measurement and 1 that has evidently grown and evolved present with the information that teams tin opt successful for their rights overseas. That wasn't the lawsuit erstwhile I was successful Mexico, but present they tin bargain successful and retired of those and marketplace successful definite countries if they privation to based connected that bid process. It's travel a agelong way, and it's great.
GONZALEZ: It was a watershed infinitesimal due to the fact that successful reality, nary regular-season games had been played extracurricular of the continental United States. So it was a benignant of test, and I deliberation the effect was truly satisfying successful galore ways.
CANTU: It's astonishing however beingness comes around. Now, I'm portion of the [Cardinals] committee and I travel to Estadio Azteca with the aforesaid excitement. To beryllium capable to question again, to unrecorded this experience, and to look the 49ers again -- it's amazing. It was announced, canceled owed to the pandemic and past we got backmost to it. It has been a agelong journey, but I'm blessed to beryllium a portion of it. I person been progressive successful draught parties and clinics for kids successful Mexico City and each implicit the country; we've been to ticker parties successful Mexico, and our fans are excited to invited the squad successful Mexico. Today it's each antithetic with societal media. There is an instant transportation with NFL fans due to the fact that there's much interaction.
GONZALEZ: I deliberation it was a precise bully bet, acknowledgment to Will's vision. From my perspective, the thought began with Will Wilson.
ZENDEJAS: It's beauteous that the squad is doing Monday Night Football again. They're going to play astatine Azteca, but the lone antagonistic for maine is, wherefore did it instrumentality truthful agelong [for the Cardinals] to return? What was the hesitation? We request to enactment an NFL squad down there. There are fans already successful place. It's a two-hour formation from Dallas to play against the Cowboys, 3 to Miami, places similar that. Instead of England oregon those cities, a squad successful Mexico City, Monterrey oregon Guadalajara would beryllium better. It would beryllium large for the kids, the thought that they could play professionally.
BERRY: Of people they had NFL Europe and each that benignant of bully stuff. So technically we weren't the first, but arsenic acold arsenic [regular-season] NFL games, it was breathtaking to beryllium the first.
ESPN reporters Alfonso Mancilla, Eric Gomez, Josh Weinfuss and Nick Wagoner contributed to this report.
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