Kansas vs Arizona State: 46,523 Fans Attend First College Football Game at Wembley
Key Points
- Wembley Stadium hosted 46,523 fans for the inaugural Union Jack Classic on Saturday, marking London's first college football game.
- About 15,000 fans travelled from the US for the game: 9,000 supporting Arizona State and 6,000 supporting Kansas.
- Kansas scored the opening touchdown through Tate Nagy with a 72-yard punt return, as tailgate parties began 7 hours before kick-off at 10am.
The rivalry began before the first snap. On Friday, at a pre-game party in Waterloo, Kansas fans shouted their rallying cry "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk," while Arizona State supporters replied with "ASU, ASU." At Wembley, Fox Sports had an outdoor studio for its live pre-game show on Wembley Way, where the Kansas and ASU bands battled it out as the Fox crew stoked the rivalry between the two programs.
Families attending Saturday's game included multiple generations who had attended the same school, while alumni now scattered across the US had travelled thousands of miles to watch their alma mater. Current ASU student Sophie said her family "bleeds maroon and gold," while another ASU fan named Amelia decorated her house with ASU merchandise and recently purchased a maroon car. Some visitors noted that the atmosphere felt like a playoff game due to both teams having sizable contingents at the neutral London venue, a rarity in American college football where away fans are uncommon.
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The Union Jack Classic represents a significant expansion of American football in London beyond the NFL games that have defined the market since 2007, introducing British audiences to the distinct pageantry, passion and multi-generational loyalty that defines college football culture in the United States.
Sources: BBC Sport and other international news outlets.
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