My head was foggy as I made my way slowly down the stairs one careful step at a time. Our stairs are hazardous, even when I’m wide awake. Since this descent was at 2:00 a.m., I wasn’t taking any chances.
I flicked the light switch in the kitchen and started the coffee maker. The sound of the bean grinder hard at work shattered the silence. I turned on the television and navigated to the DAZN app. My husband, Manoj, shuffled into the living room just as the game was ready to kick off. It was Jan. 11, 2026. The Chicago Bears were about to host the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the NFL playoffs. I happen to be a die-hard Bears fan; my husband grew up rooting for the Packers.
Football fandom has always been a little tricky in our relationship but this game was on another level. History, rivalry, years of disappointment — but we were also up at 2:00 a.m. to watch it because we live in the Netherlands now.
We both took our coffee cups and settled into our spots on the couch.
We were ready.
How to be an NFL fan in Europe
The 2025-26 NFL season was our first as residents of the Netherlands. We moved there from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in March of 2025. Before our move, we researched how we could watch NFL games in our new home. We discovered DAZN, a sports streaming service that offers an NFL Game Pass which allows subscribers to watch every game live. DAZN also offers replay of full games and condensed versions without timeouts or ad breaks. It cost €219.99 which, while it was a splurge, was worth it to maintain a connection to our favorite team sport.
Last season wasn’t the first time I experienced an NFL season from afar. I studied abroad at Keele University in the U.K. in 2001. This was before smart phones or even internet in everyone’s college dorm rooms. I had to go to the computer lab on campus to get online. The time difference between the U.S. and the U.K. meant I would have had to trek down to the lab in the middle of the night to check scores. Instead, I called home around 3:00 a.m. U.K. time to check in with my family and get updates on what was happening in the Bears games. Fortunately, today the internet and streaming services make it far easier for international fans to stay up to date with the NFL.
The beginning of football season has always represented the beginning of autumn, even if the official start falls a few weeks later. I hate summer and hot weather so the first hint of cooler air and changing leaves immediately lifts my mood. In my experience, this has always been intertwined with the kick-off of the NFL season. I don’t see autumn as a season of death, instead I view it as a time of new beginnings. Parity in the NFL means each season holds promise, even in years when I don’t think the Bears are going to be very good. That first taste of autumn paired with the possibility that my team might squeak into a playoff spot has always been special.
The 2025-26 season was one of those special seasons for the Bears. I wasn’t sure what to think before the season started. I was excited about the new coach, Ben Johnson, but it was his first time being ‘the guy’. Questions about Caleb Williams’ growth and development stirred in my mind. I also knew the defense was going to be a problem.
Yet, despite all my concerns, here we were, sitting on our couch in the middle of the night watching the Bears in the playoffs.
Bears vs. Packers: First half
The game started off with promise. The Bears marched down the field. and I thought they would score a touchdown easily. Caleb Williams looked sharp. Instead, the drive stalled and the Bears had to settle for a field goal. The Packers answered with a far-too-easy touchdown catch by Christian Watson.
A Caleb Williams interception, then a gruesome looking injury for Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards and finally another Packers touchdown. during that drive. I began to feel that nervous fan feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’d witnessed far too many Bears versus Packers games that got out of hand just as quickly.
The Bears looked sloppy and unprepared on both offense and defense. The Packers scored another touchdown on a fourth down grab by Romeo Doubs and, just like that, the score was 21-3. Soldier Field had been very loud during the Bears first drive. It seemed to grow quieter and quieter on each successive drive.
I sat in my spot on the couch, clutching my empty coffee cup. This was what I woke up at 2:00 in the morning for?
NFL fandom is community and tradition
Humans crave connection. That’s why we form relationships with people we enjoy talking to or with whom we share common interests. Sports fandom is a unique relationship, you bond over the joy of a win or the crushing disappointment of a heartbreaking, last second loss.
Football has always been different from the other team sports I follow. I enjoy baseball and basketball, but there are so many games in those seasons. It would be nearly impossible to follow every single one with the level of interest and intensity fans dedicate to football. Football’s once-per-week competition structure imbues every single game with more importance and meaning in respect to a team’s season. Therefore, every game feels like an event — whether you’re in the stands, in a friend’s living room or halfway around the world, watching in the wee hours of the morning.
It was a little bittersweet for Manoj and me to experience an NFL season without other football fans around. Football spectating has been a part of the weekly rhythm of my Septembers through Januarys for pretty much my entire life, even if it was only having the games on in the background while I graded papers in my former life as a college professor. In the U.S., football is on in all the bars and restaurants. It plays in the background of family gatherings. Football was a popular topic of conversation for the running group I was a part of in Milwaukee. Football is everywhere in American culture.
Moving overseas last year changed nearly every aspect of our daily lives. We’ve had to learn a new language and how to navigate a different society and way of life. Even though we didn’t have people around who shared our interest in football, keeping the football Sunday tradition offered a tether back to the comfort of our old life. Two of my favorite former Chicago sports radio hosts also launched a series of new podcasts, including a Bears-focused one called Forward Progress. Listening to the podcast kept me up to date on commentary and news about the team. Amidst a year of change, following the Bears and settling in for a few hours of football games every Sunday remained a constant that I looked forward to.
Of course, football Sundays look a little different from Europe. There is a six-hour time difference between where we live in the Netherlands and the east coast of the United States. This means games that start at 1:00 p.m. on the east coast begin at 7:00 p.m. here. This is the perfect time because it means we can eat dinner and watch football to wind down at the end of the weekend. Last season, we typically made it until about halftime of the late afternoon slate of games before we’d both give up and head to bed, unless the Bears or Packers were playing in which case we’d power through. Both my husband and I work from home so we’re lucky that we can control our schedules and sleep in if we need to after a late night game.
The compressed game feature on DAZN was helpful when we couldn’t stay up for the NFL night games. They show play after play with no ads or breaks and only take about forty minutes to watch. This was what I relied on when I already knew the outcome of the game but wanted to see what actually happened.
In December, the Bears played the Packers in the second regular season match-up. This game was a late Saturday night game, so we went to bed with both our phones plugged in downstairs where we wouldn’t be tempted to check them as soon as we woke up.
We got up at our normal time the next day and queued up the game replay on DAZN. It was strange to watch something that had occurred hours earlier without knowing the outcome in the age of social media. The game was stressful – the Bears mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter (as was normal last season) and won on a DJ Moore touchdown in overtime.
It was also odd to be so emotionally invested in a football game at 9:00 on a Sunday morning. I felt like I had already had a full day after watching the replay.
The NFL is making inroads in Europe
The NFL has made efforts to expand into the European market. There have been a few different American Football leagues that have existed in Europe with varying degrees of success. NFL Europe was active in the 1990s and early 2000s. The league folded in 2007. The European League of Football played from 2021-2025. In early 2026, the American Football League Europe began competition. Ireland has its own league called American Football Ireland. The growth of European football leagues has never quite taken off as much as the NFL, though. It will be interesting to see if these new leagues are able to prosper or if they continue to compete with the NFL for fans and viewers.
The NFL has also made a greater effort to spread the game around the globe. The 2026 season will feature nine games played outside of the United States with six taking place in Europe. Three games will be played in London and one game will be played in each of France, Germany, and Spain.
People are also watching American football at home in Europe, just like we are. DAZN began their partnership with the NFL in 2023. They’ve reported double-digit percentage point growth in paid NFL Game Pass subscribers every NFL season since then.
The second half
I kept watching the playoff game, even though I feared it was over. The third quarter flew by with a Bears field goal and another Caleb Williams interception, this time in the red zone. The only thing that gave me a tiny shred of hope was the improved play of the Bears defense. They held the Packers scoreless and gave the offense a chance to try to catch up.
The Bears started the fourth quarter with another field goal. Then, forced a Packers three-and-out. I started bargaining in my head at this point. If the Bears can score quickly, they might have a shot.
Deandre Swift, TOUCHDOWN. There were just over ten minutes remaining in the game and the score was 21-16 Packers. For the first time since the first quarter, the bears were within one score. I was sweating in my grey hoodie, even though it was chilly in our living room.
The Bears defense must have also been feeling the nerves because they gave up a touchdown catch to Matthew Golden on a play where several defenders missed the tackle. Brandon McManus missed the extra point, though, so the score was 27-16. On the ensuing drive, the Bears were down to 4th-and-8. The entire season hinged on one play. Caleb dropped back and scrambled wildly then, when it looked like he would be tackled for a loss, he leapt in the air and slung the ball to Rome Odunze along the sideline. Five plays later, Olamide Zaccheaus scored a touchdown. It was 27-24. The Packers drove into field goal position and Brandon McManus missed again.
The clock showed 2:51 remaining and the Bears had the ball.
The stadium, which had been so quiet after the disastrous first half, was rocking. The volume came through on the television and even Al Michaels noted how loud it was. The Bears wasted no time driving down the field and Caleb connected with DJ Moore for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:43 remaining. At this point, my heart was pounding and I was leaning forward with my hands clenched. The Packers managed to get to the Bears 28t-yard line with seven seconds left. After a mad scramble and almost fumble, Jordan Love heaved the ball toward the endzone where it fell harmlessly onto the field.
31-27 Bears.
I couldn’t believe the Bears had won. That game encompassed everything I love and hate about being a sports fan. It was entertaining. The outcome was unexpected in the most pleasant way possible. I’d seen too many Bears versus Packers games to believe that this one would turn out differently, despite the Bears victory in the late December game.
It was also stressful! I was exhausted and wired in equal amounts after the final seconds ticked off the clock, even though all I’d done was sit on the couch and watch. I love sports, but sometimes I’m amazed by how much emotional investment we put into watching the teams we’ve attached ourselves to.
Manoj went back upstairs to sleep for a few hours, but I was wide awake. It was 5:00 in the morning and I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. Instead, I tuned in to the Forward Progress postgame show and listened to the hosts express the same joy and astonishment I felt 4,000 miles away.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
