Luke (28) of Haaksbergen looks forward to the Super Bowl final with Sport Amerika: ‘You have to understand the sport’ | Hacksbergen

At night from Sunday to Monday it is time again. Then the Super Bowl, the final of the American football competition, is held in the United States. At Sport Amerika, they look forward to the annual party. Tensions have risen in recent weeks and there is a lot of interest on the site for the NFL’s season-ending game.

Dokter describes the fact that the 56th edition between two teams – in Holland – isn’t quite as attractive as the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals’ final charm. “As a fan, your heart beats faster with this unexpected poster. It’s also what the NFL is all about: In the NFL, any team can beat another team at any time. You see the craziest things happening in the sport. The Bengals have only won six games in the past two seasons and are now suddenly in the Super Bowl.”

According to the deputy editor, this is possible because the NFL and most American sports leagues operate a salary cap and a so-called renewal system, in which new college players are distributed between teams. “The worst team can choose the best player from next season. If that is combined with goodness art Device, Then all the puzzle pieces can come together at once. Now see the Bengals.”

The doctor praises this way of forming the team. “The Champions League in European football is very predictable. The clubs with the most money in the final. Well, nice if you are a fan of Manchester City, but De Graafschap will never reach the final of that competition. Let alone become the Dutch champion. While Any NFL team can win the Super Bowl. That’s what makes this sport so special.”

Dr. has only been a fan of American football since 2015. As part of his studies at the University of Groningen, he went to study in New York State for six months. During a visit with a number of fellow students to a nearby Buffalo Bills game, the born Tukker was immediately sold out. “The atmosphere in the stadium is unprecedented. There were 75,000 men on one team, and everyone was wild. It was one big party. It started in the parking lot outside the stadium, where people were grilling in the freezing cold. In exchange for a beer you can get something to eat.” Amazing!”

Dokter understood almost nothing about the match itself, a “flaw” he shares with the vast majority in the Netherlands. “Before my visit to the Bills, I had never seen American football, not even the Super Bowl. I had to ask an American next to me what was going on on the field. This guy was unlucky.”

But the seed was sown. After returning to the Netherlands, he got a subscription NFL Game Pass, Allow him to watch all matches live. He studied the rules of the game on the Internet, considered the strategies of attack and defense. “All you have to do is understand the sport. Then you discover the quality of the game, the tension that constantly prevails in the match. I cannot name any other sport that can match that.”

In 2017, he signed up for Sport Amerika, the website that recruits volunteers who are primarily American sports fans. Two years later, Dr. became the NFL’s editor-in-chief, and has served as the deputy editor-in-chief since last year. In addition to his job as a business developer at a bank, he spends about ten hours a week on the site. The disadvantages of his hobby is the time difference with the United States. “In the regular season, most matches are played on Sundays at 7pm Dutch time so I can totally see that. The matches that start at night with us, I look back the next day. And when it comes to the bills, I’ll take a day off after that,” he says, Laughing at his favorite team.

The site is good for about 15,000 visitors per month. The interest in NFL stories is peaking now, but according to Doctor’s articles on the NBA (basketball), the NHL (ice hockey), MLB (baseball), soccer (MLS) and college football are always doing well. All of this is provided by a group of about 25 employees, who provide content that can be accessed for free without pay. “We are all doing this out of love for American sports and we hope that more people in the Netherlands will enjoy this as well. It is definitely worth it.”