As the Kansas City Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in Germany as part of the NFL's International Series of games, fans at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt engaged in what may have seemed like a surprising tradition to some: singing along as John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" blasted from the stadium's speakers. This wasn't, however, the first time such a scene played out; last year, during the NFL's first-ever game in Germany, fans at the Munich game did the same thing, USA Today reports. "I'm not sure how this tradition started? But watching 48,000 fans in Germany singing along to 'Country Roads' at a football game is just WILD and also delightful to me," reads one sample reaction to the moment on X.
But, as Pro Football Network explains, the song has long been popular in Germany—though it's not clear exactly why. What is clear is that it's been played for years at Munich's Oktoberfest event, and one of the song's writers was asked about its popularity in Germany back in 2013. His response? "I have no idea. I've never been to Germany." He did, however, once perform the song at the German embassy in Washington, DC. (More uplifting news stories.)
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