Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr can't wait to play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after experiencing the atmosphere at the ground during Spurs' Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.
The 28-year-old will take to the field himself on Sunday when the Raiders face the Chicago Bears in the first NFL game to be held at the state-of-the-art stadium.
Ahead of meeting, Carr and several of his teammates were present at the venue on Tuesday to watch last season's European runners-up face German champions Bayern.
Although the game ended with Mauricio Pochettino’s side suffering a heavy 7-2 defeat, which included four goals for former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry, the result did not affect the quarterback’s enjoyment of the occasion.
“It was amazing! I’ve never been in a stadium where the acoustics were that good,” he said on Wednesday. “I’ve obviously never been to a Premier League match like that where the crowd is so into it at all moments.
“It was one of my favourite things I’ve ever experienced. If the NFL could turn into something like that, it will be a pretty special game.”
He added: “The stadium looks unbelievable - it’s first class. We were able to go up into the chairman’s suite and meet the chairman and owner.
“All the people there were wearing nice suits when I didn’t have one. I felt very under-dressed but just the details on everything - it was ridiculous.
“At half-time, they all went inside, they all sit at a table and have tea – so that was new to me also. But I was honoured that they allowed us to be there – it was a really fun experience and I had a great time.”
Linebacker Tahir Whitehead shared Carr’s excitement, describing the atmosphere as “electric”.
“Seeing it last night in that form was amazing,” he said.
“That was my first soccer match and it was a good one — well, I’m not going to say that since [Tottenham] lost. The stadium, seeing it filled with fans was good to see.”
