More than 400 Green Bay Packers fans packed a bar inside Newcastle United's St James' Park on Thursday evening for a 'Packers huddle event', turning the usual sea of black-and-white jerseys into a swarm of green and gold.
The event was staged in collaboration with Newcastle, with a further fan huddle taking place in London. It followed similar events in Dublin and Berlin in recent years.
Why Newcastle was chosen
Newcastle's selection was not random. It follows a pattern of events linking Newcastle United and the Green Bay Packers in 2026 after the Premier League and NFL unofficially paired the two institutions.
Two Newcastle fans, Anth and Sarah Nicholson, took part in a fan exchange that saw them spend a weekend in Green Bay to learn about the Packers' history and attend their match against rivals Chicago Bears, described as the Packers' equivalent of Newcastle facing Sunderland.
Since then, Packers' Irish punter Daniel Whelan was videoed taking a Newcastle United tour with his dad, a Newcastle fan. Another Packers star, wide receiver Christian Watson, sent a video message shown at the start of Thursday's event.
Packers' appeal to the north east
Green Bay is a small town of 100,000 people and one of the last small-town NFL franchises, but with one of the biggest histories in the sport. The Packers have won more NFL Championships (13) than any other franchise and are the only fan-owned professional sports team in the United States.
1996 Super Bowl winner and Packers legend Antonio Freeman, who did a question and answer session at the event, likened the atmosphere inside the bar to a tailgate outside of Lambeau Field. Freeman, whose son Alex plays professional football for Villarreal and the US national team, had spent the day taking pictures of St James' Park and sending them to his son before leading supporters in a rendition of the Packers' chant: 'Go Pack Go', which he adapted to 'Howay the Pack'.
Newcastle United legend Shola Ameobi then took to the stage to profess his love for NFL, born 23 years ago when he was undergoing an operation in Denver. Ameobi talked up the similarities between the passion of Newcastle fans and Packers fans, before saying that even in a non-playing capacity he retains the goal of helping United get to where they want to be - among the conversation of the biggest football clubs in the world.
Future NFL games in Newcastle?
Having left his role as loan co-ordinator for Newcastle over the summer to become the club's new head of corporate affairs, it could be in Ameobi's gift to help land an NFL game in the city in the future.
The three 2026 NFL London games get under way this weekend as the Indianapolis Colts take on the Washington Commanders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Next weekend sees the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Philadelphia Eagles at the same venue, before the Houston Texans take on the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium the following weekend.
Such ambitions would likely only be met if Newcastle opt to move to a brand new stadium rather than revamp St James' Park, but Spurs have shown the huge commercial revenue that can be generated by hosting NFL matches. That decision is not expected imminently, but Thursday's event, which also saw New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, LA Rams, Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots jerseys dotted around the venue, showed there is an appetite in Newcastle for that to happen in the future. If it ever came to fruition, Newcastle already have a natural partner in the Green Bay Packers to help make it a reality.
