Strange had only been out of the country once before – when the Patriots played in Frankfurt.

The offensive lineman considered that a business trip, though, and didn’t indulge in one of Germany’s greatest specialties as much as he would have liked. This time around was different.

“I love it,” Strange said of German beer.

“I didn’t try too much beer in Frankfurt because we were playing, but this past weekend I didn’t have the same restrictions. They serve it in these little glasses – not quite shot glasses – but it was like two sips.”

While Vollmer was playing tour guide for Strange, Jones visited Porz Studio to meet with local children to distribute food and clothing.

The children had something for him, too, showing him the personalized rap song they wrote for him. Jones, a music aficionado himself, contributed a few verses in the studio.

“When I walked into the building the kids were cheering for me, and then they played me a song they made for me,” Jones said.

“They translated it to English and the message of the song was about moving forward in a positive way. Hearing that, and seeing their setup – they had a Universal Audio interface – so their interface was better than the one I record with. They were doing it big. Just being able to record with them and do something I love to do, especially with kids, was great.”

The main event on Saturday was the Flag Football Fest.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Patriots flag football field featured Vollmer and Düsseldorf mayor Dr. Stephan Keller, and following that was the unveiling of a second adjacent field named after Vollmer.

Jones conducted the ceremonial coin toss for the NFL U14 Flag Football competition that followed.

“That was great to see,” Jones said. “Having both genders play the game of football – it’s always been male dominated here, but there are girls who are picking up football as their first sport.”

Strange shared a similar sentiment, and was surprised by how much this emerging sport has grown.

“I didn’t know flag football was quite as big as it is, or that it’s going to be in the Olympics in 2028,” Strange said. “So it makes sense to see how it’s spreading and as big as it is, but it was cool. There were eight to 10 teams, just a bunch of little German kids running around playing flag football. I was like, this is crazy.”

The Patriots had giveaways during the event, and players and cheerleaders held an extensive autograph session that drew quite the crowd.

With over 2,000 fans showing up, attendance far exceeded initial expectations.

“It really blew my mind because I just thought to myself that we were halfway across the world and still have a massive fan base,” Strange said. “I didn’t even really know how to comprehend that. They have social media pages for just the German fans, they have watch parties, I just think it’s cool as hell.”