The last time Britain hosted an American college football game, a crowd of about 2,500 fans squeezed in at Crystal Palace in 1988. This Saturday, more than 60,000 people will pack Wembley Stadium to watch the Kansas Jayhawks take on the Arizona State Sun Devils — and with any luck, Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis will be in the stands cheering his hometown team.
It's the UK's second-ever college football game, and it marks the debut of the Union Jack Classic, a new event built on a simple question: why had no one brought this beloved American tradition back to England? Entrepreneur Brian Dubiski and his business partner — both former college players — hatched the idea over a few beers, wondering why the NFL had been playing in London since 2007 while college football stayed home.
The timing worked out beautifully. Arizona State is opening a London campus this month, making the trip feel natural. And Brett Yormark, the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, was eager to grow the league's global appeal and signed up his teams. Kansas, founded in 1890, has one of the oldest programs in America and wanted to reach new fans.
For many of the players, this is life-changing in a small way: before this trip, most of them didn't even own a passport. Now they're getting a cultural taste of London as a bonus to the game.
What makes college football different from the NFL? Start with the passion. Eight of the world's ten biggest stadiums are built for college football, all holding more than 100,000 people. Loyalty often runs in families for generations — Kansas player Calvin Clements is a fifth-generation Jayhawk. Actor Paul Rudd is another proud Jayhawk, while Sudeikis grew up in Kansas and hides references to his alma mater throughout his work.
"Very spirited, and you get the tribalism," Dubiski told the BBC. "It's the closest thing we have to European football fanbases."
The event is also a full show: marching bands, spirit squads of cheerleaders and dancers, and tailgate parties where fans gather for hours of food and fun before kickoff. Organizers are leaning on the UK's infrastructure, partnering with the British American Football Association and even subsidizing more than 750 coaching qualifications and clinics for over 400 coaches.
About 15,000 fans are flying in from the US, joining 60,000 total ticket holders — a stronger debut than the average Big 12 crowd. Dubiski has locked in a multi-year deal with Wembley and dreams of expanding to other European cities and even bringing basketball games across the Atlantic.
"We never expected to sell the stadium out," he said. "And 60,000 is higher than the average Big 12 attendance." The pageantry, the traditions, the generational fandom — this weekend, London gets a front-row seat to one of America's greatest sporting experiences.