LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Raider Nation is not only in the United States. It's also overseas.
A man from the United Kingdom has been selected as the Silver & Black's nominee for the National Football League's International Fan of the Year award.
Meet Geraint Griffiths.
He said he has been a fan of American football, in particular the Raiders, since the early 1980s.
"As part of the Raider Nation, I grow stronger every season and my love for the club will never die," his bio reads in part. "Doing what I do has given me the opportunity to speak to fans from all over the world, something I will always cherish. My love of the Silver & Black is why I have grown into who I am today. Never give up. Keep moving the ball one play at a time!"
Griffiths said he used to play American football and eventually became the GM and chairman of the club he was playing for. He stepped away from the club to focus on growing the game. He's currently the Commissioner for Disability & Wheelchair American football in the UK with the British American Football Association.
"About three years ago, I approached BAFA with the idea of creating a wheelchair version of the sport. I quickly got the go-ahead to develop this into a reality, where I worked on developing the sport and writing a specific rule book for the UK," Griffiths said. "My long-term goal is to have a new, exciting, inclusive sport as part of the Paralympics, Invictus Games, and The World Games, as well as many local teams competing in a national league and our own Team GB, competing internationally."
The winner of the International Fan of the Year award will be announced at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, Michigan in April. Tom Grossi, the Green Bay Packers' Fan of the Year nominee, was crowed the U.S. NFL Fan of the Year at the NFL Honors awards ceremony here in Las Vegas.
The NFL is continuing to grow the game overseas. According to the NFL, international viewership for Super Bowl LVIII was 62.5 million, which is a 10% increase compared to 2023.
When breaking down the numbers, the top five countries were:
- Mexico - Total audience reach of 24.1 million, with an average of 8.7 million viewers. Numbers were also up +5% year-on-year and the highest since records began.
- Canada - Total audience reach of 18.8 million, with an average of 10.1 million viewers. That's up +16% year-on-year and the NFL said it's the highest since tracking began and one of the top five most-watched English-language broadcasts on record in Canada.
- Germany - Total audience reach of 3.8 million, average 1.9 million viewers
- United Kingdom - Total audience reach of 3.7 million, averaging 1.2 million viewers
- Australia - Total audience reach of nearly 3 million, averaging over 1.2 million viewers
"The global interest in our game continues to grow rapidly, from fandom to participation, and the increase in international viewership underlines this," said Peter O'Reilly, executive vice president, club business, major events & international at the NFL. "The Super Bowl is a moment that fuses sport and entertainment like nothing else, and Super Bowl LVIII was no exception, bringing together fans in every time zone around the world for a football and cultural spectacle."
Numbers from Nielson also said 123.4 million Americans, or two out of every three Americans, watched Super Bowl LVIII and that is was the most-watched scheduled broadcast of all time.
According to the NFL, Super Bowl LVIII was aired live in over 19 countries/territories through 80+ partners in over 25 languages.
