Ex-NFL stars Joe Theismann, Alejandro Villanueva praise league for bringing 'cultural weapon' overseas

The National Football League is continuing to grow its planetary reach, crossing disconnected different planetary metropolis this weekend.

The Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders volition play successful Madrid connected Sunday, marking the archetypal clip the league volition play a crippled successful Spain.

For Alejandro Villanueva, the crippled hits adjacent to location successful much ways than one. Not lone did helium turn up successful Spain, but his begetter is based astatine Naval Station Rota, wherever a emblem shot lawsuit was hosted Wednesday. The erstwhile NFL violative lineman, who served successful the U.S. military, is spending clip successful Spain connected behalf of USAA, the NFL's authoritative Salute to Service partner.

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Joe Theismann and Alejandro Villanueva talk to emblem shot players successful Madrid. (USAA)

"The United States subject and the state of Spain person been the 2 entities that I've grown under. I've ever prayed for bully relations betwixt Spain and the United States, due to the fact that if determination was a fracture oregon friction betwixt the two, I would ever person to either prime oregon beryllium enactment successful a unspeakable position. But to spot the information that an American shot crippled is going to instrumentality spot successful Spain is beauteous surreal," Villanueva said successful a caller interrogation with Fox News Digital.

"It's beauteous absorbing surviving successful the United States and seeing the improvement of however Spain and the United States get along, however the basal has meant truthful overmuch to the U.S. Navy, and however the athletics present is opening to involvement Spanish fans. All those things — I could person ne'er hoped for a amended improvement erstwhile I near for the United States. So the full-circle infinitesimal of coming backmost to my hometown, to beryllium retired present moving with troops, speaking successful English connected an American basal now, it's beauteous awesome."

"It’s conscionable an unbelievable acquisition to beryllium retired with everybody connected the basal earlier today," added Theismann, who is successful municipality to ticker his erstwhile team. "It's 1 of the things that I emotion astir USAA — it’s grant done action. That’s what USAA is each about, honoring the subject done action. I was astatine the Army-Navy crippled this past year, and present I’m retired present successful Spain being capable to grant the troops again."

Theismann discussed the value of increasing the crippled globally, saying that arsenic agelong arsenic each crippled is "packed," determination is nary crushed wherefore the NFL should not proceed to spell implicit the Atlantic Ocean.

Alejandro Villanueva, Joe Theismann, and Ryan Tannehill observe with a emblem shot squad successful Madrid. (USAA)

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"With the attendance that we get astatine the planetary games, it tells you the insatiable appetite that radical person for the NFL," Theismann said. "If radical weren't showing up, you wouldn't person these games. But yet, you get packed stadiums — everybody's got their jerseys on, their banners, their faces painted. They’re arsenic enthusiastic successful antithetic parts of the satellite arsenic they are backmost successful the States. So I deliberation it's conscionable an effort for the NFL and by the NFL to proceed to turn the brand."

Villanueva echoed akin sentiments, but took a antithetic route. He called American shot a "cultural weapon" that could span gaps betwixt the United States and Spain.

"There’s nary hiding from the information that players correspond stories, and those stories correspond values, and those values are the values that correspond each of us. I deliberation that American shot represents hard enactment and sacrifice, superseding everything else. It doesn't substance wherever you travel from — if you enactment harder and you sacrifice much than the idiosyncratic adjacent to you, you merit to win, you merit to beryllium successful the NFL, you merit bully things to hap to you. And I deliberation that those are the values that you person successful the United States," Villanueva said.

A graphic with images of Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu and Miami Dolphins backmost Tua Tagovailoa astatine Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the tract of the 2025 NFL Madrid Game. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

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"I deliberation American sports acceptable into that class of entertainment. You tin larn truthful overmuch astir what we worth conscionable by watching American football. I bash deliberation the remainder of the satellite is simply a batch much traditional. America does person unthinkable things to merchantability done American football. Everybody watches Sunday night, Monday nighttime — whoever is playing, you’re watching."

"Everybody tin larn and beryllium a immense instrumentality of this sport, conscionable similar the British were capable to grow shot passim the world," Villanueva added. "I anticipation the NFL continues to grow internationally."

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