Bernhard Raimann was a starstruck teenager at Wembley Stadium watching the Minnesota Vikings play the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013.
The Austria native, who had only just started playing football, described the players as “superheroes.”
Now it's Raimann's turn to leave an impact when he and his Indianapolis Colts teammates face the Washington Commanders on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I really hope that some kid can see me and listen to my story
or see what’s possible and hopefully they can embrace their dreams and keep working every day and shoot, see what happens,” the left tackle said Friday at the Colts' hotel north of London in the town of Ware.
The 29-year-old Raimann had joined the Vienna Vikings — an American football club team — as a young wide receiver and eventually played tight end at Central Michigan, where he switched to the offensive line. Indy selected him in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.
He said the Wembley trip was an “unbelievable experience ... I thought me being live at an NFL game was the closest I’ll ever get to being (like) those guys.
“So now being back here and getting to play and knowing what it means to the people here, it's extremely special for me,” he added.
The Commanders on Friday ruled out Jayden Daniels because of his elbow injury. That means Marcus Mariota gets a second straight start.
“He’s won a lot of games in the league, lot of respect for him," Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. "Very mobile, can make plays with his legs, very good in the pocket, too. Rush lanes are going to be important, coverage on the back end is going to be important as well.”
Last week, Mariota threw three touchdown passes in Washington's 33-31 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The Colts landed in London on Friday morning and practiced later in the day.
Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor ran for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns in Indy's 31-25 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin last year.
“Hopefully here has the same kind of mojo as Germany,” said Taylor, whose big day at Olympic Stadium included an 83-yard touchdown run.
“I definitely enjoy playing overseas. It's a chance to share the game that I love,” he said. “We want to put a great product on the field for everyone across the world to see.”
Cam Bynum wasn't offering any clues about post-interception celebrations he's working on with teammates.
When he played for the Vikings in 2024, the safety did a “Parent Trap” handshake celebration after picking off Aaron Rodgers in Minnesota's 23-17 win over the New York Jets at Tottenham.
“This year probably won’t be a London-based one because I ran out of ideas since I did the ‘Parent Trap’ one,” he said. “I have really good celebrations. I have my solo ones and I also have some group ones that we have planned."
Bynum also did a memorable Raygun celebration — performing the Australian breaker's Olympic routine against the Jaguars.
“No clues yet, sorry,” he said when asked for details.
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