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| So after a 15-year wait, Packers fans finally got to see their team in the UK.
But in a case of be careful what you wish for, as it turned out to be a result not worth the wait as the 32nd team to head to London finished the 32nd game to take place on this side of the Atlantic on the wrong end of a 27-22 scoreline, a case of no Pack no more than Go Pack Go.
That reversal was down to a gutsy and somewhat spectacular second half by the Giants, who missing all their starting wide receivers put on a clinic on how to run the ball - as well as how to scheme up an offence - to turn a 17-3 deficit into a 27-22 win.
That win didn't look particularly likely in the first half as in front of a noisy, and largely Packers-based, London crowd Green Bay instigated a death-by-a-thousand-cuts-type offensive masterclass. They grabbed a field-goal on their first drive and followed that up with a touchdown to make it 10-0 in the first quarter.
The Giants responded with a field goal of their own, but a seven-minute-plus drive in the second quarter that ended with a touchdown for the Packers all but put a stamp on their dominance. True the Giants responded with a touchdown of their own, with Daniel Bellinger turning a Philly Special type play into a running score, but at 20-10 down at the half the Giants looked they were cooked.
But cooked they were not as their defence put paid to the Packers' approach and threw MVP Aaron Rodgers out of his stride, so much so that the Packers didn't add to their score until a self-imposed safety late on. On the other side of the ball, Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones showed all the heart in the world as they took the fight to the Packers: even when Barkley had to head to the locker room to get his shoulder checked over, the Giants still found a way to get the job done.
It was fitting, though, that Barkley ran in the game-deciding score after a 60-yard, three-minute drive, as he summed up the attitude of the current Giants team, saying after the match that they were all in it together this year and were more than happy to lean on each other to get the job done.
For Rodgers and the Packers it was a case of waiting so long to head to London, and seeing a huge support waiting for them when they got there... but they need more than support to get clicking on both sides of the ball this year as their defeat shows that they are not quiet at the levels they have done under Matt LaFleur.
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3 THINGS WE LEARNED IN LONDON |
1. POST-SEASON HOPES FOR GIANTS |
| The Giants are currently sitting at 4-1 for the year but that aside, winning in London could be all they need.
They have twice done that before in 2007 and 2016 and both times they followed that up by making the post-season afterwards.
Speaking after the game, Giants safety Julian Love said: "Hopefully we can come back here again in the future and hopefully it's a lucky charm. You never know."
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| There was some serious London love from the current reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers. Speaking after the game he said: "We wanted to come here and put on a show, win a football game.
"The crowd was outstanding. This was just a fantastic experience I think for all of us. There's guys in the locker room that have never been across the pond. Just the hospitality from the
fans. When we were out, me and Allen on Friday, was outstanding.
"The crowd response today, taking the field, was incredible. Seeing the different flags from different countries was amazing. The fans were loud the entire time. It was outstanding.
"There was so much love for Packer World. I think we can say that now. It's been Packer Nation for the first hundred and couple years. Hopefully the team will get a chance to come back and play here again because it was a special week for all of us, one that we'll never forget.
"Obviously would have been a little sweeter with a win. But big loads of gratitude on behalf of our team for the fans and the people of London and the folks at The Grove who were outstanding. The food was just incredible. The hospitality was first rate. Big thanks to our European fans. Hopefully we'll be back."
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3. SOMETHING FISHY WITH THE FOOD |
| Not everyone got on as well with the food: Dexter Lawrence said some of the Giants players had issues.
He said: "We got to go out and have some fish and chips, not fries as I called them. I think my eyes is bigger than my stomach though as I got like two large cods and a large chip.
"I don't think they knew who we were when we were in there. They knew we were big people. They were just kind of like, 'What do you do? Are you basketball players?'"
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