By Kyle Summersfield, Professional Master’s Student

Kyle Summersfield was one of 15 students who participated in the Globalizing American Sports study-abroad program from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, held Nov. 1-6, 2023 in Frankfurt, Germany. To read other stories from the program, visit here.

Globalizing American Sports was my final class as a student at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. I had the privilege of studying abroad multiple times in high school, but never took advantage of the opportunity in college. I’ve attended this institution since 2016 and made it through an undergraduate degree in public relations, a certificate of global communications, and now a Master of Mass Communications. Of all the courses I’ve taken during my seven-year stint at UF, this course has been my favorite.

We were tasked with creating content highlighting the overall experience in Frankfurt during the build-up of the Dolphins vs. Chiefs game. Most students in the class grouped up but, as a graduate student, I had to work alone. In addition to this stipulation, I am also a few years older than the rest of my classmates. Despite my age and the parameters of my project while abroad, I didn’t feel even remotely ostracized by the group. I was a little nervous heading into the semester that I’d be the odd man out, and that I might not have as good of an experience as I would have a few years ago, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Every aspect of the trip was wonderful and it’s all thanks to my classmates. From a recruiting and admission standpoint, the students chosen for this class were excellent. Every single person was eager to learn, driven, passionate about communications, and welcoming of new people. A few of them knew each other from previous study abroad experiences or from the College, but that had no impact in their ability and willingness to embrace everyone in the class.

I’ve been to Frankfurt before. My first college roommate was an international student from the University of Mannheim, and I visited him a few years ago.

Having been to Frankfurt and having done the “touristy” things, I was wondering how engaging the trip would be. In the end, it exceeded my expectations. Our tour guide Christian was a superstar as he answered all our questions about German culture, language, cuisine, and sports.

We visited Der Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (The German Olympic Sports Confederation) and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt General Newspaper). Through guest speakers from both as well as RTL (the television station that holds NFL broadcasting rights in Germany) and the Frankfurt Galaxy (the local American football team), we discussed journalism, grassroot sports, and American football’s growth in Europe. These opportunities for discourse were undeniably useful, especially for someone who aims to work abroad.

I wasn’t previously aware of the love the German people have for the NFL. As an English-American, I knew the NFL was growing in England, but the fandom in Germany was staggering. I was amazed by how many people showed out to show support. Despite being a Chiefs “home game,” there were jerseys from every single NFL franchise (even the Browns!).

I’m more advertising-focused, so my project entailed gathering photos of ads in Germany and using them to create an NFL graphic that adheres to Germany’s cultural dimensions as outlined by Geert Hofstede. This project wasn’t journalism-heavy, but the international Gator story I produced for WUFT was. Working on this story pushed me outside my comfort zone. I reached out to the Athletic Association, interviewed an athlete and created a publishable story. In this regard, the course objectives were met before I even left the state.

My study abroad experience was worth the seven-year wait. The course was well designed, the trip was engaging, my projects are portfolio-worthy, and I’ve gained lifelong friends as a result of it all. I would wholeheartedly recommend this experience to any student aspiring to work in any of the communications disciplines.

Posted: December 14, 2023
Category: CJC in Frankfurt, Sports, Study Abroad Projects
Tagged as: Globalizing American Sports, sports, Sports@CJC, Study Abroad, Study Abroad experience