Markus Kuhn Returns to Giants as Germany Brand Strategist | New York Giants

I'm Paul dintino and he is Marcus former Giants defensive tackle he was here from 2012 to 2015 former seventh round pick out of NC State and Marcus it's great to see you because uh this is a great year to be back involved with the Giants 100th season and a year in which we're going to Germany that's right I'm very excited to be here with you first of all and also back with the Giants of course all right well let's make sure people understand week 10 Giants Panthers Munich German that's November 10th 9:30 a.m. New York time what is that in German time uh 3:30 p.m. so we have a 6our time difference for Germany okay yeah and that's a good time for a game they they usually start midaf afternoon in the US it's good because you can party a little bit earlier you can start your fun the Sun the Sunday Funday a little bit earlier and in Germany 3:30 p.m. I mean it's a good time to watch a football game I would say all right so Marcus is officially the brand ambassador and content strategist for the Giants uh in addition to a host of things which we will get to in just a couple of minutes cuz he has been a busy camper since he hung up the cleats but since you are back in this facility uh give me some of the vibe that that kind of resonates with you when you see the the uniform see the helmet and know that your professional career while you did go to the Patriots for a cup of coffee but didn't play a regular season game correct right y you're a giant yes yes and what does that what does that mean to you as you go around and promote professional football I mean you know being born and raised in Germany and coming over here in 2007 now I've been actually living in the US now for 17 years which is crazy to think about but then the Giants draft I mean in 2012 after they won the Super Bowl you come into a locker room right away with with guys who just became world champions right Eli Manning Justin t o manura I mean my position group was was pretty special and a big reason the Giants won the Super Bowl uh and then all of a sudden you hang out with these guys every day and then I played for the Giants for four years had a in my opinion better football career that I ever imagined as a kid growing up in Germany and as you mentioned uh I had a quick coffee break with the Patriots didn't make the team after finally there but I had another stint with the Giants so after I got my masters at Columbia after playing I actually was part of the the John Mara's internship when they bring former players back so I was here for two years it was a little bit longer than an internship it extended a little bit um so I worked here for two years in the front office on the football side and the business side and now being back for the second time and working here now for the third time is obviously very exciting it means a lot to me very cool now I had read in your bio when I when I was getting ready here cuz obviously I knew Marcus what he played here but I didn't know a lot about your background originally I saw that in the German Football League you played outside linebacker and defensive line and quarterback and quarterback all right now see I never knew this so you need to explain this to me why those positions because clearly your body type says defensive line yeah well I grew a little bit uh I don't know if it's the American diet or the exercise in I'm year but no I was a little smaller when I was growing up in Germany and then the better athletes the better players you play you go play both ways so my last two years I was actually like the starting linebacker and starting quarterback uh never left the field it was just something that we did but then when I first came to America and I got a college scholarship even my college coach beckon told me by the time you're leaving us you're going to be a 300 pounder and I was like no way I don't want to be a fad guy um but yeah so it happened I showed up at the combine exactly 300 lb um and uh I'm I'm still trying to lose that well four years at NC State did very well there with with the with the the college program the wolf pack but but here's the thing that that surprises me you hear about so many people over in Europe who want to go to soccer first because that's their football right but you decided that at a young age you wanted to play American football why well if if you look like this you don't have that many options right I don't look like you're a traditional soccer player um so but when I first had a vacation with my family in America when I was 14 years old we we did a trip through Florida went to Disney World and I saw American football on TV regularly and I said I saw the big stadiums when we drove around in Florida I said you know what this is actually a sport that would fit my personality I really liked it right away and I just joined a local club team actually my sister she's a few years older than me she had some of her classmates who are in a local club team and they took me to practice and and that was when I when I fell in love with the sport got bigger and better and that's how I actually ultimately ended up in the US to to be drafted is a pretty great accomplishment and a great story because I can't imagine you you even dreamt that that would be the case right no I mean funny enough so when when I got interest from the NFL Europe back then I said you know what if if I could technically play in this league I could probably get a scholarship in the US so in 2006 my dad and I with a highlight DVD flew to the US nobody has ever heard about me over here and I literally showed up at a bunch of colleges with a highlight DVD say hey Marcus from Germany I can play football too they all looked at me like I'm crazy good thing is we were very naive we didn't know how big college football even was so we we hit up a bunch of schools went to NC State Duke UVA some smaller programs a lot of these smaller programs offered me right away um and then NC State my dad's name is Wolf Gang that was the wolf pack so we kind of thought that was funny so that worked out and um yeah I ended up uh getting a scholarship at the wolf pack moved here like I said on on May 17th 2007 and uh haven't moved back and I'm I'm still happy that the sport is growing and I can support that now of course you got to meet Michael Strahan who who was a Giants Legend and also has German Roots because of the military background with his parents yeah so same same Hometown pretty much actually Manheim Germany okay yeah so two of the Giants great defensive linemen come from Manheim Germany now I I remember Michael telling me he a slightly better career than me though okay okay well at least one of you in Canton right yeah uh but but I I did hear from Michael one time didn't you guys go back to Germany to go see a game uh I didn't go with Michael but I see because I broadcast also for the German rights holder now I see uh Michael regularly we stay in touch he has a connection obviously as you mentioned to Germany um that's where we got along well what I was a player here and we stayed in touch over the years I see him I see him at some games Super Bowl Etc quite often all right so now Giants fans will remember when Marcus was in the middle of that line there were a bunch of other Big Time Players there too but he had what what I always thought was the most spectacular play of your career you may disagree but the scooping score against Tennessee uh when he ran it in for a touchdown uh it took a little while to get to the end zone but it just looked like it it just looked like it it was actually pretty I wasn't I wasn't nobody caught me so I kind of couldn't have been that slow couldn't have been that slow uh I think the the cool thing about it was though and why I was so happy for him is that he had come back from a tour AC and and that could have sidetracked you especially someone who I think probably considered himself a long shot from the beginning and then you make the team as a 7th round pick then you get the ACL but you just persevered to to talk to me about that struggle I mean it's it's like you mentioned I never uh yeah it's like you mentioned I've never expected that I would so my goal was coming to America I saw the stadiums with the college stadiums with 60 plus thousand people sitting there my goal was it if I get to play once in a college game I've kind of accomplished the holy like the Holy Grail this this is this was the goal and that happened relatively fast and then to being drafted by the Giants was was wild I never really thought about be going pro or never thought I had opportunity until like my senior year in college when it seemed like you know what there's actually a shot to continue playing then I played right away my fresh my my rookie year here with the Giants uh tore my ACL and then uh yeah came back had here and there some some injuries but like you said in 2014 definitely the play I'm in Germany the most known for is the scoop and score because I happen to be the first German to ever score a touchdown in I remember that so uh that's my claim to fame in Germany but I have I have so many other moments that I that I look back on uh that definitely still sticking my mind to did did you keep the ball of course yes where is it it's uh kind of the only football memorabilia I have out in my apartment in New York so uh that's it if you ever have a video call with me you'll you'll see as my backdrop yeah very very very cool and and of course you had a sack against the Eagles here at home I remember that too because anytime a giant sacks an eagle you always stick that in the back of your mind cuz that's a good thing that had to be fun yeah uh I had that and I I think I had a sack against uh the Jets too against Sanchez one time so uh I almost have as many touchdowns as sacks I don't know if that speaks to my pass rush ability since I only have one touchdown it's all good it all it all worked out yeah yeah for sure for sure um all right let's talk a little bit about what's going on with you nowadays because the cleats are hung up the helmets hung up and as you said you've done an awful lot you've been around the Giants for a lot of years but but I want to ask you about game day. de which folks I was surprised when Marcus and I just talked about this before the show to find out that he had created this business on his own and of course you've got a bunch of other things too but let's start with that yeah so obviously I know American football has been growing in Germany it's one of the biggest growth markets outside of the US uh for American football there's a reason we we started playing games there we even had two games in Germany last year uh the Giants going back this year so there's a lot of Buzz happening German uh American football now is on the biggest free TV station in Germany where I'm also broadcasting almost every Sunday but certain things we still don't have is enough content news around American football we don't have fantasy football so I said you know what I know where the sport is going I know what we don't have I know what's very popular in the US so let me start the first German fantasy football platform um and there's also a tip Spiel where you can say hey the Giants are going to win by three by seven or whatnot it's not sports betting it's just like a community coming together uh playing together saying who's going to win or not uh and then obviously like the fantasy football part of it that we are very accustomed to in the US but it's relatively new in Germany but I think um yeah it's definitely going to hit pick eventually well let's just stick right there with the football part of it because the Giants have this game over there and as folks you may know the NFL allowed certain teams in the league to get certain International marketing rights in certain Nations the Giants are one of those that have Germany's marketing rights and that's all part of why this this game is going to take place against the Panthers how can the Giants uh fans get a flavor for what Germany is thinking about the Giants I mean if you think internationally in general everybody out outside the US when they think about America most people think about New York city so New York is I feel like the first thing that comes to mind when people think about America so obviously there is there is a a connection there right away right so you maybe you maybe have not heard about uh too many other sports too many other sports teams but most likely you've heard about the New York Giants so I think that's why it's already in people's mind when football became more popular in Germany also the Giants were playing well so they won the Super Bowl if anybody from Germany will come to like I mentioned most likely they will do a pit stop in New York and check this out well having you played here had help obviously so that when the when the sport grew and then I became the first German to score touchdown and did it in the in the New York Giants uniform that created some buz but the Giants overall have been have been popular I mean the Giants were the last team before the international game series started that played in Germany as part of the the world games when they're playing in Germany in the 90s so the Giants played in Germany as the last team now coming back this year there's a big fan base in Germany there's fan clubs that meet and watch together so uh we have a good amount of Giants fans but also we just have a ton of American football fans in Germany that still are undecided for the team so we we're trying to see if we can turn him into Giants fans yeah many years ago Dan Reeves was the coach of the Giants back in the early 90s and they went over to Berlin yeah and played a a preseason game correct over there so so we know there is a a builtin kind of fan base for the Giants in Germany what kind of atmosphere is this going to be like then is it going to feel like a Giants home game instead of a Panthers game um well you maybe see jerseys in all colors um I know I know you've you've I don't know if you've been to the to London any of these games so you look in the stands right A lot of times it's you see every Jersey represented but I definitely think the Giants are not in an enemy territory it's definitely not a panther's home game there's a good opportunity a good chance that there will be more Giants jerseys in the stands than there will be panas jerseys but I think overall if you haven't been to one of these games even if it's a ticket holder in the US Munich the arena there the stadium there is unbelievable the atmosphere is electric so I recommend anybody if you have the opportunity to get tickets and get a flight check it out it's a it's an unbelievable experience so they are converting a football field onto the soccer field so when the first game happened two years ago um when the the the buck played and with Tom Brady you can also see that the people that YF is bringing over the teams that the NFL is bringing over it means a lot the German Market means a lot and they extended the stadium they had to adjust the locker room because the locker room was made for soccer teams small 25 guys so they had to extend the locker rooms they had to actually make the field a little bit longer so certain changes took place um but it's actually the stadium itself looks a little bit like MetLife the alance arena um just the way it's built but yeah it's a it's the it's the biggest most modern Stadium or the most modern Stadium at that size in Germany so where will the Giants and Panthers practice when they go over there so there's there's different there's two practice facilities I actually don't know what okay football has decided where exactly but Bayern Munich um who also has plays their home games at that Stadium they have a big campus a big facility and most likely real practice in one of their facilities okay so now these games are are being spread out all over the world as a part of this international program that the NFL has been undergoing now for several years what do you think the future is of of these games will I mean we hear the commission every once in a while talk about putting a division over there or a team over there yeah I think that's going to be the maybe the long plan or the long shot to get a division or more teams that that settle in Europe but I think definitely the fan base is big enough to sustain a team um we have 20 million football fans people that are interested in American football in Germany it's the second most watched TV sport after soccer we have about a million people watching the NFL every every every weekend every Sunday we have millions of people watching the Super Bowl when the Germany games was first announced we had over 2 million people waiting in the queue to buy a ticket to one of these NFL games so you see the fan Bas is there the sport is growing I don't know what will happen next but I think it's just interesting to see that that the next 50 million fans from the NFL are not going to come from the US right the market here is I mean everybody's already in NFL so that's going to be hard to to get a lot more people excited about the game of course you have different demographics that you also want to attract but most most likely your fans coming from International markets and Germany is one of the biggest ones there folks football season is coming and so is the next College semester he doesn't have to go to North Carolina State anymore he's done with that got his degree been to school twice so no more if you need funding a citizen student loan could help you pay for 100% of your school certified costs get your rate quote in about 2 minutes at citizensbank.com pay forol um Marcus I want to ask you this I remember back when the Giants went there in the early 90s there was a lot of talk about US military bases that were over there and how those folks were specifically thrilled to see American football come over there is that still the case now and is is that a big part of the surge for bringing the NFL over there I mean we we still have military bases in Germany US military bases they are less than they used to be but I actually think yes that's probably you know that was the starting point when you had Americans living in Germany military that's excited to can see a game outside of their their home country but actually the most fans are Germans that are in the stadium excited about the game um even when the when the games are played in the UK a lot of the people going to these games are also from Germany so Germany has I I don't know why exactly Germans love American football as much as they do but most of the language you will hear in the stadium is is German um and it's because most of the fans are from Germany in the stadium as well how big is the stadium going to be that they'll play like 80,000 seats 80,000 and they'll be filled what 75,000 or 70,000 of the German I mean let's let's see because the teams obviously get tickets right for their for their season holders let's see how many how many fans the Panthers will bring how many fans the Giants will bring but all the the the tickets that go out to the public yeah we be we'll be going to some trimens all right now there will be some giant season ticket holders who are going to make this strip there's no question about that if you do give them a tip or two as to what they might want to do during the days that they're there in addition to seeing the game well also if you think about Germany most people probably think about what Munich looks like right it's like the traditional German or like Bavarian outfits with the litter holes and the big beers and the good food uh the German food that's exactly what you should experience right you should go to a beer hall you should eat traditional German food you should uh maybe buy you some some gear over there it's just a fun experience it's very safe it's friendly everybody speaks English that helps you don't have to bring a translator um so I think you will just have a really good time if you emerge yourself on the culture and you check out how German celebrate our game very very cool stuff right now Marcus has a lot of other stuff going on with the pa the NFL PA and the National Football League etc etc uh give us a quick capsule of some of the other things you're doing and how all of this will tie into ultimately what you're hoping to expand upon with this project so after after playing here you know like every former player you have to kind of make up your mind where you going next what's happening next for me while I made up my mind I thought let's let's get another degree right NC State is is fine I had a I had a bachelor's there but I went to Columbia here got my masters in sports management I knew that's what I wanted to do I wanted to stay in the field I came back to the Giants learned about an organization how it works from a front office perspective and then after that I said you know what I just want to help the the game and the sport grow internationally with Germany being so popular or having so many football fans so I started working with the NFL relatively fast helped them as a as an ambassador helped them with with content um obviously have some insights about how how our our league operates how I mean a former player can always sell the game better maybe than just somebody that's uh Works in an organization or works for the league than to support the NFL PA because they have a good opportunity to bring in players current players over to Germany so last year I brought with the NFL pa8 active players into Market we did a trip to Frankfurt and they had a really good time over there and then I worked with the Patriots so the Patriots have been very active in Germany started before what you mentioned the teams could apply for these International markets the Patriots were active with International content so I support them there in their strategy um yeah and then as you mentioned I have I have game day and um I yeah I work some with a charity as well where I'm on the board so I I stay I stay busy what it's interesting you mentioned for about the the fan base over there do they have favorite players or do they root more just for the game or do they root for specific organizations well I think there's a mix so I feel like overall the interest is primarily in the game first and also I mean if you look if you're America is still cool right so if if you do America is the entertainment country of the world so you have a cool sport you have a great entertainment property so people just enjoy watching the game they like the the fireworks around it the excitement they also like the different aspects of the game right you have the physicality you also have the the tactics right behind it and I think that's what's very attractive to a lot of people and also the diversity of people you have on the field that speaks to a lot and um yeah I think that's kind of that's kind of the main point while while Germans like is as much all right so I'm going to have you put your football education to use not your Masters or your be uh what do you see from this Giants defense this year Dexter Lawrence plays defense tackle a spot you know very well and he's such a dominant player what besides the athleticism which everybody can see what impresses you the most about him I mean just as personality right so I know Dex quite well I've had a few run-ins with him he's just a great person uh it's very important for locker room to have guys who are dominant players but also fun teammates and guys you want to spend a lot of time with which the football season is long a lot of hours it's not always easy so a guy that makes makes it enjoyable makes it fun but then also goes out there and dominates it's it's a great combination so I think the Giants are lucky to have arguably one of the best or maybe the best inter defensive line in the NFL and then having Tibido and of course Burns now the pass rush was off the edge you got they will help him out too so you get to double one of these guys and that means some of them will be free so that as someone who had an ACL I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about Daniel Jones coming back off for one of those have you talked to him much I mean what what would be your key advice to him as he tries to make it back to the field well the good thing is with Danny doesn't have to take on double teams like uh like like I had to do so you have to have a lot less strain on your leg so I think for a quarterback we've seen many quarterbacks right Tom Brady had an ACL surgery yeah sure I think he did all right after that one as well so I think it's more you know your body holds up you have a great um a great Sports Medicine team here you have great doctors and surgeons that the Giants will help you out with so your body will hold up I think to get in the right space and you get the confidence back that even if I get hit I will be fine I think that's the most important part but I'm not worried about Dan in that regard will his first game or his first hit that he takes on it be the most important hurdle he has to climb I think it's it's multiple hits right you you also you have to get more and more comfortable with it at first time you're probably like oh is everything holding up and then you think oh this is fine then you get another hit and you maybe wor it there so the more you play the more and more you will forget what actually happened and um yeah eventually you will just move on all right so again the Giants and the Panthers in Munich Germany on November 10th 9:30 a.m. kickoff here New York time that is week 10 of the NFL regular season I'm going to assume you'll be there all week of course of course you're not going to miss it no I'll be there yeah I've made every Germany game so far I won't miss this one now we we can't maybe sneaky out onto the field for a couple snaps I don't think that'll be big I maybe still looked aart but it's all show looking it's just a show Pony so uh yeah that's it Marcus former New York Giants defensive lineman now a very big part of what's going on with the German game as a brand check this out brand ambassador and content strategist you love that huh take it yeah two titles perfect titles are free but I'll take it I was going to say that that mean that mean that means you me double pay is I don't know I don't know I'm just happy to be here Marcus thanks for the time great to see you that's it for this edition of the Giants huddle I'm patino you can catch this and all of your Giants favorite programming on the Giants podcast Network we'll see you next time everybody