For our Premier League game against Newcastle United last Saturday, Carolina Panthers legend turned sportscaster Greg Olsen, Antoine Winfield Jr., safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Los Angeles Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker and linebacker Daiyan Henley were in attendance.

We spoke with Olsen, who was visiting with his family, prior to his first experience of watching the Blues live. 'This is special,' he replied. 'You can just see it in the fans; we could feel it walking through the streets coming to the game. This is something as a family we've been looking forward to for a long time.'

Olsen's NFL career spanned 14 seasons, during which he represented the Chicago Bears, the Panthers, and the Seattle Seahawks. He then turned to broadcasting, joining Fox Sports in 2021.

The 41-year-old has, as a result, extensive experience with what to expect from an NFL crowd, both before and during matches. Conversely, his first Premier League fixture was something of a step into the unknown.

'It's a little different,' Olsen explained. 'There's an intimacy to the neighbourhood; the pubs are full, the restaurants too, everyone is in the streets, which are tight and everyone is walking through them. It’s a very unique and really fun local, intimate feel.

'We experience it a little bit at some NFL stadiums, like Buffalo, Green Bay, cities like that. But this is very special.'

There was also an appreciation from Olsen regarding the physical exertion a Premier League game puts on the Chelsea players.

'These guys are incredible athletes,' he said. Their fitness, their athleticism, their ability to move and run for 90-plus minutes – and then take a little bit of a break and do it again. It's pretty remarkable how they're able to do it.

Unfortunately, the Blues were unable to come away with all three points against Newcastle, who claimed a 1-0 victory courtesy of a first-half strike from Anthony Gordon.

The defeat didn't sour the experience of Dicker, Henley and Winfield Jr., though. 'This is the first soccer game that I've been to,' explained the latter. 'I loved all the chants and everything that was going on. The atmosphere was fire.'

Henley added: 'My first experience at Stamford Bridge was pretty exciting. Like he (Winfield Jr.) said, the chants were awesome. Just being able to experience this for the first time is awesome.

'The atmosphere differed [compared to an NFL game] because of the fact that there's a constant chant. Maybe because we're wearing helmets, it's not as loud for us, but being here, hearing the chants, hearing how involved the crowd is, I think that's like a big difference.'

For Henley, there was also a kinship with a member of the Blues squad: Moises Caicedo. He said: 'They say he's like the linebacker – that's my type of defence right there. That's my guy.'