LONDON -- Wembley Stadium is the Yankee Stadium of England.

In more ways than one.

Just as a new Yankee Stadium - it's now The House That George (and the taxpayers of the City of New York) Built, rather than the House That Ruth Built - has replaced its legendary predecessor, it's a new Wembley that the Patriots will be playing in Sunday when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The old, Wembley - the classic Wembley, the historic Wembley - closed at the turn of the century.

Formally opened by His Royal Highness, King George V, in 1924, when it was called Empire Stadium, Wembley long ago established itself as one of the world's greatest sporting venues.

Everyone wants to play at Wembley - footballers, track stars, and rock stars; Olympians, and even American footballers.

Even celebrity QB Tom Brady sounded a bit starstruck this week when he talked about playing at Wembley.

"It's as historic a stadium as there is in the entire world," he said. "I think our team is very excited about that.

"It's an incredible stadium. I've watched a lot of European soccer, so I'm very familiar with the grounds they play on. This is a game we'll be rememberin for the rest of our lives, so we all want to go out and play as well as we can."

Among the great events held at Wembley were the 1948 Olympic Games and the 1966 World Cup final, when England beat West Germany. It has been the home of many English international football (soccer) matches, as well as Football Association finals.

The Rolling Stones also have played Wembley. So has Madonna. The famous "Live Aid" concert also was held there.

The new stadium opened in the Spring of '07 with the "Live Earth" concert.

One of the claims to fame of the new facility is that it has more toilets (2,500) than any other stadium. Whether that relates to more alcoholic beverages being consumed in Wembley is not known.

What is known is that just about every athlete -- and performer -- in the British Isles grows up hoping to play at Wembley.

And, judging by Brady's comments, more than a few American athletes feel the same way.