1. Pioners de L'Hospitalet 2-0 2. Badalona Dracs 1-1 3. Osos Rivas 1-1 4. Valencia Firebats 1-1 5. Las Rozas Black Demons 1-1 6. Barcelona Bufals 0-2
Okay, I know that 2 weeks into any season is very early to tell how a team will fare, but in this year's LNFA the Pioners de L'Hospitalet have beaten the 2 best teams from last season by 26 and by 13 points in the Firebats and Dracs respectively. This league is very competitive with 4 teams being tied at 1 win and 1 loss apiece, but the Pioners have had a huge burst to start the year. I conducted a special interview with two of the main reasons for this hot start, Marc Sola and Willy Grande.
Both players play for the Spanish national team, a national all-star team that competes against other countries in European Tournaments. Marc is the running back for the team and has been a big reason for back to back 40 point games in 2011, while Willy is the captain of the team and captain of the defense playing one of the biggest roles on the team while being one of the smallest players. Here's a short interview with the two of them describing their thoughts of the aftermath from the first 2 weeks.
The Federazione Italiana di American Football also known as the Italian Football League (IFL) will kickoff March 20th with the rematch of the 2010 Superbowl between the Parma Panthers and the Catania Elephants and based on the following description will be an exciting challenge every week for the 10 teams that are suiting up for the Italian Championship run. A very interesting fact for you is that the past two championship games have seen 4 different teams, Bolzano, Lazio, Parma, and Catania. What’s more there has been a different Italian champion each of the past 3 seasons, offering us a variety that not many other countries throughout Europe can present. One wild development in the IFL for 2011 is the dispersement of the Bergamo Lions. The Lions have been the favorite in Italy since 1998 winning 11 titles in a row and 12 total. During that span they were European champions 3 seasons in a row, a European dominance factor that has not been matched outside of Austria and Germany. It’s not far fetched to suggest that many of these players will be playing in the IFL, but for new teams in 2011.
Before we get it started take some time to check out all of the news of the IFL at the Official website of the Italian Football League. www.ifleague.it
Last year’s eventual champion finished the season with a 9-1 record in Italian play, but also was one of the four international contenders for the Italian League in 2010. Coming up just short of the EFAF title game in a 41-21 loss to eventual EFAF Cup winner, the Calanda Broncos of Switzerland, they redeemed themselves in late June beating the team from the south, Catania in the Italian Superbowl. The Panthers are of course the famed team portrayed by John Grisham in his novel Playing for Pizza. Set for another Italian run and lining up this year in the top international competition, the Eurobowl, the Panthers are on the hunt for history.
The Catania Elephants hail from the southernmost portion of the country on the island of Sicily, just to the southwest of the toe of the boot portion of Italy. The Elephants have been on one of the fastest rises to fame that I have experienced as a fan of European football. Not 3 years ago they were near the bottom of the league, and just last year had a breakout season finishing 8-2 and coming up just short of their first ever IFL title to a Parma team that they had beat forcefully in the regular season 51-30. With one of the most productive offseasons of all of Europe thus far the Elephants have landed 3 players who have been highly successful throughout Europe in their careers. Joe Sturdivant, DB SMU, and Brandon Langston, WR Grand Valley State, join the team after helping the Marburg Mercenaries of Germany win the southern division in 2010. Rob Johnson, Texas Tech, will play quarterback after having 4 successful seasons in Finland winning the Finnish championship twice. Watch out for this southern power in 2011.
The Bolzano Giants made it to the semifinal in 2010 and came up 1 point of beating the eventual champion Parma in a 21-20 struggle. CJ Cavness, a linebacker from the University of Houston has joined the squad for the season and will try to help lead the Giants back to the promised land where they were just one year prior winning the 2009 IFL championship with Eric Marty (mentioned later) at the helm.
The Milan Rhinos are one of two teams that will fight for the familiar faces that the Bergamo Lions (outside of Milan) have lost for the season. Milan has elected to suit up not only in Italy, but internationally as well entering the 2011 EFAF Cup and will play games against the Thonon Black Panthers, France, and the Prague Black Hawks, Czech Rep. Milan finished 4-4 last season, but did not go out without a fight losing to both Parma and Catania, eventual championship contender and winner, each by a 7 point difference. Reinforcing themselves, the Rhinos have signed ex-Cal Poly quarterback Jonathan Dally for this year. The Seamen of Milan are the other team that will vie for the personell that Bergamo is losing for the year. The Seamen did not compete in the 2010 IFL and will have their hands full playing in the same town as the Rhinos.
The Emilia Hogs and Lazio Marines both ended last season with 3-5 records in the IFL. The Hogs had one of the most electric losses in Football history at any level in a outrageous encounter with the Catania Elephants that ended with the score 75-70 in favor of the Elephants. They have also hired two very successful coaches for 2011 in Tee Thompson, Head Coach, and Brian Cain, Defensive Coordinator, who should help to make improvements on what the Hogs had to offer in 2010. The Marines were not one year from winning the IFL in a disappointing 35-21 loss to Bolzano in 2009 when they recorded their 3-5 season. The 2011 season is a new adventure with anything in store, this could be the year for the team from early civilization in Roma.
The Bologna Warriors had a tough 2-6 year in 2010, but have already made it clear that they are on the quest for the title by hiring 2 time champion QB Eric Marty. In 2009 Marty’s rookie campaign he led the Bolzano Giants (aforementioned) to the top of the IFL, following it up with an encore performance in 2010 winning the Austrian Championship for the first time ever with the Danube Dragons. This season Marty will be the decision maker and play caller for the Warriors and will look to add on to the 30+ points averaged per game by the Warriors last year. Rounding out the league are the expansion Bologna Doves, and the Ancona Dolphins 0-8 in 2010. Both teams will need to do a lot of work to keep up with the highly competitive field of the IFL, on the road to the Italian Superbowl…. coming this Summer.
For your entertainment you can view here the 2010 IFL plays of the year in anticipation of this exciting Mediterranean contest.
The long awaited 2011 season of European American football kicked off this past weekend in the westernmost country of the Continent in Portugal and will slowly spread north through central Europe into Scandinavia as we progress towards May. The Galiza Black Towers beat Bracara Warriors 45-20 in the opening match opening the floodgates for a spring and summer filled with action that can’t be missed. This weekend is the XVII season opener in Espana, and the Copa de Espana will serve as one of the most contested trophies on the continent this year. All teams have a revamped set of imports, and have made a lot of progress with the national talent as well.
The Big 4 of the league have loaded rosters for this season, some of the more notable signings Sean Bedford, a lineman from Georgia Tech suiting up for the Osos (Spanish for Bears) in Madrid and Chad Upshaw, from the University of Buffalo and former NFL wide receiver who will play for the Badalona Dracs. Last year’s national title game was between the Pioners de L’Hospitalet and the Firebats of Valencia. The firebats have a QB/WR duo from south of the border of the U.S. in Rodrigo Perez and Oscar Rodriguez hailing from Mexico among many other European imports I’m sure. Finally the Pioners, a team you’ll remember well from my 2008 experience where we won the XIV Copa Espana over the Firebats 36-17. The Pioners have their usual lineup of QB/WR/LB. Andrew Robinson former Orangemen QB will be connecting with John Sheffield, a WR fresh out of college from Yale University. His counterpart and college teammate Paul Rice will be the headline of the Pioners defense that has been a torture for opposing teams in the past few seasons.
The sport itself is gaining in popularity as the European Junior Championships will be played in Southern Spain for the second consecutive summer this coming July. Don’t just let me tell you all about it, as an added bonus on ‘For Love of the Game’ is the commentary of the man who makes decisions for the Pioners, General Manager, Alex Grande. He describes his thoughts on the upcoming season.
Lastly, I'd like to enhance your online savyness for those of you who would like it. If you click on any link on this blog it will divert you to that link and you will leave the blog. However, if you hold the Control key (Ctrl) and click on any link it will open that link in a new tab and you will not lose your place on the blog site. Just a little way to make your blogging experience a little easier.
Both players play for the Spanish national team, a national all-star team that competes against other countries in European Tournaments. Marc is the running back for the team and has been a big reason for back to back 40 point games in 2011, while Willy is the captain of the team and captain of the defense playing one of the biggest roles on the team while being one of the smallest players. 
Here's a short interview with the two of them describing their thoughts of the aftermath from the first 2 weeks.
