The Eurobowl is back in session this week putting 8 European teams on a pedestal. Three games on Saturday and one on Sunday will provide excitement for the entire weekend. The Austrian Football League definitely has a stronghold on the chance for a crown with half of the teams remaining being from the AFL. The picture above depicts which direction each of the teams are traveling this weekend. The teams on the left side of the picture are the teams that did not reach this round. Along with the 4 Austrian clubs, there are 3 reigning national champions from France, Sweden, and Switzerland as well as Germany’s runner up from 2010.
#4 Danube Dragons @ #10 Berlin Adler
Saturday the Danube Dragons head north to face the Berlin Adler. The Adler are the reigning European champions after beating 2 Austrian clubs last season on their way to the title, so this is old hat for the Black and Gold. They started this season with a 48-41 loss on the road to
the Hurricanes in Kiel, then a 17 point loss to Swabisch Hall, but got on the winning track just last weekend against the Mavericks in a 16-0 shutout. Their opponent, the Dragons hailing from Vienna, won the Austrian league last year, but were ousted in this round of the European tournament. This season the Dragons have had success in Austria starting at 2-2. They also reached this round playing in the group stage against fellow AFL participant the Prague Panthers. The Dragons beat the Panthers in their season opener offering them the chance to head to Germany.#6 Carlstad Crusaders @ #3 Graz Giants
Also on Saturday the Carlstad Crusaders (Sweden) fly down to Graz, Austria to face the Giants of the AFL. The Crusaders made it out of the group stage by beating the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 22-20 in Overtime.
After that match the Crusaders hung on to a close win over the Tyreso Royal Crowns in Karlstad. The Giants lost in the semifinal of the Eurobowl last season against the Vienna Vikings. A quarterfinal matchup with Sweden’s top team will be a challenging contest for the 3rd ranked team in Europe. At 6th the Crusaders have an interesting challenge facing for the second time the 3rd ranked team on the continent.#8 Amiens Spartiates @ #2 Innsbruck Raiders
Thirdly on Saturday the Innsbruck Raiders of the AFL host the Spartiates L’Amiens from near Paris, France. The Raiders were a semifinalist in this competition last year giving them the bye to the quarterfinal this time around. They fell at the hands of the Berlin Adler in Innsbruck, and
look to get back on track with their first EFL game of the year. The Spartiates won their first title in France last season giving them an invite to the group stage. In 2 games, a home and home series, against Spain’s Badalona Dracs the Spartiates amassed over 120 points. In France thus far the Spartiates are ranked second at 5-3 behing the Paris Flash. The Spartiates will have their hands full in Tirol this weekend as the Raiders are coming off of a 28-0 win over fellow AFL powerhouse, the Dragons.#5 Calanda Broncos @ #1 Vienna Vikings
Lastly, but not leastly, Europe’s #1 ranked team the Vienna Vikings defend their homefield against the Calanda Broncos of Switzerland. The Broncos made it out of the group stage by defeating the Pioners de L’Hospitalet (Spain) and the Parma Panthers (Italy). The Broncos are the European Football
equivalent of the New York Yankees this season with a reported 14 import players. You gotta do whatcha gotta do in this competition when you’re facing teams from Austria and Germany that have an immeasurable advantage with their national talent pool being much greater than a smaller country such as Switzerland. The Broncos could possibly be the best team to come from the group stage, and a matchup with the top team in Europe will definitely tell all. The Viks, rich with winning games in this tournament, lost last year in the Final to the Adler of Berlin by 3 small points. In Austria they have started 4-1 their only loss coming at the hands of the Giants in a 21-14 loss in early April. The Vikings take a short break from that grueling AFL schedule to compete internationally.There will be a brief report later this week as to how you can view and/or see live stats for most of these games. Stay tuned.
