Photograph courtesy of Football AustriaWe are now hours away from kickoff in Austria, just less than 21 to be precise. The 3rd ranked Graz Giants await the 5th ranked Carlstad Crusaders in 1 of 4 European tournament games scheduled for this weekend. Kickoff occurs at 4pm local time which translates to 7am on the west coast. There are a couple of courses of action that you can take to be a part of this international contest. The twitter account, crusaders2010, which is linked to the right hand side of this blog will be updated throughout the affair. Unfortunately what was going to be an amazing look at the event was cancelled, because the European Federation of American Football played their corporate card and placed a royalty fee on the independent company, LGSports, that planned to volunteer their services to broadcast the game in two languages. As most teams are still loaded with players that play to pay, that are suiting up weekend after weekend for the love of the game there is no form of checks and balances for the governing body (EFAF) that puts on the games. As a result, the game will occur without giving the opportunity to thousands of deserving fans worldwide to view it and subsequently feel more enthused about the leagues, the teams, and the players that play this great game.
An alternative option would be paying to be an insider to Football Austria. Football Austria is a media leader in Europe for coverage of American Football. They will have a live stat tracker, 1 view webcam, and broadcast in German. To become an insider you are required to pay an annual fee of 39.90 euros. This typically is an option for individuals who are interested in the teams in Austria. You can get to the webpage by following this link: Football Austria. Football Austra will also give updates via their facebook and twitter accounts. A link to each of those can be found at the bottom of their website.
