Here's what's on tap for this rendition of For the Love of the Game. I've chosen a few matchups to be tagged as the games of the week and I have had the honor to interview two of the best import players in Europe to talk about these exciting matchups as well as a President from a Sicilian club. These games have playoff and rivalry implications amok. Check out the short setup that I've prepared for each game, including an interview of one important player that will have their hand in each of the games. Side note: bare with my amateur and low budget resources as I try to continue to provide colorful media with what I've got. Enjoy.
Italy
In Italy the Bologna Warriors come up against one of their biggest tests since racing out ahead of the rest of the league by beating the Parma Panthers. The 18th ranked team in Europe according to europlayers.com at 6-0 will face the Catania Elephants of Sicily. The Elephants, last year’s Italian runner up, have an impressive resume this season starting at 4-2. They lost a barn burner to the Panthers in game 1 and rattled off 4 in a row before losing to the Rhinos from Milan last weekend. With just 3 games left in the regular season, this late season matchup of the top team and the 4th ranked team from Italy have serious playoff implications. To spice up this preview, we've been blessed with the chance to hear from President and Offensive Coordinator (two very fun hats to wear) of the Catania Elephants, Davide Giuliano. Here's what Davide has to say about the upcoming contest.
FTLOTG: Is it surprising to see the Warriors out in front of everyone at this point in the season?
Italy
In Italy the Bologna Warriors come up against one of their biggest tests since racing out ahead of the rest of the league by beating the Parma Panthers. The 18th ranked team in Europe according to europlayers.com at 6-0 will face the Catania Elephants of Sicily. The Elephants, last year’s Italian runner up, have an impressive resume this season starting at 4-2. They lost a barn burner to the Panthers in game 1 and rattled off 4 in a row before losing to the Rhinos from Milan last weekend. With just 3 games left in the regular season, this late season matchup of the top team and the 4th ranked team from Italy have serious playoff implications. To spice up this preview, we've been blessed with the chance to hear from President and Offensive Coordinator (two very fun hats to wear) of the Catania Elephants, Davide Giuliano. Here's what Davide has to say about the upcoming contest.FTLOTG: Is it surprising to see the Warriors out in front of everyone at this point in the season?
Davide: No, it is not a big surprice. They have hired three very good american players, a few very good italian players from other italian teams and these moves brought to their outstanding organization, coaching staff and team those little things they needed to succeed. Not a big surprise though, they are working hard to get where they are.
FTLOTG: Coming off of a loss at Milan, what changes will the Elephants make to bounce back against the country's top team?
Davide: We have suffered an enourmous amount of injuries this present season, we are missing our two best italian receivers and a couple of key players on offense, this is making our season a little hrder than expected, we are not a quitting team anyway and we will fight to get back to the right track soon. Next game will be very hard, it seems like we will be fighting till the end to earn a playoff spot.
FTLOTG: The league in Italy is so close with 8 teams within just 3 wins of eachother, what has caused the most competitive leage in Europe in 2011?
Davide: We have put in a lot of rules to make it like it is, capping the number of import players, in our league whoever has not learned to play football in italy is considered as an import, and I mean wherever also if he is of italian birth, beside this we are allowed to make only three single changes on our import list and this limits a lot the chances of richer teams to make BIG moves douring the season.
Austria
A short ride north of central Italy to the town of Vienna gives us our second game of the week. The crosstown rivals Vienna Vikings and Danube Dragons square off for their annual reunion. The Vienna Vikings, Europe’s most storied franchise has been pounded by the Dragons in the past few years.
The 11th ranked Dragons have won 5 straight against Europe’s #2 Vikings. The Dragons are a game behind the Viks in the AFL standings prior to this regular season finale. The Vikings host the Dragons at Hohe Warte Stadium with kickoff set for 3pm on Sunday. Both teams play with national quarterbacks and have a throng of talent surrounding them. Thomas Haider, the Dragons signal caller, has had a statistically amazing first season as an AFL quarterback which should lead to his opportunity to be calling the shots at this summer’s World Cup of American Football for Team Austria. If the Dragons pull this one out, they’ll jump the Vikings in the AFL rankings by virtue of the head to head win. The Vikings have a chance to have a home playoff game by winning this weekend. In preparation for this kickoff listen to what import linebacker Chris James had to say about playing abroad and facing the Dragons.
Sweden
In the way north of Europe, Sweden has a faceoff of the last two undefeated teams. At 2-0 the Carlstad Crusaders and the Stockholm Mean Machines each have a chance to take the early lead in a long summer season.
Both teams have had the same opponents in each of their first two wins the Arlanda Jets and Tyreso Royal Crowns. The parity of the teams is displayed by the scores from their first two games. Europe’s 6th ranked Crusaders won 40-7 and 34-28, while the Machine won 34-6 and 33-28. Kickoff at Tingvalla stadium in Karlstad at 5pm local time should be met with a plethora of anticipation. Two American quarterbacks in the game face eachother as well. Eli Cranor and Cody Hawkins lead two of the best offenses in the country. Since leaving the Eurobowl tournament the Crusaders have one focus for the rest of the summer and that is the Super Series.
A short ride north of central Italy to the town of Vienna gives us our second game of the week. The crosstown rivals Vienna Vikings and Danube Dragons square off for their annual reunion. The Vienna Vikings, Europe’s most storied franchise has been pounded by the Dragons in the past few years.
The 11th ranked Dragons have won 5 straight against Europe’s #2 Vikings. The Dragons are a game behind the Viks in the AFL standings prior to this regular season finale. The Vikings host the Dragons at Hohe Warte Stadium with kickoff set for 3pm on Sunday. Both teams play with national quarterbacks and have a throng of talent surrounding them. Thomas Haider, the Dragons signal caller, has had a statistically amazing first season as an AFL quarterback which should lead to his opportunity to be calling the shots at this summer’s World Cup of American Football for Team Austria. If the Dragons pull this one out, they’ll jump the Vikings in the AFL rankings by virtue of the head to head win. The Vikings have a chance to have a home playoff game by winning this weekend. In preparation for this kickoff listen to what import linebacker Chris James had to say about playing abroad and facing the Dragons.Sweden
In the way north of Europe, Sweden has a faceoff of the last two undefeated teams. At 2-0 the Carlstad Crusaders and the Stockholm Mean Machines each have a chance to take the early lead in a long summer season.
Both teams have had the same opponents in each of their first two wins the Arlanda Jets and Tyreso Royal Crowns. The parity of the teams is displayed by the scores from their first two games. Europe’s 6th ranked Crusaders won 40-7 and 34-28, while the Machine won 34-6 and 33-28. Kickoff at Tingvalla stadium in Karlstad at 5pm local time should be met with a plethora of anticipation. Two American quarterbacks in the game face eachother as well. Eli Cranor and Cody Hawkins lead two of the best offenses in the country. Since leaving the Eurobowl tournament the Crusaders have one focus for the rest of the summer and that is the Super Series. France
Dropping down to France two of the top 21 teams in Europe have to pull off a last ditched effort to lengthen their seasons. The Spartiates L'Amiens, ranked 18th in Europe have to take drastic measures to have the chance to defend their French title from 2010. It's the 11th hour and this club at 5-4 has to beat the Black Panthers the 21st ranked team, this weekend in order to stay alive in the French championship. The Panthers have reached the semi-final of the EFAF Cup tournament, but sit at 4-5 entering the final weekend of the regular season. This is a must win for a club that has enjoyed a lot of success in recent seasons in France. When facing off head to head this weekend the extension of the 2011 season will be up for grabs. Keep a close eye on this one, most of the French definitely will.
