AFBO translated to English stands for American Football From Austria, and in 2012 football in Austria makes an epic change that the results of which are still unknown. This offseason team administrators and coaches came together to discuss the future direction of the league. As a result, the number of allowed imports on the gameday roster has been cut in half from 4 to 2. This decision comes after the Austrian Football League (AFL) has developed Europe’s best under-19 development teams proved by Team Austria’s championship victory this past summer in southern Spain in the European Junior Championship competition. The talent of the national players in Austria is impressive and the clubs in Austria have the funds to provide multiple full time coaching positions for their clubs which offers this league the opportunity to decrease the number of imports.Players and coaches around the league recently weighed in on this issue. Standout WR for the Danube Dragons,
Thomas Haider said, “It was the right step in order to promote development of young Austrian players even more and give them a chance to collect valuable experience in the AFL even earlier.” This thought was reiterated by Dragon and Team Austria teammate Mikey Kuhnmeyer, “Teams that have big youth programs get paid for what they did in the last couple of years” while Vienna Vikings QB Chris Gross stated that, “They (AFBO) are for sure sending a message to the teams to coach up Austrian players at every position.” Gross also went on to describe that national players sacrifice a lot of their time and money while balancing their priorities between football preparation and work or college or both, that being rewarded with time on the field is vital to the heart of the Austria player and that you can’t put a price on playing on national television broadcasts or video streams on the internet. 
Altogether everyone interviewed expressed that it is undoubtedly entertaining to watch Americans making plays, but in the long run this decision is what is best for the league’s growth, and in 2012 football in Austria makes an epic change that the results of which are still unknown. This offseason team administrators and coaches came together to discuss the future direction of the league. As a result, the number of allowed imports on the gameday roster has been cut in half from 4 to 2. This decision comes after the Austrian Football League (AFL) has developed Europe’s best under-19 development teams proved by Team Austria’s championship victory this past summer in southern Spain in the European Junior Championship competition. The talent of the national players in Austria is impressive and the clubs in Austria have the funds to provide multiple full time coaching positions for their clubs which offers this league the opportunity to decrease the number of imports. So what was the reason that this issue was debated? It seems that one deterrent for making the decision to limit the number of imports even further was tied to the fact that the European Federation of American Football’s top international competition, the Eurobowl, still allows 3 imports on the field at a time. 
The head coach of the Vienna Vikings, Chris Calaycay, said that, “the reasoning was that it would weaken the Austrian teams in European competition,” referring to the other side of the conversation. It is assumed that many teams will follow suit with the precedence that the Raiders and Vikings have set by still hiring 3 import players and either rotating them during national competition, or simply bringing the 3rd player late in the season in time for the Eurobowl tournament. Calaycay went on to describe more details about the reasons for the change, eluding to the league’s desire to have the best national team in Europe, “It 
is a general opinion that if we (Team Austria) want to win a European championship we need to get as many Austrians on the field as possible. We have a small pool to pull players from compared to Germany or France.” Fiscally this helps clubs as well described well by Calaycay, “Clubs can invest into other aspects of player development, such as more coaches, coaching development, youth development, marketing, etc.”
So we’re all set with most of the important pieces of the Austrian Football League on board with the change, but how will that affect us this season, what does it mean for the first team to hoist the trophy following the rule change? Well, the answer is that we really don’t know until things unfold beginning with the season’s kickoff weekend next Saturday and Sunday. Coach Calaycay mentioned that, “I think this will be an extremely interesting season. From a tactical standpoint it will be a big unknown of how clubs use their imports. Will they play both sides of the ball? Will they only bring offensive players? 
It is something that is going to be new in our league.” Vikings QB Gross feels that this will open up things a bit for his club, “I know every other team has signed an import QB, therefore there are chances for us to face a defense with one or at times no imports on the other side of the football. I feel good about that and expect my performance, the connection to the receivers, and the time given by my O-linemen to put enough points on the board to win.”
The stage is set; it’s time for the 2012 season, one with more pre-season intrigue than in years past, to commence. Next weekend the 6 clubs that are battling to be Europe’s and Austria’s top team will each contest one another and many answers will begin to come to light about what’s in store for the remainder of the spring and early summer for American Football Bund Osterreich.
Innsbruck Raiders
The dual crown was won last season by the Innsbruck Raiders, but not without a fight. 
They finished 5-1 in the regular season of Austria, losing narrowly on the road to the Vienna Vikings, but after that loss ripped off 7 consecutive wins including 2 semi final and 2 final round victories redeeming themselves against the Vikings twice, and beating the Danube Dragons and Berlin Adler handily. After having a season like that, it’s quite obvious that they will be the team to beat, yet some offseason murmurs speak of the national talent not being what it once was with retirees and some players on the move. The Raiders have promised to bring back their dominating imports in Kyle Callahan, John Clements, Talib Wise, and have added standout RB/LB Chris James who spent the last 3 years playing for the rival Vienna Vikings.
Vienna Vikings
The Raiffeisen Vienna Vikings have a lot of work ahead of them this season having been the only team to beat the dually crowned Raiders in 2011, but not at the right time of the year. Led by veteran head coach Chris Calaycay and former European football standouts Jordan Neuman and Josiah Cravalho the Vikings need to regain the crown that has been theirs more times than any other club in Europe. 
The Viks lost the 2010 Eurobowl by a final second field goal to Berlin only to play to the last second and lose again on a field goal in the semifinal last year in Innsbruck. After finishing 5-1 in the regular season last year the Vikings lost out on two championships to a team that they had already beaten, the Innsbruck Raiders. The season slipped through their grasp in that narrow Eurobowl loss, and then it happened again in a 23-13 defeat in Vienna. These close losses begin to add up, and the championship opportunities that were can feel haunting. QB Chris Gross said, “Losing in the Bowl game year after year now hurts really bad but it builds other feelings like motivation, character, appreciation and most importantly it shows who really does it FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME.” The bright side of the story is that the Vikings youth teams continue to deliver solid players to the men’s team and those players are beginning to make a name for themselves. One thing is for sure, with the leadership and the incoming standouts as imports, 
the Vikings will have as good of a chance as anyone to hoist the two titles they’re after as anyone else. Gross also said, “Like any other team there is we are just a team on our journey and if our actions are gonna be rewarded by a trophy? We will see... but I for sure know the strength of everybody having each other’s backs from the players to the management is going to be rewarded, I promise. “
Graz Giants
The JCL Graz Giants had a great start to the season last year, but came out of the season just like the case has been lately with severely close playoff losses. 
This club is on the cusp each and every year, and it usually comes down to a play or two that hasn’t gone their way in the past few seasons. The Giants were 5-1 heading into a semi-final rematch with a team that they beat in the regular season, the Vienna Vikings, but lost a heartbreaking affair on the road 19-14. In the Eurobowl the Giants topped Sweden’s best, the Carlstad Crusaders in the quarterfinal, but gave up a massive lead in Berlin to lose to the Adler in the semis. Now the Giants are in what is called a transition. New management after years of work, new head coach after 5 seasons, the Blue and Gold are the biggest question mark for the early part of 2012. The Giants are looking to get back to title town in both the EFL and the AFL this season, and they’ll do it behind the leadership of one guy who is familiar, and that’s 
QB Chris Gunn (North Alabama, D2). Gunn has managed the offense for the past 4 years including the AFL championship victory in 2008. In a recent interview regarding the void that coach Rhoades leaves and Graz’s immediate future the star QB had this to say, “Obviously Coach Rhoades has left a void that can never be filled but what makes him such a great individual that I have grown to love and respect alot is that he has taught the Giants family so much and left this team with knowledge and other intangibles to be successful and we will. I honestly think we are sitting pretty well, not taking anything away from any other teams but this is the style of football the Giants were built around. We like that people are counting us out due to the recent events but we are a team that is together and knows how to respond to adversity.” It’s still unknown who Gunn will be joined by, but whoever it is, they will be a part of a new regime in Graz, so how will that translate into wins and losses, only time will tell?
Danube Dragons
The Danube Dragons are the 4th team from Austria that have the chance at the dual crown. Winning the Austrian Bowl in 2010 seemed to be the game that put the Dragons over the hump, 
but with drastic personnel changes in 2011 the Dragons had one of their most disappointing seasons in recent years. When asked about the Dragons chances, DL Mikey Kuhnmeyer mentioned that, “We must become the same group of persons that we were in 2010, a team full of friends.” The Dragons finished the regular season at 3-3, and had a chance to turn things around in the playoffs but came up empty on the road in Innsbruck 29-0. In international play the Dragons have yet another difficult climb out of the group stage. They’ll need to beat the same team they handled last season in league rival Prague before attempting to oust one of the bye week teams that are offered the restful pedestal that the EFL gives to teams that produce. Last season the Dragons met their demise in the quarterfinal on the road in north Germany to the Berlin Adler 35-25. This year will depend on how fast the younger players catch on to playing at the top level. 
WR Thomas Haider talked briefly about the recent retirements of top offensive linemen Ralph Lehmann, Armando Piedra, and Herbie Klackl leaving holes for younger players to fill. The Dragons chances will hinge also on whether or not they can get back to form on offense. The offensive juggernaut that once averaged over 50 points a game was not in effect in 2011. The Dragons are recharged with QB Jonathon Dally (Cal Poly, FCS) and newcomer to Europe RB Tunde Ogun (Christopher Newport, D3) and poised to make a restating cause for the best team in Europe, but also maybe most importantly, isn’t this the year of the Dragon?
Prague Panthers
The Panthers, still transitioning into the AFL from their previous league in the Czech Republic finished last season 2-4 in Austria. They had a season by the book beating the bottom tier Salzburg and Carinthia, but losing to the big 4 with their closest chance at victory losing by 17 points. 
The Panthers are one of 5 Austrian clubs signed up to compete in the Eurobowl tournament. They play the same club that they lost to in the opening round last year, the Danube Dragons. The Dragons handled the Panthers in two separate affairs last year, so we know that a bad taste will do nothing more than motivate this club from the Czech capital to have a better showing in 2012 international competition. Dragons DL Kuhnmeyer when asked about how they compare to the other teams mentioned that, “the biggest question mark this year are the Panthers.” How will this team fare as a little fish in the big pond in their 3rd season playing against the best of the best?
Modling Rangers
The Rangers are the new club to test the dangerous waters of the AFL. The Big 4 powerhouses are no joke and you can ask the list of other clubs that played in the top division that have since dropped back down or escaped Austria altogether. But the team from the outskirts of Vienna has a lot to play for. Being the 3rd team in the Austrian capital the Rangers’ players share a hometown with the Dragons and the Vikings. 
In the second division in Austria the Rangers have won 26 straight games, there’s not much left for them in that league. So the obvious decision was to move up to the AFL. This season will be a test for a smaller club to prove whether or not they have what it takes to compete like the Carinthia Black Lions back in 2009 coming within inches of a semi-final berth in the AFL playoffs. The Rangers have two talented backfield imports in QB Craig Maynard and once Vienna Viking RB Clinton Graham. These guys will definitely shine, but will they win games, that’s the looming question.
Good luck or shall I say viel gluck to all of those participating in the Austrian Football League in 2012. All of us fans are anticipating a fun and exciting year. You can follow all of the action including several games this season broadcasted live over the internet. Start by clicking on the Austria league link to the left hand side of this blog and trace your way to the individual team's web pages from there. Also in the links section is the Eurobowl tournament official web page which kicks off later in April and early May.
