Win #2!

The Plattling Blackhawks have done it again folks with their win against Weinheim. I cannot remember the last time I was on a team that had won it's first two games and I must say, it feels pretty DAMN good. The day started out at 6 AM when my teammates and I got up to catch the double decker team bus which would carry us to our destination 4 hours away. As I settled into my seat, one of my German teammates asked me how many times I rode a bus to games in college. "Actually, we flew everywhere" I replied. He and others who were waiting for my reply were a little shocked. To avoid sounding like a snob, I made sure to quickly follow my statement with "but I don't mind riding at all, I get to see your countryside". "Welcome to Germany" he said with a smile. To be honest, I was sincere about not minding the ride. I want to see as much as I can out here and I can't believe its been a month already that I've been here.
As always, I was primed for game day but it was not without some reservation. We were missing some of our best players. Jerome, our talented running back, had to work and so did our best offensive lineman and captain, Christian. Apparently it is not uncommon for even our best players to miss games because of work...what can you do?? We also were going to be playing against one of the best athletes in all of the GFL, James Taylor. And no I'm not kidding, this guy has the same name as my hero, THE JAMES TAYLOR. Taylor had played safety/punt returner in the NFL for a couple of seasons up until NFL Europe dissolved two years ago because of financial problems. He must have met a girl over here because I don't know why he would be playing double duty for Weinheim as a running back and safety. Maybe they were paying him well. When I saw him in person, he was impressive looking. At 6'1 or so and 210 lbs, he looked like many of the great athletes that I had faced in college. My teammates, although not intimidated, warned me that if he got going in a game, Taylor could be pretty much unstoppable. I embraced the challenge and looked forward to tackling this guy, after all, look who I played against in college: Ray Rice, Noel Devine, Steve Slaton, Owen Schmidt, LaSean McCoy, Evan Royster, Rashard Mendenhall, Curtis Brinkley, Delone Carter, Tony Fiammetta ;) and a slew of other great ones now playing in the NFL.
However, Taylor's resume would not carry him on this day. Although he had some surrounding American players, including a QB who had just flown in from the United States on Wednesday, it was not enough to stand up against our defense today. We ended up holding Weinheim to just 15 yards of total offense which is pathetic. This was mostly attributed to Weinheim's ineptitude at executing plays. Their offensive line was not very strong and it looked like they had not spent a lot of time practicing or conditioning. I'm not trying to detract from our defensive effort, but this was not a formidable challenge for us. The game would have been a shut out had it not been for Weinheim scoring on a kick off return and a fumble that they returned for a touch down. It was, however, a hell of a lot of fun. Both Lab and I played well. I got my wish and dealt Taylor a crushing hit as he cut back inside against the grain on an outside toss sweep. It was early in the game when I met him at a perfect angle and I believe my hit somewhat galvanized the rest of the defensive unit and sideline. After the game, the German guys on the team were doing impressions of my scream after I hit Taylor...apparently they think my post-tackle banchee screams are hilarious. The same went for the offensive side of the ball. They pretty much had a field day and there were a couple of guys who really stepped up and made big plays which made up for the absence of some of our better players.
There were some terrible injuries on Weinheims team during the game which I most likely will never forget. Their QB, just a few days off the plane in Germany, was believed to have fractured his sternum as our weak side linebacker, Danny, came free and unblocked and hit this kid with such speed and ferocity that would make many people shutter. This was not the only hit this QB had taken during the game either. It seemed as though we were doing tackling practice on this guy. After one sack earlier in the game, he lay there for a few seconds holding his arm. It was then I did something I usually do not do-I helped him up. As I was helping him get to his feet I said "Welcome to the GFL" to which he replied "I guess so". I could not help to put myself in his shoes. There he was-three days in Germany and already with a season ending injury. His family is not around nor was anyone who really knew him. I kept hearing him yell "I can't breathe". Can you imagine? I said a prayer for him as he lay there gasping for air only a few feet from our sideline. I hope is doing ok now.
There was another unintentional injury inflicted by our linebacker, Danny. As one offensive lineman tried to block him, Danny steam rolled him and the lineman must have planted his foot awkwardly because he tore his ACL. I had been taken out of the game at this point, but I could still hear his screams not far from our sideline. I couldn't help but to think that you just never know when your time is up. It was a bad day for Weinheim and they were stricken with the worst part of this great game of football, the injuries.
For the most part, we had come out unscathed with a comfortable victory of 31-14 which easily could have been higher had we kept our starters in.
After the game, the locker room was full of laughter and guys joking around. Someone had also brought a few cases of beer. After the game while waiting in line for our bratwurst, I had to separate my crazed Turkish teammate, Moorat, from attempting to fight a guy on the other team for cut blocking him on an extra point during the game. Luckily, there were some Weinheim players around to restrain their teammate as well. After all that was over, there I was again with my German teammates drinking beer, eating bratwurst and still finding it funny to see them enjoying their post game cigarettes. It was a good feeling. The bus ride home was entertaining. These guys would not stop singing as they slammed down their German Weisbeers (I had a few also). I think I heard every German drinking song known to man and of course- you all may find this hard to believe- I joined in with them. On a side note, they also sang some American songs like "Almost Heaven" by John Denver and knew the words better than I did. I think the last time I heard that song was when I was walking off the field down in Morgantown, West Virginia as the Mountaineers had narrowly escaped defeat by the Orangemen. For a short second as I was singing along with my German teammates, I couldn't help but to think that would have been a great victory for Syracuse..what are you gonna do?
When we got back home, I went right to bed because I was picking up Katie, my girl friend, early the next morning at the Munich airport. I wanted to be able to show her a good time and introduce her to some of the German culture. There was one perfect outing that I thought of-the Deggendorf festival which had been going on for about a week now. The Germans are wild about their festivals and on any given night, one could step into one of the beer tents to be surrounded by music, dancing, great food and an amazing amount of beer. The festival beer is stronger than your typical beer. It is, without a doubt, the best tasting stuff I've ever had. We spent quite some time in one tent as the older folks celebrated German Veteran's day by eating, listening to live German folk music and clanging huge glass mugs of beer together. The one tent was a great time, but after we finished our delicious sausage dish that was served over a bed of sauerkraut, we decided to go into another one that had a bunch of young people in it and a live rock band. When we got into the "younger" tent, I gaped in awe at the sea of college kids dancing on top of tables going crazy while they drank their beers in the midst of the techno style light show put on by the band. It was a sight to see. The live band inside did an amazing job covering some American songs including some of my favorites. All in all, it was a great night.
This week in football is a big one. We are playing against the Braunschweig Lions, a team from the North who has had a lot of success in the German Football League. They have a running back from Penn State, a middle linebacker from Michigan and a bunch of other good players. It will be a great challenge. Wish us luck!! Thanks for reading.