VICTORY!!

The day was ours yesterday as the Plattling Blackhawks defeated the Franken Knights with ease. To many of you, this may not seem like big news but it felt nice to walk off the field victorious. I have not been on a team that has won a football game since my senior season when the Syracuse Orangemen defeated Notre Dame on that sacred November day in 2008 :)
Needless to say, the game day atmosphere in Plattling was a little bit different than what I was used to.Kick off was at 3 but most of the team showed up around 12 for pre-game meetings which were very brief but covered all bases. We got our ankles taped by two girls that did an OK job and by the way they taped, I doubt that they had any professional training. I saw one guy taping his own cleats with duct tape and I must say that I've never seen that done in all my years of playing football lol.The locker room was crowded, but had all the necessities one needed to get dressed for a game. The guys relaxed, listened to music and chatted. Although most of them do take game day seriously, there was a good amount of smiling/laughter that was going on beforehand which sort of pissed me off but it was then where I realized that this is what club football was to some of them... a fun game. Some guys, on the other hand, were silent and prepared like it was the Super Bowl. I felt the usual: nervous, excited, focused and even a little irritable.
To be honest, game day in Plattling felt a little like high school only with better and older players. I actually didn't even know what number I was going to be wearing for game day but I ended up being quite happy with what they gave me 2 hours before kick off-#19, the same number my dad wore during his days as a Red Ram for Jamesville Dewitt high school in good ol' Syracuse, NY.
I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little appalled at how the pre game was, but this was pretty much what I expected. I knew I had to get over the fact that not everyone has the capacity to do things like they were done at Syracuse. As game time approached, all these thoughts went out the window, however. It was time to play football and I could start to feel the adrenaline course through my body.
Our head coach, John Rosenberg decided to give a short speech as kick off approached. Educated at Harvard, Coach Rosenberg was a man of small stature but also of great intellect. He spoke philosophically about how our team was going to change it's "culture" into being a disciplined fighting unit starting today. He wanted us to focus on doing our own specific jobs while playing hard. This was his first season here in Plattling after coaching the Munich Cowboys for several seasons and he was eager to start things off right. Coach Rosenberg has extensive coaching experience. Not only did he coach defensive backs for twelve years at Penn State under the legendary coach Joe Paterno, he also had leadership experience while being the head coach at Brown University during the 80s and early 90s. Plattling is lucky to have him and I have no doubt that his cerebral approach to things will win us a lot of games.
As game time approached, I started feeding off the energy of my teammates as they hooted, hollered and primed themselves for battle. Shortly before kick off, I was picked to be defensive captain, a role that I expected of myself to earn.
Now to game time...We ended up winning the coin toss and chose to receive the ball. This was it. I was about to engage in a Euro American football game. As the other team prepared to kick off, I noticed that the spirits of my teammates on the field came alive. These guys were pumped and so was I. As the ball sailed through the air (I was watching from the sideline because I wasn't playing special teams), there were a few surprisingly very violent collisions that occurred. Seeing those hits brought a huge smile across my face. This was real football. Don't get me wrong, I saw some crazy hits during my collegiate career, but this was different. I quickly realized that this was backyard football at its best. Clothes lines, face mask tackles, blatant holding and late hits were a regular occurrence during the game. For me, this added another level of excitement to the game, but also evoked a little a bit of fear in me as I pictured myself being on the receiving end of one of these bush league hits. In regard to the reckless play, the explanation to all of it is simple: some European players and refs don't know or enforce the rules like they should.
As our offense took possession, they quickly advanced the ball down field and scored. This was was the theme of the day as our offense pretty much had its way with Franken. Had it not been for a few dropped balls, we could easily have scored 60 points. Jimmy, our quarterback, was on fire. He distributed the ball well and made some excellent scrambling throws. Among these throws, was one to Andrew who seemed to score with ease as he raced up the sideline outrunning the Franken defender. It was nice to be on a team where the offensive was on the field the majority of the time. This gave the defensive players a chance to rest since we did not have much depth at any position defensively.
My first series on the field was very exciting for me. The third play I was in, I ended up making a great read on a power play and hawked the ball carrier down all the way to Franken's sideline for a no gain. After driving the running back into ground, I sprang up while letting out a primal scream for all of Germany to hear. It felt wonderful to be able to make plays again and have your teammates come up to you and applaud your efforts. This was all short lived though as my coaches pulled me out after 12 or so plays in hopes to conserve me for the rest of the season. The Franken game was only a pre season game and although I would have liked to play more, I certainly understood where the coaches where coming from. I still ended up finishing the day with a couple nice hits. It was actually, in some ways, fun to sit back and watch these guys play from the sideline. Remember that hard hitting safety Peter?? Well he lived up to his reputation as he absolutely punished a wide receiver coming across the middle who was making an attempt to catch a pass. I can't believe the guy from Franken even got up. Pete's hit was the kind of play that can ignite the defense and morale of the team. Needless to say, I can't wait to see him in action again next week. Lab also played very well. He had a sack, two tackles for a loss and countless QB pressures. He will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with in the GFL. He also had to play more than the coaches had anticipated due to Ice Bear, Lab's backup, getting a sprained ankle.
We finished the day winning 37-14 and if not for a few plays here or there, the score could have been a lot more one sided. After the game, guys walked off the field to greet their families. It was nice meeting people's families and friends. There was also a small beer stand on site that was serving WeisBeer from the tap. This stuff tastes so good and after two of them you are FEELING IT! It was pretty weird and funny to see guys walking around in their pads drinking and smoking with some of the assistant coaches. That is European club football for you at its finest.. Later on, we celebrated by going out in Munich, one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen. It sort of reminds of the nicer areas of Boston mixed some Italian city..I dunno what I'm talking about... I look forward to going there again though..thanks for reading.