The Eye of the Storm

Hmm...it'll be tough to write a fair and balanced piece about the Rebels-Kiel game since Kiel got out of Berlin with a 30-10 win that dropped the Rebels to 0-2 for the season, but stick with me, I'll do my best!

Unbiased and well-measured reflections after the jump!

(No really!)

Kiel Baltic Hurricanes-v- Berlin Rebels

Maybel, there's a storm a brewin'!

So here we are in the second game week of the Berlin Rebels' GFL season and if you thought the Adler were a tough test for the men in black here come the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes!

"Dude, hurry up and take it, this'll make an awesome profile pic!"

The Baltic Hurricanes roll into Berlin for the first of back to back games against the Rebels and wouldn't you know it, the runners up to the German bowl last year are the favourites.  Shocking!

For a run down of thoughts, expectations, and gambling tips to shake Vegas, read on after the jump!

Battle of Berlin: Aftermath

The battle of Berlin (first leg) is in the books now and wouldn't you know it the favourites to win it won it.  Darn it, nothing like a good underdog story!

The Berlin Adler defeated the Berlin Rebels 17-16 in a tense and exciting season opener for both teams.  Any neutral fans within the 5,173 people in attendance sure got plenty of bang for their buck!

For a full report (in German) see football-aktuel.de take a stab at it here.  Read on after the break for Der Irlanders thoughts, analysis and general rantings!

Berlin Rebels -v- Berlin Adler

The real battle of Berlin is here!

Berlin, a city divided for decades after that little spat they called the second world war two, will once again be thrown into tumultuous tension as it's two top flight teams take to the field for their opening games of the 2012 GFL season.

Billed across the city as the Haupstadt Battle (beautiful example of Denglish) this promises to be an excellent game played in an electric atmosphere.  With heavy promotion being done for the last few weeks there should be an excellent crowd on hand to see these two lock horns as they set the tones for their seasons.  In the immortal words of my moral compass and Celebrity Deathmatch referee Mills Lane; "Let's get it on!".

There can be only one...

And we're back! (An open letter to all returning and/or new readers)

To whom it may concern;

please excuse Der Irlander from missing long periods of the calendar year, unfortunately it was the GFL offseason and flip all was going on in relation to Irish American football players.  However, I am pleased to confirm that Der Irlander is back to cover the forthcoming 2012 GFL season.  That is correct, Irish players are finally going to crack the top league in all of Germania!  Yes, the first time any true Irish blooded gridiron player will step onto a GFL field.  Excited?  Der Irlander is!

Let's take a look at where things stand nowadays!

Introductions: Darragh Farrell

As promised, Der Irlander's new contributors are to give brief introductions to tell you who they are and what they're going to cover for the blog.  So to get it underway here's our new columnist Darragh Farrell!

Darragh Farrell

Guest Article: The Italian's Job

We're back with another entry into the hallowed Guest Article catalogue!  Today we get a great inside look at the key differences between two European football leagues, namely the Irish American Football League and its Italian counterpart.  As well as that we'll delve into the challenges facing both developing leagues.

Filippo Bertoli, the Lou Ferrigno stunt double, has spent time with both the Dublin Rebels and the Mustangs Trieste as a defensive tackle.  As a result Filippo is excellently positioned to give some real insight into the comparable standards and the problems each league faces; both the shared and the unique challenges.

So let's not waste any more time and let's get to it!

Filippo Bertoli, DL (#65), Mustangs Trieste