No I'm not talking about losing out on the chance to play in GFL1 already, I'm talking about my Dublin Rebels earning the right to play in the Shamrock Bowl again this year!
Once again the boys in black have fought through their own adversity and clawed their way into the title game, and wouldn't you know it, they're up against the old enemy, UL Vikings. Gongrats to the Vikes for getting this far without a loss, commendable. They've an impressive program and are very well organized thanks to a good coaching set up (arguably the best in the IAFL) and having the majority of their roster centred in one locale is a big help too. Kutos to you lot.
The Rebels (who long ago stole my affections from any team I would ever play for) have suffered this year, I know from personal involvement that they've lost key players to foreign teams, retirement, injury, and that old bugaboo, travel. I honestly didn't expect them to get to the game, but that Rebel tenacity shone through again and I couldn't be happier! I only wish I could be there to help the guys, even just to cheer them on...sigh...
Anyway, it should be a heck of a game, these two have been trading blows in the final for what seems like an eternity! For those of you outside of Ireland that might follow along, pay attention to the quality of palyers on these two squads, I'm sure there'll be someone who could be of use to your team....
Well, the American football world championships finished today in Austria and boy they came to a close with a great round of games! I've been saving up my blogging energy for this moment, so here’s a rather large capsule review of the final few games and an extra helping of Irishman rant to get you through the tournament hangover. Enjoy.
Friday:
Austria 48 | 10 Australia
Home field advantage.
Well, this was the weakest game of the final round clearly, or at least the one with the widest margin of talent to the untrained eye.
To be fair to Australia I think they did better than the score line would suggest. No, honestly I do! Stay with me here. Now some might view the following points as excuses but I’d rather you take them as considerations for the final equations. 1) They had the unfortunate task of going against the host nation who hadn’t won a game before this, and in front of their home crowd they were desperate for a good performance. 2) They were they odd ones out in a brutal group. Did you see who they had to face? The USA, Mexico and Europe’s best; Germany! I’m almost surprised they could field a team after that! And hell they made a fight out of it at times.
I was very impressed when they came out for the second half with a no huddle offense and got their TD, a shrewd coaching move. Pity the Austrians were just in the mood to vent some frustration. The power running game was excellent and it set up big passing plays perfectly.
Big shout out to my former teammate Austrian FB/RB Florian Hiess; key blocks on two rushing TDs and a score of his own too. Way to run hard!
Japan 17 | 14 Mexico
The battle for bronze.
This was always billed to be a very entertaining game and it didn’t disappoint. It was the first time I got to take a proper look at the Mexicans and by the beard of Zeus they were impressive!
I had seen the Japanese before and was expecting their typical well organized, well disciplined style of play. The fun part of this game for me was the complete contrast in style from their opponents. The Mexicans were big, bad-ass, and a little bit bonkers! It was a lot of fun to watch these mammoths run about the field with reckless abandon.
Their physicality and attitude made them out to be the bad boys of the tournament, unfortunately for them however I think it was living this image with a little too much vigour that ultimately shot them in the foot. There were a lot of penalty flags thrown throughout the tournament but there seemed to be a few extra ones in this game. Too many poor decisions by the Mexican players at key points in the game that just weren’t necessary. Still, I’ll admit that may have rattled the Japanese, who knows, that could have been their gameplan?
The game was kept close to the last seconds of the game (blocked field goal anyone?) and was a very exciting chess match to behold, and after the results these two teams churned out against European counterparts it was another reminder of the gap in levels between the continents.
Saturday:
Germany 21 | 17 France
A scrap for European supremacy (don’t mention the you-know-what....).
Familiar foes took to the field to try and claim the title of Europe’s best. Germany were always expected to be here if we’re being honest, however France pulled somewhat of an upset when they took out the host team to get into this fixture, so they weren’t about to go quietly into the night.
This was an excellent competition featuring some great play from both sides in all phases of the game. It started as a battle of field position as both teams probed and felt the other out, a cagey game to begin with. But it was great to see one team go the length of the field and score only to have the other calmly come back and march right back down the field for a response.
There always has to be a winner though and I think we can all agree that the killer moment was that amazing 90-yard touchdown for Germany; once that went in the French seemed to surrender any hope of pulling back in front. To their credit though they fought back for a field goal and put it on their defence to get them one more shot at a win but darnit those efficient Germans weren’t to be denied. A masterful 4 minute drill was run as they combined runs, passes and some frustrated French penalties to kill the clock.
Even though the Germans won both teams should be proud, that was one of, in fact no, it was the best game of the tournament I felt.
USA 50 | 7 Canada
Turns out it’s true: Team America do in fact police the world.
Well it is their game so we’ll let them have this one.
It wasn’t the exciting game it was supposed to be but by golly it was an impressive performance from the boys in blue. From their first drive they let everyone know who was in command as they calmly and quickly marched down the field and got into the endzone. Now, to Canada’s credit they went right after them with a great play action and pass: the QB and RB sold it brilliantly, the receiver made a great move and was wide open and given a free pass to the endzone, the crowd swelled with anticipation, and then he dropped it.
Sadly that wasn’t the lone snaffoo for the maple-leafed ones as they fell victim to that most irritating fumble through the endzone touchbackspritely dash by the American signal caller pretty much untouched to paydirt. Then the tournament new boys took a safety rather than risk punt when the U.S. defence decide to knock it up a notch...BAM! 16-0. Some learned folks might say that was a good decision so as to get better purchase on the ensuing free kick rather than a cramped punt from under the shadow of the goalposts, but not so much when the opponent proceeds to take the ensuing drive right back down to the goal line and walk it in again.
Canada did their best to be fair, their first few drives as I mentioned could have garnered points, but if they were ever going to have a chance to win this one they were going to have to play perfect on every snap of the ball, in every phase of the game. Sadly this didn't happen. After those first two drives things took a sharp turn down the slippery hill of defeat, and as they realised things weren’t going to go their way frustration began to show and as a result flags began to fly with a bit more frequency.
Poor guys, after casually striding past Austria they got knocked violently back to reality. Once the big boys took a 30-0 head start they clearly stuck it into cruise mode.
The Canadians had some good individual plays throughout the game I'll concede, and they even managed to get a score before the half on a decent catch and run, so good on you guys....but then the states decided to lob one up into double coverage as time expires and miraculously nab another cheeky score.
Sheesh, hard to keep up with all these scores, can only imagine how the poor scoreboard operator coped!
Anyway, I’m not even going to go into the second half because it’s inhumane, at 37-7 by the end of the second quarter you start to realize who's going to come out on top. So, commiserations to the new blood Canadians and an emphatic hats off to the undisputed heavy weight champions of the world; they made it look so easy.
Closing Thoughts
What a great tournament! Well done to all involved, from the players and coaches, to the TV crews, cheerleaders, performers and event staff, it was such a fantastic occasion and a worthy event for the game we all love! Well done I.F.A.F. and well done Austria, give yourselves a pat on the back; bravo!
I loved watching the games and seeing what’s out there in terms of level of play, it was inspirational to me, while at the same time downright terrifying! The USA, Canada, Mexico and Japan are so unbelievably beyond the reach of us Europeans it’s kind of sad, but then what did we honestly expect? Still, I found myself green with envy while watching all the guys having a run out in the name of their respective countries at that level.
It really grinds my gears that the Irish national program is a whisper at the best of times, I mean I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to represent my country at that level and that depresses the expletive out of me! So all of you who participated in the games and national programs I hope you appreciate what a great moment that was!
Anyway folks, that’s all I have to say about all that, will be back with more posts next week. Until then I’ll leave you with this celebratory video for the American football world champs....America.
The team came together for the first time after the break this evening and boy I tell you those sweaty buggers were a sight for sore eyes! I'm under no illusion that there's still a long way to go, but that long way is crammed into one calendar month of solid GFL2 football mayhem!
So, in the immortal words of Celebrity Deathmatch referee Mills Lane: "LET'S GET IT ON!!!"
Good to see the guys again and get back to the field I must say, especially since there’s been an influx of players and therefore an increase in competition for positions. Any player worth his salt will thrive from competition. There’s nothing like a guy nipping at your heels to light a fire under your ass, I know that from my years in Dublin.
Now I know from what I’ve just said I’ve implied I felt someone’s breath on my neck in Dublin but if I’m being honest, which I am as always faithful reader, after my first two years I got somewhat complacent and pretty secure in my role with the team. It sounds horribly arrogant I know, and I’m rather annoyed I’ve just posted it here, but that’s the way it was; I learned the playbook inside out knew the reads etc and just played and got stuck on a plateau, but that worked for the Irish league. Here in Germany, the pressure to earn and keep your job has taken a violent upswing as many of you will no doubt already know! But that’s awesome! I’m forced to dig deeper and find new levels of play somewhere down there in my gut just to hang on: love it.
Again, any player in Ireland or in developing leagues considering getting out there and playing at higher levels, I implore you to make like a Nike advert and just do it! You can see in the world championship in Austria that the U.S., Candanavia and Japan are leaps and bounds ahead of us Europeans, and it’ll stay like that until we get more players competing at better levels.
So, on that sombre note I shall leave you all to a pleasant evening...
If you've read my first post, or the blog's subtitle for that matter, you'll appreciate that no Irish player has played at GFL1 to date and that it is a huge personal goal of mine to be the first to do so. Well, this plotline is a bit like a pig bullied in the piggy schoolyard because it has an extra twist its tail.
Mentioned in my article on Irish players in GFL2 (http://www.europlayers.com/News.aspx?NewsId=417) there are three former teammates on the Lubeck Cougars squad, two of which are Irish-born, and yes, these are the same Cougars locked in a battle with my Berlin Rebels for a spot in the promotion playoffs.
So, some dastardly antagonists have been thrown against your beloved protagonist! That's me by the way.
This hasn't soured me on those guys though don't worry, far from it...I'm not THAT petty! I'm proud of the guys working hard up the in Lubeck, it just means that the uphill struggle of trying to get myself into GFL1 has been turned into an uphill race between me and those two boyos up in northern Germany...I warned you this blog would be compelling!
So, with the GFL2 teams currently getting back to work after the season break we build up towards the pivotal match on July 30th against Lubeck, a lot at stake; especially pride! We'll see over the closing few games of the season if I, or any Irishman for that matter, can help the team over the hump and into GFL1.
Can you contain your excitement? Neither can I! I'm teetering on the edge right now as I simply write about it!
Talk to you after training next week: plenty to discuss then no doubt!
Preying on my thoughts last night was the fact that before January of this year I had no real clue that I, a lowly Irishman, could play American football on the continent and hope to achieve the dizzying highs of the GFL.
This is really just a shout out to the lads back home in the IAFL or in any small country league that's just emerging now.
Dare to step outside your comfort zone, and if at first you don't succeed; try harder damnit!
I know from playing against them all, and from the odd success story here and there, that a number of players in the IAFL could play at higher levels and I'm sure other developing/amateur leagues are the same. And if you do decide to take a risk and jump up a few levels, go for broke while you still can. Get on to europlayers.com and get yourself and your skills out there.
When I first started looking for teams I set the ceiling pretty low to be honest, I was looking for teams that weren't too far ahead of where I was already because quite frankly I was scared of failing, both myself and my coaches. A realisation dawned on me however that I was young enough to shoot for the top, so why the flip not?
Anyway, that's all I wanted to say to anyone reading this, have the guts to bet the house and go for it all. No guts, no glory.
Preachy and self-righteous I know but hope it speaks to somebody out there.
Carpe that diem people.
PS: In case you needed any more inspiration here's possibly the most rousing song of all time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ZShmt19uQ
With the first post of the 2011 'Hard Knocks For The Hard Of Hearing' blog, the author selects you, the reader, from wherever you are. Yes, this is an American football related blog folks and you have just been drafted to it. My heartfelt congratulations to you dear reader.
Anyway, I suppose I should start with how I got to this point and how the blog came to be. There's a lot to cover but it's the first post so we're all playing catch up, the rest won't be as long-winded, don't worry. So without any further pomp or ado, here you have it:
My name is Ross McCooey, a born and raised Irishman. I discovered American football some years ago back home in Dublin, Ireland and after getting bored with rugby and karate and anything else I tried I turned to the gridiron. Six fantastic years as a linebacker with the Dublin Rebels later and here I find myself sitting in Berlin with the Berlin Rebels, go figure!
The six years I spent with the Dublin Rebels were through college and some rather unsatisfying jobs, but football was always there to relieve study stress or work anxiety. I lived and breathed Rebels football. I played linebacker primarily but one season I lined up at 10 different positions: all across the OL, fullback, runningback, tight end, and even split out wide as a WR...no kidding (granted it was to block but it still counts)! From the moment I arrived at the rookie meeting I could tell that bunch of raggamuffins would provide a suitable theatre for my pent up sporting exploits.
Six years there covered a lot of achievement; three Shamrock Bowl titles (Irish championships fyi), one of which they decided to name me as MVP for, two gut-wrenching lost finals, and an appearance at the Atlantic cup. Oh, and the only two recorded perfect seasons in Irish American Football League (IAFL) history. A lot accomplished looking at it in a few lines.
After last year's perfect season and after talking to some of the guys on the team it dawned on me: I'm 24 and in an office job I can't stand that if I'm not careful will suck me in for my entire life. A jailbreak screen was called. Plan was to get onto europlayers.com and see if I can get out of Ireland and see how far I can climb in football while I still can.
Plenty of interest in my services which was rather gratifying to be honest. Talked to teams about finding the best possible fit for me and my future plans and goals. To be honest I figured I wanted to go to Germany to play in what is regarded as the most competitive league available in Europe, but GFL1 didn't even register on my scope. That was until the Plattling Black Hawks of GFL1 South came calling. I won't bore you with any details but suffice to say it fell through at the last minute, crushing my newly sprouted visions of GFL1 glory. C'est la vie, n'est ce pas?
I wasn't too worried though to be honest; having gauged interest (with a little help from a fairy godfather) I knew I'd find a higher level of play that could handle me. The Berlin Rebels were just that. A former teammate from Dublin was now coaching the DL for the German chapter of the men in black and that with the prospect of living in Berlin to play in GFL2 was a good sounding deal to me.
Thanks to the debacle with previous plans I had unfortunately missed some games by the time I arrived but I was eager to get stuck in against the league leaders Hamburg. I must tell you that my pre-game nerves were off the chart, a lot was riding on my performance. Now, the sharper reader may have figured this out already but I managed to play well enough to stick around. Two more games under my belt against Magdeburg and Cologne and I've handled myself reasonably well I'd say. Critiquing myself I would say I dipped after the high of the first game but brought it back a bit in the third.
However, the big kahuna is coming: July 30th against Lubeck. Not only is it huge because of playoff implications but there are also five former Dublin Rebels participating in the game. In fact, doing a preview of the importance of this game for europlayers.com ( http://www.europlayers.com/News.aspx?NewsId=417 ) brought about the inception of this blog. As I wrote the closing paragraph of that piece the significance of what's at stake set home; no Irish player has played at GFL1 to date.
Having come so close with Plattling I may have been reeling, I won't lie, but when life hands you lemons...and so on. It's a huge personal goal for me to be the first Irishman to play in GFL1 and this blog will chart my, and the Berlin Rebels', battle to go from GFL2 to promotion through the second half of the season. Hopefully you'll find it compelling, exciting, and at times, humorous.
Until the next installment; you stay classy planet Earth.
