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!
Der Irlander has reviewed the writing process and style during the time off and will now feature less frivolous material and more material useful and interesting for any and all Irish players looking to improve their level of play or get out to higher leagues. Let's take a look at the Irish prospects for the 2012 season and a quick review (only one paragraph, so stick with us) of how we came to this point!
Last season's GFL2 race for promotion was given a bit of an extra buzz from an Irish perspective as two of the teams fighting for promotion featured Irish players in the starting line ups. The Berlin Rebels and Lubeck Cougars fought for automatic promotion in the last game of the season with the Rebels coming out on top on the day. The Rebels, along with Irishman Ross McCooey (LB/OL), gained promotion with the victory and set to work in the offseason looking to ensure they could at the very least remain in the top flight. The Cougars featured DB Darragh Farrell and DL Steve Walsh; Farrell still being with the team and Walsh returning to his hometown team (Dublin Rebels). The Cougars finished in third place in GFL2 North last season but gained promotion due to the folding of the Monchengladbach (sic?....come on, give me a break) Mavericks. Both teams have been busy all through the offseason acquiring new players both from Europe and across the pond while ensuring all returning players find that next gear required for what many view as the most competitive league in European American football competition.
The Cougars have already kicked off their season with a tough loss to the GFL resident Dresden Monarchs, they will of course look to build on the positives of this loss and gain some traction for the rest of the season. The Cougars have made some moves to try and ensure they can steal some results from the big boys of GFL1. With the addition of some playmakers at a few key positions look for the mountain lions to pull a few surprises this year. Darragh Farrell will be returning to the fray to help ensure a no fly zone in the Cougar secondary, watch for his workload to increase as the season progresses!
The Rebels kick off their season this coming weekend when they face off against perennial German and European powerhouse the Berlin Adler. The Rebels, on paper at least, look to make some noise in the top tier this season but as we all know being good on paper means squat unless you can translate it to the field. Ross McCooey will return to the silver and black, this season however spending most of his time on the offensive side of the ball with brief forays onto the defensive side throughout the year, almost the exact opposite to his season last year.
So now you're up to speed on where the GFL is from an Irish perspective. Both the Cougars and Rebels will look to fight their way into staying in the division by year end maybe even clawing their ways into the lower play off spots. Who knows what can happen on....wait for it...........any given Sunday.
Ahhh, you see what I did there!
Be sure to keep an eye on the new streamlined Der Irlander for updates on how both teams and their Irish representatives fare throughout the year! Der Irlander will be there to follow the guys and their teams as they tussle and hustle throughout the season. Until next time dear readers!
Slán.
Der Irlander
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