Article by Alex Underwood
With domestic European seasons looming we thought it
would be a good idea to take a look at the GFL prior to our weekly coverage. In
the first in this two part series well take a look at the teams in the GFL
South and their chances of glory.
Munich Cowboys,
EST 1979; Home ground and capacity: Dante stadium, 18.000.
The Cowboys won’t be making life easy for anyone in 2016,
with new American QB Jake Schaefer and three freshly signed players from the
Unicorns. The Cowboys also announced two major sponsors for 2016 in ITG (international
freight) and sports goods firm K- Active. All in all the Cowboys have made
positive steps for 2016 and it will be interesting to see how they do this
year.
Frankfurt Galaxy,
EST 2007; Home ground and capacity:
Frankfurter Volksbank Stadion, 4,470.
The Galaxy (formally Universe) finalised a deal to use the
logo and name from NFL properties with no long term legal dangers. For the NFL
it sends a signal of their loyalty to the German game, while not actively
sending a game there, very clever! Prior to the Galaxy only the Frankfurt Löwen
have competed for a trophy in both the GFL (previously the Bundesliga) or GFL 2,
and that was in 1979 and 1980 when they became German Bowl champions, so the
question of if a familiar name change Frankfurt’s fortunes could soon be
answered soon.
Schwabisch Hall
Unicorns, EST 1983; Home ground and
capacity: Optima Sports Park, 1,400 + standing.
The U’s have been busy, really busy in the off season
with 17 changes on the field, most of which are from other GFL clubs. The Unicorns are desperately waiting for their new home, the
1,400 seater Optima sports park to be finished. The project (that also boasts a
terrace for standing fans) has been shared with the Sportfreunde Schwäbisch
Hall football club is due to be completed in March.
Stuttgart Scorpions, EST 1982; Home ground and capacity: Gazi-Stadion
auf der Waldau, 11.410.
2016 will see two new American
faces line up for the Scorpions, both of whom are former players from the East
Carolina University. QB Shane Carden and team mate for both clubs Wide Receiver
Rocco Scarfone, are going to cause more than enough entertainment for 2016.
Stuttgart boasts a massive number of sponsors including Pepsi and KFC.
Allgäu Comets, EST 1982; Home ground and capacity: Illerstadion, 9.000.
The Allgau Comets play in the town of Kempten and were
known as the Kempten Comets until 1993. This year the club signed Greg Williams Jr at cornerback. In 2014 he participated in
the regional combine at the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts.
Saarland Hurricanes have gone a little
French this season (not surprising as the region borders France), CB Victor Ferrier, WR Bryan Billy and OL Valandray Bantantou all
make the move. Former Buffalo Bill Wesley Miller will also join the club at
safety.
Marburg
Mercenaries, EST 1991; Home ground
and capacity; Georg-Gaßmann-Stadium,
12,000.
The Mercenaries were battered 70-19 in
the Eurobowl final by the Vienna Vikings back in 2007. During this period they
were one of the best clubs in Europe with an EFAF cup in ’95 to add to their 5
divisional championships. American Running back Silas
Nacita had the honour of appearing in sports illustrated
documenting the difficulties of his career, and his opening quote reads "When I said that
I'd go anywhere to play football, I meant it that way. This is obviously not
the NFL, but it is the opportunity I had in front of me. I always wanted to
travel the world, which was not yet granted by football. Now I get this chance
just by the football, it's off to Marburg”
Rhein-Neckar
Bandits, EST 2003, Home ground and
capacity; MTG Stadium, 1,500
It was a
merger between the Hockenheim Renegades and the Heidelberg Toreros
that gave birth to the Bandits. The Bandits have made very few changes in the
off season
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