| NFL Europa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | American football |
| Founded | 1995 |
| No. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Athletics For an extensive coverage see 1995 in athletics (track and field Marathon January of teams | 6 |
| Country(ies) | Germany (1995-2007) United Kingdom (1995-2004) Spain (1995-2003) Netherlands (1995-2007) |
| Ceased | 2007 |
| Last champion(s) |
Hamburg Sea Devils |
| Official website | NFLEurope.com |
NFL Europa was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands News by date January 1 - College Football - In a game The Hamburg Sea Devils were an American football team that began play in NFL Europa from 2005. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Backed by the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football (WLAF) to serve as a type of spring league. The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The World League of American Football (WLAF was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in In 1995, when the league was revamped after a two-year hiatus, the league was renamed the World League. In 1997, the league rebranded itself as the NFL Europe League or NFL Europe. After the 2006 season, the league's name changed again, this time to NFL Europa.
At the time of its disbanding, there were six teams in the league: five based in Germany and one in the Netherlands. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Players in NFL Europa were predominantly assigned by National Football League teams who wanted these younger, "developmental" players to get additional game experience and coaching. The expenses of these players and their coaches while living in Europe were assumed by the league.
On June 29, 2007, the NFL announced NFL Europa would immediately cease operations. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. [1]
Contents |
History
World League of American Football (WLAF)
NFL Europa was founded in 1991 as the World League of American Football. The World League of American Football (WLAF was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in The original WLAF was an American football league partially backed by the National Football League and, like the later NFL Europa, was a spring developmental league. Originally, the ancestor to NFL Europa had 10 teams playing a 10-game regular season: six teams from the United States, three European teams, and one Canadian team. Two additional franchises were initially proposed in Paris and Mexico City, but never formed. The two teams emerging from the WLAF semi-final playoffs met at the end of the season in the World Bowl. The World Bowl was the American football Championship game of NFL Europa, similar to the Super Bowl of the National Football League. The first two World Bowl games were held at predetermined locations much like the modern Super Bowl. professional American football, the Super Bowl is the Championship game of the National Football League (NFL The original WLAF was barely noticed in the United States, and only marginally more popular in Europe. Total attendances at the fifty games in each season were between 1. 2 and 1. 3 million, giving an average game attendance in the mid twenty thousands. The WLAF suspended operations in 1993 prior to the season. The Frankfurt Galaxy was the last WLAF team left in NFL Europa. The Frankfurt Galaxy was an American football team based in Frankfurt, Germany, playing in NFL Europa.
NFL Europe
The National Football League still liked the idea of a spring developmental league, and after revamping itself into an exclusively European circuit, the league re-launched in 1995, consisting of the three existing European teams from the original format as well as three new teams in Amsterdam, Düsseldorf and Edinburgh (who would compete as Scotland). Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west Düsseldorf (ˈdʏsəldɔɐf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. All six teams play in a single division and the 10-game format was preserved. The original playoff format matched the first-half champion against the team with the best overall season record (or the runner-up, in the event the first-half champion also had the best overall record. ) The first-half champion would host the championship game. This format was abandoned after the 1997 season. In subsequent years, the two teams with the best overall record after 10 games competed in the World Bowl, to be hosted at a pre-determined site. The change was largely attributed to the play of the eventual 1997 World Bowl champions, the Barcelona Dragons, who secured a World Bowl berth with a 4-1 first-half record and proceeded to rest players and play what some argued was low-intensity football in the second half, finishing with just a 5-5 record and third place overall in the league's standings. The Barcelona Dragons were a team originally in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe.
By the end of the 1997 season, the league was growing concerned that their markets outside of Germany were not living up to their potential. Radical changes were made to the two British teams, spelling the beginning of the end for one. The London Monarchs would become the England Monarchs, switch their colours from blue, gold and red to red, white and black, and play their home games in London, Birmingham and Bristol. The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league the World League of American Football (WLAF Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London The league had been unhappy with the Monarchs as it was, since the field at their London stadium, White Hart Lane, was only 93 yards long - nowhere near enough to hold a full 100 yards and two ten-yard endzones. For the railway station of the same name see White Hart Lane railway station. Also, the Scottish Claymores would divide their schedule between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Scottish Claymores ( Scotland in Box scores were an American football team from Scotland. Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom Then, at a press conference in San Diego, California, during Super Bowl XXXII weekend, the league announced it too would be changing: the league would be rebranded as the NFL Europe League. Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played on January 25 1998 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego California to decide the National
The NFL Europe era was beset by instability. The England Monarchs were shut down after the 1998 season, being replaced by the Berlin Thunder. The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europa, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental In 2002, the Barcelona Dragons became an official section of FC Barcelona, adopting the name FC Barcelona Dragons, but folded after the 2003 season, when Barça dropped its sponsorship and the NFL was not interested in keeping the franchise alive. Fútbol Club Barcelona ( Catalan fudˈbɔɫ ˌklup bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish ˈfutβol ˌkluβ baɾθeˈlona known familiarly as Barça (Spanish ˈbaɾsa Catalan A new German franchise, the Cologne Centurions, took the Dragons' place in the league in 2004. The Cologne Centurions were an American football team that played in NFL Europa. The Scottish Claymores, one of the 3 teams added to the league in 1995, were also discontinued with their replacements, the Hamburg Sea Devils, being established for the 2005 season. The Hamburg Sea Devils were an American football team that began play in NFL Europa from 2005. With this change, five of the six teams in the league's final incarnation were from Germany, with one from the Netherlands, leading some of the league's detractors to refer to it as 'NFL Deutschland' or 'NFL Germany'; even speculating that the Admirals were only still in the Netherlands because they had won World Bowl XIII, and it wouldn't look good if the league moved its champions, or simply to justify its "European" identity by keeping one team outside the German borders. German teams, unsurprisingly, won all 7 World Bowl Championships between 1998 and 2004. In 2005 the total attendance at the thirty games was 568,935, and the average attendance of 18,965 was the highest since 1992. On the other hand, TV contracts were cancelled as a result of teams moving out of the countries they were based upon, such as the NFLEL deal with satellite TV platform Digital+ in Spain after the demise of the Barcelona Dragons. Digital+ is a Spanish satellite platform that offers a variety of channels both national and international as well as pay per view films and football known as "Taquilla" Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
In 2006, the league's schedule opened and closed one month earlier than normal because of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which was played at four of the five German stadiums that hosted NFL Europa teams. The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th instance of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament (Only the LTU Arena in Düsseldorf was not chosen to host Cup matches, and that stadium hosted the World Bowl that year. The LTU arena is a multifunctional football Stadium in Düsseldorf, Germany. )
NFL Europa/Cessation of operations
On September 11, 2006, NFL Europe officially re-branded itself as NFL Europa. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
On June 29, 2007, NFL officials announced that the league would be disbanded effective immediately[1], calling the decision a sound business move that will allow for a stronger international focus on regular-season games outside the United States. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Beginning with the 2005 season, the National Football League has hosted regular season American football games held outside of the United States
The announcement came less than a week after the Hamburg Sea Devils beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in the World Bowl championship in Frankfurt in front of a crowd of 48,125. The Hamburg Sea Devils were an American football team that began play in NFL Europa from 2005. The Frankfurt Galaxy was an American football team based in Frankfurt, Germany, playing in NFL Europa.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell thanked the fans for their support but said it was time to develop a new international strategy, terming the move to fold NFL Europa the "best business decision. Roger S Goodell (born February 19, 1959, in Jamestown New York) is the Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL " The league reportedly was losing about $30 million a season.
Experimental rules
The NFL has traditionally used a sudden death format for overtime. Sudden death (or a sudden death round) is a way of providing a winner for a Contest or Game (typically a Sport) which would otherwise Regular season games have a single period of overtime during which the first team to score wins the game. If neither team scores, the game is declared a tie. In post-season games, overtime is extended indefinitely until one team scores. In NFL Europa, however, the overtime period lasted for 10 minutes with the requirement that each team must have the opportunity of possession at least once. This gave the format some similarities with the NCAA's overtime format. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations So, in NFL Europa, it was possible for one team to score in overtime then have to kick-off to the opponent and give them a chance to either equalize or win the game (still possible on just one possession each; if one team scores a touchdown followed by an extra point, their opponents could still win by scoring a touchdown followed by a two-point conversion). A touchdown is the primary method of scoring in American and Canadian football. American and Canadian football, a team may try to score a two-point conversion instead of an Extra point immediately after it scores a Touchdown The winner was the team with the highest score after both teams had had possession. Only two games ever remained tied after overtime in WLAF/NFL Europa history: London Monarchs versus Birmingham Fire in Week 4 of the 1992 season, and Berlin Thunder at Hamburg Sea Devils, on April 1, 2006. The Birmingham Fire was a professional American football team based in Birmingham Alabama that played in the World League of American Football in Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The score of both games was 17-17[2].
With soccer being the traditionally popular sport in Europe and American football being a relative newcomer, the rules were changed slightly to encourage a greater element of kicking which was intended to make the game more enjoyable for soccer and rugby fans. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Rugby football (usually just " rugby " may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of Football developed at Rugby School The league did this by awarding 4 points to field goals of more than 50 yards, as opposed to 3 points in the NFL. A field goal (formerly "goal from the field" in US football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play ("from This had the interesting side-effect that a touchdown & PAT lead (7 points) could be equaled by one regular field goal (3 points) as well as a long field goal (4 points).
Also, there was a requirement that at least one player of Non-American extraction, referred to as "national" players, participate in every down for both teams as of the 2006 season (in previous seasons one was required to play only on every down of every other series). In addition to European players a number of Mexican and Japanese players played as national players. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Up until the 2004 season kicked conversion attempts and short field goals were attempted by national players. Since there are few European players who have had the chance to compete at a level comparable to U. S. college football and the NFL, many, if not most, of the European players ended up as kickers. College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies
Among the notable national players included Scott McCready, an English wide receiver who played some preseason games for the New England Patriots, Constantin Ritzmann, a German defensive end who had played for the University of Tennessee, and Rob Hart, an English rugby player who became a placekicker; he kicked barefoot. Scott McCready (born February 1, 1977 in London England) is a British national (citizen who was an American football Wide receiver England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football The New England Patriots, commonly called the " Pats " by sports writers and fans are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Defensive end ( DE) is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football. The University of Tennessee (also known as UT) sometimes called the University of Tennessee Knoxville ( UT Knoxville, or UTK) is the flagship Rob Hart (born November 6, 1976 in Camberley, Great Britain) is an English American football player who played as a Rugby football (usually just " rugby " may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of Football developed at Rugby School Placekicker, or simply kicker ( PK or K) is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the For people with the name Barefoot see Barefoot (surname Going barefoot (also barefoot ed) means for a person not to use or
Uniforms
The 1995 WLAF relaunch featured uniforms with a significantly different look to what is traditionally associated with American football. Instead of the full-size numbers centred on the front of the jersey, the team logos took precedence, with a smaller number over the right collarbone area. [3] The Monarchs reverted to the traditional look in 1997 and the rest of the league followed a year later.
NFL Europa Teams
Lineup when league closed
| Team | Founded |
|---|---|
 Amsterdam Admirals |
1995 |
 Berlin Thunder |
1999 |
| Cologne Centurions |
2004 |
| Frankfurt Galaxy |
1991 |
| Hamburg Sea Devils |
2005 |
| Rhein Fire |
1995 |
Earlier teams (Europe)
| Team | Years |
|---|---|
 London/England Monarchs |
1991-1998 |
 (F.C.) Barcelona Dragons |
1991-2003 |
| Scottish Claymores |
1995-2004 |
Attendance
| Team | Year 2007 | Year 2006 | Year 2005 | Change 06/07 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt Galaxy |
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| Rhein Fire |
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| Hamburg Sea Devils |
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| Berlin Thunder |
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| Cologne Centurions |
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| Amsterdam Admirals |
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| Average | 20,020 | 17,666 | 18,966 | + 2,354 |
Source: Kenn.com
| Year | Games | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| World League | |||
| 1991 | 50 | 1,268,066 | 25,361 |
| 1992 | 50 | 1,210,817 | 24,216 |
| 1993 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1994 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1995 | 30 | 436,853 | 14,562 |
| 1996 | 30 | 516,171 | 17,206 |
| NFL Europe | |||
| 1997 | 30 | 546,433 | 18,214 |
| 1998 | 30 | 499,034 | 16,634 |
| 1999 | 30 | 544,844 | 18,161 |
| 2000 | 30 | 540,438 | 18,015 |
| 2001 | 30 | 557,038 | 18,568 |
| 2002 | 30 | 541,546 | 18,052 |
| 2003 | 30 | 494,448 | 16,482 |
| 2004 | 30 | 477,741 | 15,925 |
| 2005 | 30 | 568,935 | 18,965 |
| 2006 | 30 | 529,988 | 17,666 |
| NFL Europa | |||
| 2007 | 30 | 600,600 | 20,020 |
| 15 | 490 | 9,332,952 | 19,047 |
Television coverage
Although the last version of the NFL's developmental league had no U. The Barcelona Dragons were a team originally in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league the World League of American Football (WLAF The Scottish Claymores ( Scotland in Box scores were an American football team from Scotland. The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team in NFL Europa based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europa, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental The Rhein Fire were a professional American football team in NFL Europa, formerly the World League of American Football. The Frankfurt Galaxy was an American football team based in Frankfurt, Germany, playing in NFL Europa. The Hamburg Sea Devils were an American football team that began play in NFL Europa from 2005. The Cologne Centurions were an American football team that played in NFL Europa. The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team in NFL Europa based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europa, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental The Cologne Centurions were an American football team that played in NFL Europa. The Frankfurt Galaxy was an American football team based in Frankfurt, Germany, playing in NFL Europa. The Hamburg Sea Devils were an American football team that began play in NFL Europa from 2005. The Rhein Fire were a professional American football team in NFL Europa, formerly the World League of American Football. The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league the World League of American Football (WLAF The Barcelona Dragons were a team originally in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The Scottish Claymores ( Scotland in Box scores were an American football team from Scotland. The Frankfurt Galaxy was an American football team based in Frankfurt, Germany, playing in NFL Europa. The Rhein Fire were a professional American football team in NFL Europa, formerly the World League of American Football. The Hamburg Sea Devils were an American football team that began play in NFL Europa from 2005. The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europa, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental The Cologne Centurions were an American football team that played in NFL Europa. The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team in NFL Europa based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. S. teams, American television coverage continued until the end. From 1995 to 1998, the primary TV carrier was FX, which carried two games a week, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. FX (for Fox eXtended is the name of a number of related subscription TV channels owned by News Corporation 's Fox Entertainment Group. From 1999 to 2004, Fox Sports Net showed a "game of the week" on Saturday, with DirecTV viewers receiving additional live games on channels that normally carried NFL Sunday Ticket. The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net (FSN are a collection of cable TV Regional sports networks owned and operated by News DirecTV (trademarked as "DIREC' TV' " is a Direct broadcast satellite (DBS service based in El Segundo California, USA, that was founded NFL Sunday Ticket is an Out-of-Market Sports Package that broadcasts National Football League regular season games unavailable on local affiliates In 2005, NFL Network began showing all regular season games, either live or on tape delay, and this continued until the league folded. NFL Network is an American television Specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League (NFL and is also shown in Canada
From 1995 to 2005, Fox showed the World Bowl and two or three regular season games annually. See also Fox Sports (Australia and Fox Sports Net. Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (part of In 2006 and 2007, NFL Network showed the title game.
Announcers who called NFL Europa games over the years included Curt Menefee, Nick Halling, Ari Wolfe, Troy Aikman, Daryl 'Moose' Johnston, Michael Reghi, and Brentson Buckner. Curt Menefee (born July 22, 1965) is an American sportscaster who is the host of the Fox network 's NFL show FOX NFL Sunday Nick Halling is a sports broadcaster and journalist He often presents American football and Ice hockey and is widely known for being a presenter alongside Cass Ari Wolfe (born 1971 is a play-by-play announcer of college and professional sports on both television and radio Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21 1966 in West Covina California) is a former American football Quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the Daryl Peter "Moose" Johnston (born February 10, 1966 in Youngstown New York) is a former American football fullback in Michael J Reghi is an American television Play-by-play Announcer. Brentson André Buckner (born September 30, 1971 in Columbus Georgia) is a former American football Defensive tackle in the
Game broadcasts were also available throughout Europe and in other territories throughout the world.
Notes and references
- ^ a b NFL Europa to cease operations. NFL. com (June 29, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland.
- ^ Europass: Unusual tie is Thunder's gain NFL. com. Accessed 29 June 2007.
- ^ World League of American Football/National Football League Europe Uniforms
See also
- National Football League International Series
- World League of American Football (WLAF)
- World Bowl
- NFL Europa Stadiums
- List of leagues of American football
- Sports league attendances
External links
- Official site
- (German)Official site
- Historical Site Index for the NFL Europa
- (German)www.footballmagazin.de - Announcement of new name of NFL Europa. Beginning with the 2005 season, the National Football League has hosted regular season American football games held outside of the United States The World League of American Football (WLAF was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in The World Bowl was the American football Championship game of NFL Europa, similar to the Super Bowl of the National Football League. The following is a list of former NFL Europa Stadiums This is a list of current and defunct leagues of American football and Canadian football. This article lists the attendances of many sports competitions around the world with the exception of those for Domestic Professional Leagues such as the NFL
- NFL Europa at the Open Directory Project
- Protest site from frustrated NFLE fans
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