NFL Flag Football World Championship PR Director Michael Preston is in Cologne, Germany and every day he will recap days events from the tournament...

So Thailand emerged as the champions of the world here in Cologne, Germany, and just as was the case last year, they were popular winners.

Last year’s champion was the Bangmod Wittaya Middle School from Bangkok, while the 2006 title was won by the Chaopraya Wittayakom School from Bangkok. There were definite similarities in the speed and complexity of the Thai game plan. Few teams could combat their quick running game, precise passing game and stifling defense.

However, the MVP awards went to two stars of runner up Canada. Receiver Ben Allen led the tournament in touchdowns and therefore in points scored and claimed the male award. The female accolade went to teammate from the Ecole River Heights team Emily Zarychta, the second year running the award has gone to a young lady from Canada.

More winners were revealed at a farewell dinner on Saturday night. The Team USA DAC Panthers were the choice for the Fair Play Award having amassed the fewest penalties this week. Team Japan were voted the best-dressed team, though they collected the trophy without the faintest idea of the reason for the award until an interpreter explained, much to their delight.

Team Germany won an award for persevering on despite being down to only four players due to illness and injury against the Netherlands during group play. The Hillsiders still managed to come in seventh overall in the standings. Even the officials were recognized and the Best Referee award went to England’s Martin Cockerell.

Before the action even kicked off on Saturday at the Leichtathletik Stadion, an annual tradition was upheld when the crowd was treated (or subjected) to a staff game between Europe and the Rest of the World. Some participants claimed not to be keeping score, but the highly competitive nature of the game suggested otherwise. The Europeans took an immediate lead on the game’s first play when Amsterdam Admirals grassroots guru Martin Kuitert caught a touchdown pass from Marico Gregersen. They stayed on top throughout and won by a score of roughly four touchdowns to three. Who’s counting?

Some highlights included a hat-trick of touchdowns by Kuitert, a diving end zone grab by NFL Europe Managing Director Seth Rabinowitz for the World, flags being thrown by all six officials when Europe’s Mike Preston attempted a point after kick (there is no kicking in flag, or goalposts for that matter), and a loss of five yards against Europe for illegal display of pasty white legs on Andreas Schemeit.

The biggest cheers, or groans, from the crowd came when former Washington Redskins offensive lineman Ray Brown lined up for the World team, but twice dropped passes while seeking a first down.

Team USA might have only managed a solitary win on the flag football field, but taking advantage of the games consoles supplied at the stadium and also in the team hotel by event sponsor EA Sports, the New York youngsters triumphed on the popular NFL Madden game.

Daily blog: Friday, August 25 - COLOGNE, GERMANY

Two hundred umbrellas parading along a city street is quite a site. Just ask the people of Cologne.

When the black skies dumped torrential rain on the sightseers from the NFL Flag Football World Championship in the city center on Friday night, they were prepared. Thanks to some quick thinking by Andreas Schemeit, the Berlin Thunder grassroots guru who is doubling up as transport coordinator this week, the grey umbrellas borrowed from the Dorint Sofitel hotel saved everyone from a soaking.

 

Taking photographs of the breathtaking Cologne Cathedral was tricky under the conditions, but once inside the players, coaches, families and friends shook off the rain and marveled at the imposing building, which dates back to the 1200s. There is evidence of a religious structure being on the site since the year 313. It was among the few buildings not destroyed during World War II bombing raids when 95 percent of Cologne was flattened.

Words cannot describe the beauty and magnificence of the cathedral. The only way to do it justice is to pay a visit when in Cologne.

The rain had stopped once the party began a walking tour directed by guides who spoke either English, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Dutch, Spanish or Thai. The tourists learned about the city’s Roman heritage, the defenses being built against the River Rhine flooding when snow in mountains to the south melts and that there are 4,500 bars in Cologne.

The teams had enjoyed a brief glimpse of the downtown area on the way to the stadium for the second day of games as the drivers took a different route to the one taken on Thursday when rush hour traffic congested the roads. The North American bus was again the place to be as Team USA played its Panthers Anthem recorded especially by Queens rapper Antic for all to enjoy. The song was also playing inside the Leichtathletik Stadion when the team took to the field to face Mexico.

Team comedian Eddie ‘Playmaker’ Roscigno revealed how he had been improving America-China relations on the boat tour the previous night. The Chinese players tower above their US counterparts and decided to see how easily they could lift them off the ground, effectively using them as human dumb bells. “They kinda see us as their little brothers,” said Eddie.

Play Of The Day on Friday went to Mexico’s Amed Paura. The Las Aguilas star made a superb one-handed interception grab against Canada while 26-15 down in the second half.

Play Of The Day on Thursday was inadvertently missed out of the blog, but went to Canada receiver Ben Allen who had no right to come down with a high pass over midfield that he juggled and then caught while under pressure – but he did.

 
Rain clouds in Cologne fail to dampen the players' spirits (Kurt Tillmann)

Daily blog: Thursday, August 24 - COLOGNE, GERMANY

The cream of young flag football athletes from around the world have been in Germany since Monday and three days later they put aside all the sightseeing, practicing and talk and kicked off the NFL Flag Football World Championship.

Four bus loads of players, coaches, officials, staff, family and friends streamed into the Leichtathletik Stadion in Cologne at 9am. The Cologne Centurions mascot and cheerleaders were there to welcome the ten teams from Asia, North America and Europe at an Opening Ceremony.

Once the speeches and anthems had given the event a sense of occasion, Thailand and Canada thrilled the crowd with a high scoring game, totaling 119 points as the Canadians just had the edge.

The stadium is situated alongside the impressive RheinEnergie Stadium, which recently hosted games for the FIFA World Cup and is also home to the Centurions of NFL Europe. The FFWC venue features three flag football fields. One is ideally placed in front of the main modern grandstand and gave fans the perfect view of Canada and Thailand’s points fest. Field 2 lies off to the left, while Field 3 has a small stand of its own, which proved to be useful shelter against torrential rain which threatened to disrupt proceedings during the first games.

There was an array of NFL and NFL Europe merchandise on sale inside the stadium, which buzzed to the sound of chanting fans from most of the teams taking part in the tournament.

Team USA has a total of 29 supporters traveling with them from Queens and Long Island, NY, while Japan comes in next with close to 20 followers. The German fans, who have had to travel the shortest distance as the home team made plenty of noise, but that was the lesser of two intimidating factors for opponents Team USA.

The DAC Panthers won the NFL Flag National Championship in Orlando in November and stepped up to the 12 to 14-year-old category for this summer’s FFWC. Averaging 12 years old, the team stood literally head and shoulders shorter than Team Germany when they lined up for their second game of the day having earlier defeated Korea.

Brothers Max and Lucas Kleinscorge towered over them at more than six feet tall, the Americans measuring close to a foot shorter. But that didn’t stop them from battling until the bitter end in a loss to the German team.

On the ride to the stadium on the North American bus, which transports USA, Mexico and Canada, the talk was of the day’s opponents, the sights of Cologne and the previous night’s welcome dinner, for everyone except USA playmaker Eddie Roscigno (above right). The youngster debated Greek mythology, the creation of man and was determined to conclude which came first: the chicken or the egg? Heavy subject matter indeed for a 12-year-old, but Eddie’s head was in the game against Korea when he scored the winning touchdown and made the game-saving tackle.

On Thursday night the teams were thankful for a break in the rain that had punctuated the day when they took a dinner cruise on a boat along the Rhein River. The 11pm lights out curfew was strictly adhered to in preparation for Friday’s second phase of games.

Thanks to Kurt Tillmann from the Cologne Centurions for today's blog photos.

Daily blog: Wednesday, August 23 - COLOGNE, GERMANY

The ten teams hit the practice field for the first time this morning and who better to sum up the practice sessions than some of the coaches who will help determine the outcome of this year's tournament.

Shawn Gretchen, Team Canada: “We didn’t run any of our plays. We just ran a few patterns and got our hands warm and gave them a few touches. We practices for about 20 minutes, but nobody out there seemed to be showing anything or giving anything away. We mainly talked strategy because we’ve been practicing four times a week for the past month, so we’re ready to go.”

Ricardo Yanez, Team Mexico: “The practice was relaxed and we didn’t work on offense or defense, we just wanted them to throw the ball around and get loose before the games.”

Jimmy Gavalas, Team USA: “We just went over strategy. We think that will be our advantage. We think that because traditionally this is our game, the football smarts are in our favor.”

The entourage then headed to Phantasialand amusement park where roller coasters were the order of the day and left former Washington Redskins veteran Ray Brown questioning his decision to join the youngsters on some of the rides. Centurions photographer Kurt Tillman cauptured Ray's emotions before and after his misplaced bravery (below).

      

Then the most anticipated moment of the event so far - the drawing of the groups to determine who will play who this week. Having heard from the coaches, let's give the players their say.

Team Mexico player Orlando Lara: “I think it is the toughest group and we are five teams who are all equal and playing at the same level.”

Team Canada quarterback Christoff Hasselfield: “It will be neat having the defending champion (Thailand) in our group. We just need to stick to our game plan and hopefully we will win”

Team Holland player Bas Nelemans: “We already know Spain and Germany from the European Championships, so we will be ready to play them again. We want to beat Spain because we lost to them before in the final.”

USA coach Jimmy Gavalas brought the curtain down on a long day when he dialed into WVOX 1460 AM in his native Queens, NY, for a live interview well after midnight.

Daily blog: Tuesday, August 22 - COLOGNE, GERMANY

The Canadian team from Ecole River Heights School near Winnipeg was the first to arrive on German soil, stepping off a flight via Newark at 8.10am on Tuesday. That set the tone for the day: airports, shuttle buses, hotel room check-ins, catching up on sleep to beat off jet lag and finally making new friends from different countries. The NFL Flag Football World Championship is about more than just impressing on the field. "It was a good journey over here and now we're just excited to be meeting everyone and getting ready to play the games," said Canada coach Shawn Gretchen.

   Thailand and Canada join forces at the Dorint Hotel

Team USA landed at 9.45am from Queens, NY, via Frankfurt, where their bags and those of a 29-strong party of family and friends were delayed until mid-afternoon. China also took the short hop from Frankfurt to Cologne after their long haul from Asia and made an immediate impression on the Americans. "They’re all very tall," said US quarterback Yanni Gavalas. "One of them helped carry my bag, so everyone already seems really friendly.”

The teams representing the Netherlands and hosts Germany arrived by car, then Thailand wasted no time in making new friends as they joined the Canadian team outside the hotel for a group photo. Spain were hot on the heels of their European counterparts on a relatively short two-hour flights from Barcelona, then Mexico, Japan and Korea arrived in time for a dinner that introduced many to a different kind of food.

"I had the goulash and the rice and the penne pasta and some salad," said Kostas Akoumianakis from Team USA, who was not shy when it came to returning to the buffet table.

To fill in their time before getting down to the serious business of practicing on Wednesday, the teams swam in the hotel pool, slept, ventured into the center of Cologne and in the case of Team Germany (above), played on the three EA Sports games in the recreation room.

On Wednesday morning the teams will practice for the first time in Cologne before enjoying an afternoon at the Phantasialand amusement Park. Read about it first here on www.NFL-Flag.com.

Daily blog: Monday, August 21 - COLOGNE, GERMANY

I hope everyone's luggage includes rain gear. 

The heavens opened tonight to end a cool overcast day with a torrentail downpour that caught the NFL Europe operations staff out in the open on their way to eat after a long day of preparing the venue for the incoming teams. Spirits weren't dampened though as Mongos Restaurant guaranteed and certainly delivered the best Mongolian food available not only in Cologne but perhaps the European continent. Prepared similarly to when Ghengis Khan and his armies left the vacant plains of their homeland to conquer vast regions of Asia, the food provided a fantastic end to the day for all concerned.

The coaches and visiting families and friends of all the teams are sure to make a beeline for this venue located within walking distance of the tournament hotel, but tables are apparently fully booked every night of the week. There were barely enough spare seats to accommodate the thirty hungry FFWC staff.

When they arrive the teams will be staying in the same rooms that house the players of the Cologne Centurions during the NFL Europe season. The Dorint Hotel is a typically modern German establishment and will provide plenty of comfort for those weary flag football youngsters.

There will be several cultural adjustments for each team to consider when they arrive in Germany.

When the players and coaches familiar with the fahrenheit temperature scale check into their rooms they shouldn't be alarmed that the air conditioning is set at 21 degrees. The room won't be an ice box; figures measured on the celsius scale need to be doubled and 30 degrees added to approximate a fahrenheit equivalent. Talking of ice, the American team will have to ask for cubes in their drinks which will otherwise come served at room temperature in many instances.

Veteran NFL Europe tight end Werner Hippler is among those making all the necessary preparations for the FFWC. The hometown favorite, who joined the Centurions after several seasons with the Frankfurt Galaxy, said: "It is going to be a fantastic event. We'll make sure of that. Everyone will have a great time on the field and the competition will be close. Off the field we'll show them some traditional German hospitality."

So the scene is set and all we need now is for the teams to arrive. Canada is due in first and then Team USA. Read about it first here on www.NFL-Flag.com.

Daily blog: Tuesday, August 15 - HEMPSTEAD, NY, USA

First year New York Jets coach Eric Mangini kept the DAC Panthers waiting two and a half hours before chatting to them and signing autographs - but the Queens, NY, team that will represent the United States at the FFWC certainly didn't mind. Mangini's Jets were put through their paces at Hofstra University in sweltering heat as the Panthers sat and watched how the pros prepare for a season. Eddie, Yanni, Nicholas, Kostas, Anthony and Brian considered themselves the luckiest 11 and 12 year olds in the state, if not the country.

 

The Panthers arrived early enough at camp to enjoy the Generation Jets Fest interactive elements before Manager of Special Events and Game Operations Ken Zore escorted the team to an exclusive area of the Jets sideline reserved for special guests. Just in case the up close and personal view of Chad Pennington passing to Laveranues Coles and Co. wasn't good enough for the boys, Ken and his staff produced a bag packed full with Jets merchandise for each of the Panthers players. There were t-shirts, a mini helmet, stickers, and even a new pair of sneakers for the boys to take to Germany.

"Just being here to watch the Jets was exciting enough, and now they've given us all this cool stuff," said Anthony.

The boys have become media veterans. Appearances on ESPN The Hot List, WPIX, NY1 News and FOX 5 News to name just a few has made them comfortable around reporters and cameras. The Jets TV crew, whose feature can be seen on www.NYJets.com, were first on the scene, asking the team all about preparations for their journey to Cologne and the chances of the Jets winning the Super Bowl this year. Quarterback Yanni kept quiet over the fact he is a Steelers fan.

Next it was the turn of Radio WVOX 1460, The Times Ledger, The Queens Times and Channel 12 Long Island to ask questions. Eddie looked like a true pro, leaning on the fence which was all that stood between him and the Jets superstars, while chatting to reporters.

Finally a long practice came to a close and coach Mangini was quickly over to the boys to pass on words of advice for the FFWC. “Work hard and do what you’re supposed to do on every play and success will follow,” he told the captivated group. “Don’t worry if one play doesn’t turn out as you might expect. Just move on to the next play and make that one count."

The youngsters could barely contain themselves when wide receiver Laveranues Coles came to see what all the fuss was about and like coach Mangini willingly autographed footballs, hats, shirts and mini helmets. He told them to behave overseas and to come back as champions. Defensive end Brian Thomas came over next, followed by running back Terry Butler, who has first hand experience of the city of Cologne having played for the Centurions of NFL Europe this past spring.

"You'll have a lot of fun over there," he told them, while signing a football for Eddie. "It's a great city and the people are really friendly."

    Watch the Panthers' Jets TV interview here.

Next up for the Panthers - a practice of their own on Wednesday, followed by a visit to the movies. The team will be the guests of the NFL at a Manhattan theater when they watch a preview of the movie Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg. It follows the true story of Philadelphia barman Vince Papale, who made the Eagles roster at an open tryout and carved a successful career in the NFL. Perhaps in a few years' time we'll be telling the story of the boys from Queens who from humble NFL Flag Football beginnings...

 

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