Former NFL Veteran Joins Champs In Cologne
The Oldest lineman ever to play in the National Football League will be on hand to inspire the young 12 to 14-year-old participants at the NFL Flag Football World Championship (FFWC) in Cologne, Germany, when the seventh annual tournament kicks off this week. Ray Brown, a 20-year NFL veteran tackle with the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, St Louis Rams and Phoenix Cardinals will be the event’s guest of honor as teams from three continents and ten countries compete for the illustrious title of world champions.
At six-feet-five and 325 pounds, Brown (above) will tower over even the tallest of youngsters who will gather in the German city on Tuesday in preparation for the tournament kickoff at the Leichtathletik Stadion. Teams from Canada, China, Germany, Holland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, Thailand and the United States will join Brown on a sightseeing tour of Cologne before the competition starts on Thursday.
“We are honored to have a prestigious player of Ray Brown’s caliber joining us in Cologne,” said Vice President of Football Operations International John Beake. “All the kids participating in this tournament will definitely have someone to look up to in more than one sense.”
Brown played in a total of 262 career NFL games, starting 205, having been drafted by the Rams out of Arkansas State in 1986 – eight years before Team USA quarterback Yanni Gavalas of the DAC Queens Panthers from Queens was born. “I would ask him to line up at center to represent his country, but I think someone would notice,” said Gavalas.
Brown and the youngsters will enjoy the thrill and spills of the Phantasialand theme park on Wednesday then attend an evening welcome dinner when the two groups that will determine Thursday’s order of play will be drawn. Following an opening ceremony at 9am on Thursday, games will be played from 10am to 3pm. That evening all participants will discover the picturesque city of Cologne on a riverboat cruise.
Play resumes from 9am to 3pm on Friday to determine who will play for the championship and final placings on Saturday from 12pm to 5pm.
The NFL Flag Football World Championship progress can be followed at www.NFL-Flag.com, which will be updated from Cologne with news, photos, quotes, results, statistics and a daily blog. The NFL is proud to partner with Reebok, EA and Gatorade and promote this prestigious coed tournament, which motivates boys and girls to participate in a fun and safe sport.
In 2005 Philadelphia Eagles tight end Chad Lewis joined the players and coaches from the FFWC in Beijing, China, as guest of honor.