NEWS

Five Towers watch Frankfurt Galaxy win *

Dusk falls on the NFL Europe action in Frankfurt's Waldstadion

The setting could not have been more perfect for the NFL Europe game between the Galaxy and the visiting Scottish Claymores. It was May 12, 2001, and the beautiful Waldstadion just outside Frankfurt Germany was soaked in the late afternoon sun with temperatures around a comfortable 24º centigrade (75º Fahrenheit).  The huge grass area surrounding the stadium was transformed into a festival atmosphere. Galaxy jerseys were everywhere as the Frankfurt faithful were enjoying the day by throwing footballs, resting on the grass, and consuming some typical German fare of beer and pretzels. Snack stands, merchandise booths, and a stage with live bands filled the area. The 40.000 capacity stadium held the promise of a great night of NFL Europe action for five members of the Towers organization: CB Jens Knudsen, QB Karsten Rasch, WR Michael Safko, FB Rich Thomas, and Back Judge Michael Gehrs.

The trip started bright and early on Saturday morning as the five Towers met at Copenhagen Airport at 6 AM. We boarded our aircraft as scheduled and taxied out, but when the pilots fired up the engines, smoke poured out of one.  You don't have to be a mechanic to know that that's never a good sign. Fortunately, they knew important people were onboard with big things to do, so they took us back to the gate and threw the people off of another plane (I'm not kidding:  they really did!).  We boarded the other aircraft and the "Frankfurt Five" - as Rasch dubbed the group - arrived in Frankfurt only an hour and a half late.  We caught a bus to the Steigenberger Esprix Hotel where we dug out suitable attire for the day:  shorts, t-shirts, and in the case of Knudsen, a Scottish Claymores cap. A football was a faithful companion all day and each open square or clear stretch of sidewalk encountered along the way turned into a tiny football field.

As luck would have it, there was a festival taking place this weekend in Frankfurt. A few members of the group had a working knowledge of German and heard the word for 'cloud' mentioned, but couldn't figure out what the Germans were celebrating (Frankly, we think the Germans will use any excuse to put up tents in the street and drink beer, but really, who can blame them for such an enlightened philosophy?). Someone finally explained that the festival was in celebration of Frankfurt's skyscrapers (or "cloud scratchers" as they call them). Downtown Frankfurt is relatively new due to extensive bombing during World War II, and as such, the skyline is filled with modern, tall buildings. Amazingly though, there are still some old and very beautiful buildings scattered around the city, and it's very impressive to see the contrast of these old-style building with a "cloud-scratcher" in the background.

A craving for lunch came early and hit especially hard after we were somehow persuaded to stop for a couple of glasses of draught beer at a mobile stand by the sidewalk. A Chinese restaurant had established a take-away service on a breathtaking square, bordered by skyscrapers on one side and the city opera on the other. The German population proved very friendly as an elderly couple took the time to tell us about their city while we ate.

The boys pause for a picture before enjoying their first beer at the German festivities.

We walked around the city for a few hours after lunch, stopping here and there to admire the sights or explore a sporting goods store, but mostly we just wandered around soaking up the sunshine. Every break in the crowd was cause for a few long passes of the football. We worked up an appetite again, so we stopped off at a little cafe in a square for a snack and a few more beers.

Kickoff was scheduled for 7 PM and we didn't want to miss the pre-game activities, so around mid-afternoon we entered the nearest subway station to make our way to the stadium. After discussing the directions with several helpful locals, we finally found the correct train platform. As we were waiting, numerous Galaxy jerseys started appearing around us so we were able to just follow the throngs of Frankfurt fans to the Sportsfeld station and then on to the stadium. Jens' Claymores hat sparked several conversations, but the Galaxy fans were all very friendly.

The not-so-awe-inspiring entrance to Waldstadion

The stadium was only a short walk away from the train station. The paved road through a lush green forest was full of football fans, and there were many booths along the street where people were selling Galaxy merchandise, more typical German cuisine (sausages and pretzels), and surprisingly... beer! We slowly made our way toward the stadium, tossing the old pigskin throughout our walk, and eventually we came upon the Waldstadion. The entrance was anything but impressive. It seemed rather old and ill-maintained, but we remained optimistic.

We couldn't seem to find the will-call window, though, and everyone we asked gave us a different answer as to it's location. Eventually, a traffic warden directed us to another entrance on the opposite side of the stadium. Unfortunately, you can't just walk right around the stadium: you have to walk away from the stadium through a park. This took us about 25 minutes (even though the guy told us it would only take 10-15. Finally we found will-call and you would think our troubles were over. You'd be wrong: There were only four tickets in the envelope, but there were five of us. This is where Safko got to use his powers of persuasion. After much fuss, we were given one more ticket in our part of the stadium even though it was sold out.

With five tickets now in hand, it was time to enjoy the pre-game festivities.  On this side of the stadium, a large field in front of the stadium was found.  There were more food, beer, and merchandise booths set up on one side, while there was a large open area perfect for "tail-gating. FB Thomas and back judge Gehrs used this time to relax in the grass soaking up the sun.  Fortunately, there was also an open patch of grass large enough for CB Knudsen, QB Rasch, and WR Safko to run a couple of routes and show the Germans how it's done!

The Towers in action outside the stadium

After about an hour of pre-game activities outside the stadium, the big moment was finally almost upon us, so we made our way inside. We walked around checking the place out and snapping some photos until we settled into a section where we found five empty seats together (even though that wasn't where our seats were). Almost immediately one of the ushers was there asking to see our tickets and telling us we couldn't sit there. Safko explained the ticket mix-up and that the Will Call worker told us to just find five seats together. The usher was unmoved by the story, simply repeating "You can't sit here." Safko refused to yield, though, and asked to see his supervisor, who was summoned. Safko explained the ticket mix-up to him, but he also held the "You can't sit here" line. The "discussion" continued until someone in a suit appeared (that's when we knew we were getting somewhere). He explained that this was the VIP section, and Safko then conceded that we don't necessarily need to sit here, we just want five seats together (which were not present in our ticketed section). This guy had the power to get things done, and he got us five beautiful seats in the press section (right next to the VIP section) where we enjoyed ample space (each seat has it's own little desk) and quarterly stat updates delivered to every person. Safko really came through on this one!

Back to the pre-game...  NFL Europe likes to put on a big show and this game was no exception:  the festivities inside the stadium were very elaborate.  There were the expected cheerleaders and dancers ( look at all of them behind us), however, there was much more to it than that.  Five Scottish paratroopers descended upon the stadium and landed near midfield.  The final three each trailing different flags: the Scottish flag, the German flag, and then the good ol' Stars & Stripes.  It was pretty damn impressive to see several Marines sprinting down the field with that final paratrooper to make sure the American flag didn't touch the ground (you should now be humming "I'm proud to be an American" in your head).

Next up in the pre-game lineup was the U.S. Army.  In "a salute to German-American friendship," they fired numerous shots from 4 105-mm howitzers positioned in the endzone.  These explosions were quite loud and impressive, and it is no exaggeration to say that the stadium was rocking:  the vibrations from those guns shook the entire structure.  This was followed up by the singing of the German and American National Anthems (Sorry Scotland: no soup for you!).  It just felt right hearing the Star Spangled Banner before a football game even though it wasn't back in the States.

After the anthems came the player introductions. There were a number of relatively well known NFL players on both teams (if you're a fan, that is). The most noteworthy one had to be Galaxy QB Michael Bishop, who is allocated from the New England Patriots, where he backs up star QB Drew Bledsoe. He has made several NFL appearances in short yardage situations (for the QB sneak) and also occasionally when they need a really deep throw (he's reportedly got a cannon for an arm).  Anyway, with the intros and the coin toss (which the Claymores won and elected to receive - whoever coined the phrase "It's better to give than receive" obviously never played football) out of the way, it was finally showtime!

The air was filled with electricity as the opening kickoff sailed down the field.  The Claymores, who came to Frankfurt with a 2-1 record (losing the previous week in Berlin), came up empty in their first two possessions.  The Galaxy, who at 0-3 were still looking for their first win of the season, had two impressive drives only to watch them fizzle out in the red zone, so they had to settle for a couple of field goals and a 6-0 lead.  The first quarter ended with the Galaxy leading by that score.  Unfortunately, the jumbotron went dark early on in the game, leaving the fans with no instant replays or scoring updates.

The Claymores got on the board about midway through the second quarter with a field goal, cutting the Galaxy lead in half.  That was short-lived, though, as the Galaxy marched down the field to score the first touchdown of the contest.  Michael Bishop threw to the right flat where WR Marc Soumah hauled it in for a 9 yard TD reception and a 13-3 Galaxy lead.  A combination of excellent work by the Galaxy defense and penalties by the Claymores offense kept the Claymores off the board for the rest of the quarter.  The Galaxy, though, looked almost unstoppable as Bishop led them on another impressive drive capped off by a 48 yard TD pass down the right sideline to Ricky Hall.  This pass in particular showed that Michael Bishop could have a very bright future ahead of him in the National Football League:  Bishop hit Hall in stride with a tight spiral that traveled a good 45 yards in the air.  The Claymores retreated to their locker room trailing by a score of 20-3 as the second quarter came to an end and darkness fell on Waldstadion.

Halftime afforded the chance for fans to grab some grub, and the stadium fare was exactly what you'd expect:  wienersnitzel (which were delicious), pretzels, popcorn, and beer.  While many fans were in the back, entertainment continued in the seats.  The Galaxy cheerleaders, who are referred to as the "sexiest girls on the planet," put on a great show, but they were not the only ones.  The jumbotron came back online and the cameras went searching for die-hard fans in the stands.  Mostly these were Frankfurt fans with orange and purple hair, but a couple of Scots were found here and there, and a few were kind enough to provide the answer to that age-old question of whether Scots actually wear anything under their kilts.  They don't...

The action resumed, but neither team seemed able to put any points on the board until the Claymores finally scored their first touchdown late in the third quarter.  QB Clint Stoerner, allocated from the Dallas Cowboys, threw a 14-yard pass to WR Scott Couper in the back of the endzone to bring the score to 20-10. The TD was set up by a beautifully executed pump fake by Stoerner before hitting the Scotland-native Couper.  Couper, actually, is one of very few national players who have made a strong name for themselves at positions other than kicker in the NFL Europe.  A starter at WR for the Claymores, he has been with the team from the very beginning (back when they were part of the "World League") and holds several records including one for the most games played in the NFL Europe.

Michael Bishop went back to work in the fourth quarter.  While rolling out of the pocket, he passed the ball perfectly to the back of the end zone where only WR McCullough could get it.  McCullough had two defenders right on him, but managed to come down with the ball for the four yard TD reception and a 27-10 lead.  Bishop couldn't have seen the catch as he was on his backside:  he was leveled just after letting the ball zip away toward McCullough.  Bishop showed a lot of poise and courage on this play, and fortunately he was rewarded with the TD.  Safko got an incredible picture of the action on this play - check out the whole picture by clicking here or on the cropped thumbnail to the right.

The Claymores replaced QB Stoerner with Ornstein, and he responded to the call by going 4 for 7 on the drive culminating in a 14 yard TD pass to TE James Whalen (another NFL player).  Whalen actually could have had three touchdowns in the game, but the first two were called back. On the first one, the officials ruled that he had been out-of-bounds before coming back into the endzone. On the second his score was negated since the Claymores had an ineligible player downfield. The third time was a charm for Whalen, and he finally got a score in the books. However, the TD was pretty much a moot point as time was running out and the Claymores still trailed by 10.  The Claymores did attempt an on-side kick, but the kick went right into the arms of a Galaxy player, who held on even as he paid dearly for the catch:  one of the Claymores leveled him with a punishing hit. The Galaxy now could just kneel down to run out the clock for the much-coveted win.

As the clock wound down, several Galaxy players snuck up behind head coach Douglas Graber and gave him the Gatorade shower. The final gun echoed and the 33,527 fans roared in excitement.  Following the game, the home team celebrated their win with a spectacular fireworks display in team colors. It was simply perfect, and the "Frankfurt Five" were very happy! By then it was completely dark as everyone made their way out of the stadium.  Our hotel wasn't too far away from the stadium, but we had no idea how to get there.  Eventually we found a bus stop which we thought would take us to the airport (which was also nearby), and we waited for quite some time.  The temperature had dropped considerably, and it was actually chilly standing by the highway.  After about a half hour, we managed to flag down a cab and get back to the hotel, where we enjoyed one last beer and snack in the hotel bar before retiring for the evening.

We awoke early Sunday morning, caught the shuttle to the airport, and returned to Copenhagen without incident aboard "old smokey:"  the same aircraft we had to abandon the day before.  Aside from the delay getting to Frankfurt, the trip could not have been more perfect.  The "Frankfurt Five" had enjoyed a gorgeous day, an unexpected "cloud-scratcher" festival that energized the town, and some fabulous NFL Europe action.  It just doesn't get much better than that!