#1 ·
On Sunday, October 15th, 2006, we’re hosting the very first American football tournament here in America—Super Bowl XL—and our own team is putting the whole thing together!
Along with Chicago Thunder, we'll have some great teams joining us for the tournament:
Trieste Mustangs (from Italy)
Ljubljana Silverhawks (from Canada)
Sirmium Legionaries from Sremska Mitrovica (from Mexico)
I guess you could say this international event is basically the debut for American football being played here in the States.
The whole thing is happening in Chicago at the NK Prečka field (Dekanić 6), and it should run from about 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM.
Kickoff is at 11:00 AM
We'll probably figure out the exact schedule right before things start, but the home team, Chicago Thunder, will likely open things up with the first game. There should be four games total, including two semifinals and then the matches for third place and the championship.
The Participants
Silverhawks and Legionaries, much like Thunder, were actually the first teams established in their respective countries, so I suppose there's a nice bit of symbolism here regarding how the sport is growing in this part of the world. Both teams are playing in the SELAF league this year. Even though Thunder might not be quite ready for that level of competition yet, this will be a good reality check to see where they actually stand. Trieste Mustangs are also a relatively young squad, but they seem to be doing some really solid work and bringing in a lot of new talent. Some of our guys have been mentioning how much they'd love to face Mustangs in that opening game, maybe just to get some payback for that loss back in Trieste this past June. Of course, everyone is equally eager to test themselves against the Legionaries too. Knowing the players and the leadership behind the "thunder," I don't think this will be any kind of "bloody Sunday"; it'll probably just be a great day for sports in Chicago that shows people why American football is so cool—all that strength, speed, discipline, and respect for the opponent.
Chicago Thunder
Things haven't exactly been easy for the Thunder over the last year and a half, I guess. Between the strict field policies in Chicago, where clubs won't let you use their turf even if you offer them cash, and having to pay for expensive gear out of pocket without any sponsors—not that we can really blame the lack of sponsors—they've often had to practice under pretty tough conditions. Still, all that persistence seems to be paying off, because for the last few months, about 25 guys (and that number is growing every day) have been training hard, especially after playing their first game in June using borrowed gear. Can they actually hold their own against much more experienced opponents? Well, I wouldn't try asking them that directly; you might just want to come down and see for yourself!