Dusseldorf Panthers Showdown Round 1

This past weekend we had our second game with the Recklinghausen Chargers. This was a back-to-back game since we had just played them last week in Recklinghausen. Well if you followed the scores of the game you know that we beat them pretty badly, 70-0 to be exact. It was quite a lopsided score and all our players got a chance to have a major contribution. Personally I didn’t play much offense and ended up with 1 catch for 20 yards. Defensively, our line and linebackers really controlled the game and I didn’t even have to make one tackle. Below is a sequence of pictures when I was returning a punt.








I can easily say this was the most uninvolved I have ever been in a football game but it was nice to see all of our teammates get on the field and be rewarded for the hours of hard work they put into our team. Unfortunately we lost another player to injury on Saturday; one of our receivers broke his ankle and will be out for a substantial amount of time. Hopefully with our break coming up he can heal up and be back on the field with us soon.

Naturally with the break coming up we are all getting excited for this vacation we are planning but we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves since we have our biggest game of the year on July 3rd. We play our rival the Dusseldorf Panthers; the winner of this game takes the lead in the league and holds the championship in their own hands. Dusseldorf has played one more game than us but they have a tie so if we win and close out the rest of the season in the same fashion as we have done so far we will have won the championship and get to play in the relegation game at the end of September to move up to the GFL. There is nothing else to say about the matter, this is a must win and then we can look farther ahead.

I also received the good news that two of my friends from Ottawa are visiting me in Monchengladbach, one is already here and the other gets here just in time for the Dusseldorf game. Its nice to get some friends from back home visiting and getting to see what I have been up in the last couple of months.

My parents, as well as my aunts and uncles will also be here the following week for my last game before the break. It was recently my mom’s birthday so it will be a nice celebration with the family together. This will also be the first time my aunts and uncles attend a football game so a new experience for them as well.

Yesterday, we went to the beach, this time with a bigger group and just relaxed after the big celebration from Germany’s victory over England. We spent the day lying around listening to music and playing beach volleyball not a bad time at all. It was pretty comical because at one point I lost my (cheap) sunglasses in the lake and kept diving down to try and find them but kept coming up empty-handed. Eventually I saw a lady with her son who had some diving goggles so I figured with my basic German I would try to convince her to let me borrow them for a couple of minutes so I could dive down and find my sunglasses. Eventually after a bunch of pointing at her son’s head and acting out diving in front of her (I am sure she thought I was a little crazy) I was able to borrow the goggles and retrieve my sunglasses.

My plans for the rest of the week are pretty low key since we have a big game this week but I will make a trip to Dusseldorf as well as Cologne to show my friend some of the sights to see in those areas. I am guessing I will end up climbing up the steps of the Dom but I can’t say I am looking forward to that, I really hate those tiny little spiral staircases. I can’t believe they send people up and down on the same staircase and of course the big people end up having to walk on the narrow part of the stairs, just great.

I will check back in a few days; drop a comment below, ask me a question or send me an email letting me know what your thinking.