And finally... (July 21, 2007)
| 5
|
Welcome to the second week of "And finally..." - a tribute to those sportsmen and women that don't get the recognition they deserve for success.
This week, is the recent, yet ignored American Football World Championship.
The United States had boycotted the first two events - but were invited to the 2007 event, held in the victorious country of the first two events, Japan. They entered an amateur side, as the competition must remain amateur for the time being - since no country but the USA has professional status. Or at least that's what I thought... But then I read the rules... The US chose to send some college players, rather than the "big-guns".
So a side of former college players left the States for Japan in early July. There were 6 teams present, split into two groups of three. The winners of each group went into the Final. Japan and the United States were kept apart in their groups.
In Group A, Japan brushed aside France and Sweden to qualify for the Final, winning both games 48-0. The United States ran up the scoreboard in their group, beating South Korea 77-0. But they found Germany a much tougher opponent. They still comfortably ran out the winners, 33-7, to advance to a match against Japan.
So, last Sunday night, the Final of the 3rd American Football World Cup took place, in Kawasaki, Japan.
The game started badly for the States. They trailed 10-7 at half time, and were down by a touchdown in the 4th quarter. Within the last three minutes, the game was brought level at 17-17. Into overtime, and it was tied 20-20 after the first period - the IFAF uses the college approach, where you can reply to a score in overtime, rather than golden score.
Into second overtime, and by then, the US finally began to show their class. But the Japanese kicker missed a 34 yard chance to win the game. A winning field goal by Craig Coffin saw them win by 23 points to 20, to sneak to the crown. It was Japan's first ever loss in the competition.
Well done to the United States for winning. But their self-restrained amateur approach nearly cost them - something that is already happening in Basketball and Baseball. How long before the same thing happens in American Football, and they actually lose one of these games? The US remains ignorant of this result - as you may have guessed by my vague report - there is next to no information about it on the Internet.
But that is not for me to debate. For now, we must praise the United States... who proved their dominance of their national sport - just about anyway. A bit ignorant in that nobody at all has noticed, but the States are the victors - for now.
Team USA Roster for the 2007 IFAF World Cup
The team included players representing all levels of college football, with 13 from Division I-A, 12 from Division I-AA, 10 from Division II, 9 from Division III and 1 former NAIA player. The roster includes:
- Quarterback: Adam Austin, Arizona; Jeff Ballard, TCU; Rocky Pentello, Capital; Brian Lapolla, Ohio State
- Wide Receiver: Greg Aker, Minnesota-Duluth; Bobby Awrey, Saginaw Valley State; Jon Drenckhahn, Williams; Austin Flynn, Iowa State; Steve Odom, Toledo
- Tight End: D’Monn Baker, California (Pa.); Brian Thompson, Michigan
- Runningback: Doug Blakowski, Hobart; Cody Childs, Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Taylor Craig, Yale; Kyle Kasperbauer, Nebraska-Omaha; Wendell Johnson, Fairmont State; Dusan Mandic, Eastern Kentucky
- Offensive Line: Alex Atkins, Tennessee-Martin; Marcel Burrough, San Jose State; Rick Drushal, Wooster; Darrin Johnson, SMU; Kris King, Gardner-Webb; David Livengood, Indiana (Pa.); Chris Lundin, Adams State; Matt Padron, Texas State; Brad Poston, Coastal Carolina
- Defensive Line: Michael Cobbins, Missouri Western; Dustin Dlouhy, Montana; Ryan Kleppe, Wisconsin-Whitewater; Matt Ludeman, Western Michigan; Shawn Moorehead, Iowa State; Chris Thorner, Syracuse; Jeremy Van Alstyne, Michigan
- Linebacker: Dan Adams, Holy Cross; Demetrius Eaton, Northwestern; Adam Paulson, Sioux Falls; Ryan Tully, Harvard; Brig Walker, Princeton
- Secondary: Manauris Arias, Maine; Diezeas Calbert, Northwest Missouri State; Kenny Chicoine, Cal Poly; Jason Hoffschneider, North Dakota; Josh Kubiak, Mary Hardin-Baylor; Rob Rodriguez, Christopher Newport; Steve Teeples, Wisconsin-La Crosse; Cary Wade, Virginia Tech
- Kicker: Craig Coffin, Southern Illinois
