2001 Frankfurt Galaxy NFL Europe
On Febuary 6, 2001 I found out I was drafted by the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Euope. I was estatic and prepared to do everything in my power to make the team. I knew it was going to be a long shot but on march 15th I flew to Tampa for the NFLE training camp and began my journey I will never forget. Needless to say I made the final cut on april 9th and flew to Frankfurt, Germany. I settled in for a what was to be three of the most exciting months of my life. It was a rather strange feeling at first, being in a new country, but I remembered I felt the same way when I had first arrived in Mexico. I can not explain how different it feels to be in another country's culture. It is so different than our own, even being in a highly developed country. We stayed in a Holiday Inn in Offenback Ost, a suburb five miles away from downtown Frankfurt. The accomodations were extremely nice, a suite to myself with a balcony on the Mein Heim River- I can still hear the barges in the early morning passing by. One thing I had not prepared for was the cold of Germany, it was april there and still it would snow during practice. Practice was great, we would wake every morning and have breakfast at 8:00 A.M. They have these fries for breakfast that were delicious. Next we would meet at 8:30, first special teams then defense. We would leave the hotel around 9:30 and arrive at the Wald Stadion at 9:45. Practice would start at 10:30 and we would finsih by 12:30- twice a week we would have lifting which would last until 12:30. A very healthy and hearty German lunch would begin around 1:00 and finally after hitting some golf ball at the driving range next to the stadium the bus would pick us up. Our next meeting would usually begin around 3:00 in which we would watch film of that days practice. Dinner would begin at 6:00 at the hotel and was somewhat repetitive but usually delicous. Night time was fun in Germany, my friends and I would either play Tiger Woods golf go out to a beer Garden, (a place where people socialize and drink lots of beer or apple wine) or go to Ole Saxon Housen where we would frequent the many pubs. Gameday was Crazy in Frankfurt. I thought fans in the U.S. were nutts about football but I think German fans are nuttier. Ours games would begin at 7:00 P.M., well the fans would begin their Power Party at noon. Needless to say by game time most were outright roudy. I did not play at all the first four games of the season but by the fifth I was the starter and recorded an excellent game on National FOX television, recording 6 tackles, a sack and a safety. Well I think you can see after reading this brief summary I had a great time playing in NFL Europe.
