GR8 Win

Despite the gale force winds ripping through my building's courtyard at the moment, I have returned to finish yesterday's recap of Tigers football. Seriously, at times the wind here is downright cartoonish, but I'm not one to complain. The breeze that comes into my bedroom about two feet above my pillow makes sleeping conditions darn-near perfect. This coupled with my Ikea 'Sultan' mattress is an unbeatable combination; neither Ali Baba nor his forty thieves could rob me of a good night's sleep.

Anyways, on to the good stuff now. Yesterday was by far the best game I've played in since joining the Tigers. I would say it shares this distinction with our thrilling week one victory over the Amager Demons, however I wasn't in action at the time. We played visitor to the Esbjerg Hurricanes, a team we narrowly defeated in late May by a margin of 7-0 and yesterday's contest proved to be a challenging affair yet again.

Esbjerg is a fairly industrial coastal community in the southwest of Jutland, known for its thriving harbor and fishing trade. Because of this, they are somewhat of a quandary of a football team. Depending on the month, they may or may not have their top players, as many of them work on oil rigs, fishing boats and various other offshore interests. These jobs last weeks at a time, making it tough for the 'Canes when these guys are away and tough on opponents when they are home. The last time we faced them, they happened to be down on players; something that benefited us then, as we were missing several key contributors, too. Yesterday, they still did not have a very large corps, however their leading players happened to be ashore for this game.

Adding to this fact, the Hurricanes have had some solid coaching throughout this season from two different American coaches. The first coach was at the helm the last time we faced each other and I could tell he was a fiery young man, who most importantly, knew football and could teach the game. He has since departed to take an offensive coordinator position at a Division II college back in the States and was replaced by another Yank, who most recently came from coaching in the Austrian Football League, one of the top leagues in all of Europe. Using what they have learned from these fellows, our opponents started strong and we soon found ourselves in unfamiliar territory.

After a scoreless first quarter for both squads, Esbjerg drew first blood with a long scoring drive that culminated in a TD run from about four yards out. The PAT was good and we trailed in a game for the first time since April 17th. This ended our defense's streak of scoreless quarters at twenty-seven, but it wouldn't be long before they regrouped and started anew. Unable to muster a response, we entered the half down 7-0. Prior to this there had been some long faces and chippy attitudes on our sidelines and we knew we were in a dogfight.

After some halftime soul-searching, the guys came out fired up and made the decision to not lose sight of what we've been doing all season long. We received the kickoff and went right to work, stringing together a long drive that finished in the Esbjerg endzone with a Brian Woodward TD reception. Following the PAT, the game was knotted at seven apiece. From this point on, it was a different ball game; our sideline now energized and involved. Both teams continued to battle hard until midway through the fourth, when QB Matthias Lilhauge found the endzone on a short scramble, giving us a 13-7 advantage. After a missed extra point, the score remained the same and we knew we had to dig in to preserve the W.

Despite a few long Esbjerg conversions and theatrics late in the game, the Tiger defense triumphed and now has a new scoreless streak of two quarters in the books. After the game, we recognized how we had come together to close the deal. That being said, we also acknowledged that the last two games we have upcoming will both be equally as tough and we will need to play better from the start in order to finish this things off the right way. The game's MVP was everybody's favorite American (Brian, of course, not me) who turned in a grown-man performance with at least ten catches (five or six of which went for first downs), a hundred yards and then some receiving and the aforementioned touchdown. This came as no surprise to me, as the night before the game, the Bri-guy told me he was going to have a big game and I believed him. He had the fire in his eyes and exuded the confidence of a thirty-five year-old, trapped in a thirty-seven year-old's body. In addition to his fine statistics, Brian also set the tone for us on the sidelines, stressing the importance of down and distance, which was indeed key in winning the game.

This week's "Moment" was a little harder to come by, considering our opposition was far less inept than in previous games. The same however, almost could not have been said for the laundromat responsible for washing the Hurricanes' jerseys. Just before we left the changing rooms for pregame warmups, someone informed me that the 'Canes hadn't yet received their uniforms from the cleaners. It must have been a very close call, as they took the field shortly thereafter in their gameday garb. Prior to that though, I was wondering what they would have done had this not been the case. In retrospect, probably best not to think about such 'could-have-beens.'

All in all, it was a heck of a fun game to play in and my hats off to Esbjerg for a good match. The increased level of competition was a rather refreshing change and I anticipate will better prepare us for our final two showdowns, the first of which coming in two weeks. Before I go, I'd like to leave you with an image from last night. Below is the aftermath of the death of my PhysioBall. No sooner did I click 'Publish Post' after finishing last night's entry, then did I hear a loud hiss coming from directly below me. Since my apartment, to the best of my knowledge is snake-free, I knew the end was near and that something very bad was coming very soon. As this thought left my head, a giant pop threw me to the floor and left my toe in the condition you now see. I must have caught it on the bottom of my desk. The troubles I go through to share my story with you all...

Back on Track

So, as promised (three weeks ago), I've promptly returned to blogging duties here in the 'Mark. In my defense, I was rather busy during yet another period of extended, unexplained absence. Early in the month, I was contacted by Marist Sports Information Director, Mike Ferraro, about writing a piece for www.goredfoxes.com on my time abroad. I spent a few days working on this and submitted it to Mike just before the Foxes reported for preseason camp. In case you don't know who I am or what I've been writing about on this thing since March, feel free to check out the article here. My thanks to Mike for getting in touch with me and giving me the chance to share my Danish experience with the rest of Red Fox Nation. At some point, I encourage all of you to check out the Marist athletic website (link above) to see the great work Mike and the rest of the sports department are doing this fall in covering Marist Football during camp. I especially look forward to live video feeds of Marist games this fall as they look to make their mark in their second year of Pioneer Football League action!

While working on the aforementioned assignment though, I was also busy readying my apartment for several visitors from far, far away. That's right, you guessed it (well, to be fair, most of you are family and this probably comes as old news, but nonetheless), Steve and Joyce Dembow and Aunt Annette Kuzmiak all made the transatlantic voyage to spend a week of quality time with yours truly. I plan on posting more about this in the future, so be on the lookout for that. I realize that given my current track record, I should probably stop talking about future posts and just try to stay in the present. Still though, it never hurts to dream... We did enjoy a marvelous time together however and I was very grateful for the company. Thanks to all Tigers readers out there for pretending to like me while they were around; I think they bought it.

I also realized when I returned for the first time several weeks ago that I promised information on my European adventures. I promise, once again, that this stuff is coming. Right now though, the time has come for some much-needed updating on Aarhus Tigers gridiron action (on a related note, Australians refer to American football solely as 'gridiron.' Pretty cool, no?). As loyal NTD reader Jim Bailey pointed out, you just can't get solid coverage of Danish American football in the US markets, so it's up to me to deliver the goods. Thank you for putting this in perspective for me, Jim; may this and future posts continue to distract you from your work-related tasks.

In the time that I haven't been blogging, your Senior Tigers played two games and both of them ended with the good guys on top, improving our record to 8-0 on the season. Last week, with my folks in attendance, we took care of business against the Odense Swans with a convincing 44-0 W. Our defense continued its division-leading dominance, tacking on four more quarters of scoreless football to an already impressive streak of twenty-two. The D shut down the Swans' swinging gate (look it up if you don't know what it is) and held them to about minus-fifty yards total offense on the day. Meanwhile, the offense got things rolling after a slow start and quickly began piling up the points. This culminated in frustration for the visiting Swans and leads us to last week's "Moment in Danish American Football." During the third quarter as the contest was really getting out of hand, a scuffle emerged on the Odense sidelines. An angry Swan took exception to his American coach's strategies and "[expletive-deleted] offense" and had to be physically restrained by several players and assistant coaches. He stormed off; shouting and cussing, throwing his helmet, the works. That's not even the kicker, though. About ten minutes after the altercation, this individual was back playing in the game. When later asked what would happen if a player pulled a stunt like that in the States, myself and fellow American Brian Woodward responded almost in unison, "not that."

Below is an image from www.usfootball.dk, taken by longtime Aarhus Tiger and fan-favorite, Ulrik 'Farmer' Fristed. This photo was the number two image in last week's Top Ten countdown. To check out the gallery, click here. From there, you can also check out some other 'Farmershots' from previous Tigers games, including last week against the Swans.


At the moment though, It's getting very late and I need some rest. I WILL, however, be back TOMORROW with a recap of today's game, thus forcing me back into some sort of rhythm. Normal blogging routine, here I come. Thanks for being patient out there.

"Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do..."

Ever hear the one about the guy in Denmark who wrote a blog, but then disappeared for a while and didn't tell anybody? No?? Hmm, I could've sworn that one was big with the kids today. Well, to be honest, I don't think think the punchline is very funny and as the immortal words of Ricky Ricardo ring louder than ever in this post's title, I do, indeed, 'got some 'splainin' to do.'

Unless you are a member of my immediate family or one of my teammates here in Aarhus (as approximately ninety-five percent of this blog's readers are), you have probably been feeling pretty left out over the last month or so. I done gone and didn't say nothing. Some of you out there might still be waiting for the extended recap of our last game on June 26th. Yikes. I've been a vewy bad bloggah. I suppose not even a stylized typing of Elmer Fudd's voice is going to get me out of this one, so I may as well try to explain the series of events leading up to my absence and then you may cast your stones (better warm up your shoulder if you want to hit me).

Let's travel all the way back to late June, 2010. Following our last game before the summer break, I fully intended to publish a proper recap of our emphatic victory and then bid all of you adieu indefinitely. I had planned a prolonged vacation in the several weeks leading up to this time and naturally, I wanted to share my itinerary with you you. I was all set to do this, but then a few minor obstacles got in the way, most notably packing for my trip five hours or so before departure.

This should come as no surprise to anybody that really knows me and I just want you all to be aware, it's nothing personal. I take a long time to do certain (most/all) things and usually (most/all of the time), these are accomplished in the face of a rapidly approaching deadline. This generally applies to these entries as well and if I know I don't have enough time to deliver a quality effort, I'll often post-pone (see what I did there?) doing one. I ain't perfeckt and I don't claim to be, so I will admit now that I did run out of time on this particiular occassion and unfortunately, the NTD Community was left out to dry. My condolences to the few of you out there who follow my words, but rest assured, I am just bursting with dynamite material that I am eager to write about.

These will all come very soon, but for now, I do want to share a few highlights from our 51-0 W over the Horsens Stallions. In a highly unconventional turn of events, I'm actually going to lead off with everyone's favorite "Danish American Football Moment." I do so, because in this case, it in fact, took place before each team had finished warming up. Just before our offense got together to run a few plays, a Horsens player approached Tigers QB Matthias Lilhauge and said something to the effect that we should 'mercy rule them early, so they can get home quickly.' It should be noted that at the time, Horsens was winless on the year and they intended to remain so, if their players had anything to do with it. Unfortunately, it took us until early in the fourth quarter to reach the required 50 point margin that warrants the mercy rule; perhaps we should have worked a little harder to fulfill their wishes.

The game itself went accordingly though: we won and they didn't. Several Stallions opted for cigarettes on their sidelines instead of water; it seems they were unable to wait until after the game, as they had following our first encounter in April. Seeing this, I couldn't help but think of Washington Sentinels kicker, Nigel 'The Leg' Gruff from The Replacements:


Yep, that's pretty much what it look liked. I can't understand though, why so many of them got winded so quickly? Aside from this, the game was pretty uneventful. We took care of business and summer break has come and gone. We start practices up again on Tuesday. Our next game won't be until next Sunday, but I'm sure the guys are excited to get back out on the field and finish this season off the right way.

That's about all I've got to say for the moment, I don't want to strain myself after such a long time off. Baby steps worked for Bob and they're going to have to work for me, as well. With that, I would like to say it's good to be back and that I have missed joining you on a semi-regular basis. I look forward to sharing all the gory details of my trip with you in the posts to come. For now, this should serve as an appropriate teaser:

51 and Done

The fact that I'm just posting this now is inexcusable. Honestly, the nerve of some people. I must confess that following the game on Saturday, I sent off a quick email of the result to immediate family, knowing I wouldn't be able to get off an entry until a little later in the weekend. In doing so, I got a little sidetracked here and there and completely neglected my journalistic duties. Many apologies that this is coming so late (and also not in its entirety at the moment, big day of planning tomorrow), but here is a quick synopsis of this weekend's game: we won.

Okay, so I can give a few more details before signing off for the night; we scored more points than the other team. A lot more. Tigers: 51, Stallions: 0. That's about it for the moment. Come on back soon (yeah right, I've probably burnt every follower's bridge by now) and I'll finish up the story. Scout's honor. Goodnight.

Wyld Stallyns

In case anyone out there is wondering, the title of this post is a reference to the timeless classic, "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." It is the name of Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted's (Keanu Reeves) band that a time-traveling George Carlin informs them, must remain intact, as their music prescribes the core fundamentals by which a future Utopian society will live. Among these fundamentals is the principle of being 'excellent' to one another:


Upon searching for any images more closely related to the name 'Wyld Stallyns,' I found out there are several bands out there claiming the name as their own. I have elected to listen to exactly none of them. As the trail was going cold on finding a suitable image (after never managing to get hot in the first place), I came across one of the theatrical posters for movie. I have placed it here because I really like the tagline above the two protagonists. George Carlin's face is also pretty funny there, too.

Anyways, the reason behind naming this post after part of a 1980s cult classic has to do with our opponent in tomorrow's home game. For the second time this season, we will be facing the Horsens Stallions. Call me crazy, but I prefer the movie's spelling of the word 'stallyn.' The letter 'Y' is extremely underrated as a 'sometimes-vowel' and in my opinion, it is used to perfection here.

Tomorrow should be great fun. It is our last game before the summer holiday break, which is basically the entire month of July. Since it is customary for many Scandinavians to go on vacation with their families during this time, the Danish American Football Federation (DAFF) chooses to put the season on hiatus until August. This makes sense, as most teams are most likely in the same situation of having many players go away at some point during the month. That being said, it will be the last time to knock some heads around for a few weeks so rest assured, the Tigers will be looking to do just that.

In addition to the game, tomorrow also marks the first game that will feature our newly opened clubhouse. Although we have been in there for about two weeks now, this is the first time we will have access to its amenities on game day. Following the game, we will be having a cookout at our new digs. Exciting times here in Da 'Hus (slang terminology I've taken to using when referring to Aarhus).

So for now, I will say goodnight. I've had a pretty productive day and I want to be rested for tomorrow's contest. I will try to get a post up as quick as I can following all the action. Stay tuned...

Mid-summer? But, it just got here...

Yesterday was yet another special day here in DK that I didn't even know about until mid-afternoon. It is now officially summertime, with the summer solstice taking place this passed Monday. The summer solstice, as you know, is the longest day of the year, in terms of hours of sunlight. From this point forward, the daylight hours will now progressively shorten by a few seconds each day until the winter solstice, when the cycle reverses again.

Moving on, I was naturally confused (as usual) as to why yesterday was a special day in the Danish grand scheme of things. Thus, I consulted several Danish citizens, assuming they were well-versed in their national holiday schedule. "It's got something to do with the longest day of the year, I think." was a typical response, prompting me to point out that MONDAY was the solstice and therefore, the 'longest day' of the year. My panel of experts all seemed to acknowledge this point and all of us were seemingly left in the dark on the subject, despite the copious amounts of daylight.

Several things did consistently check out with everybody's description of the day's festivities: there were barbecues and there were bonfires. But, these weren't just any old bonfires. These were fires built to burn witches, inkeeping with Danish quasi-summer solstice-but not really tradition (more confusion sets in). Needless to say, we all soon wanted to find out what the heck was going on wih these wacky rituals and thus, I have consulted the greatest compilation of information that has ever been assembled anywhere, ever: Wikipedia.

Yesterday was Sankt Hans' aften, celebrating the eve of the midsummer holiday. Although science has currently calculated that June twentieth or the twenty-first are the longest days of the year, the Roman calendar originally marked this date as the twenty-fourth of the same month. This pre-Christian tradition gave way to many pagan rituals that celebrated the changing of the seasons. It was commonly believed that certain midsummer plants held special healing properties and thus were harvested on or around this time. However, as the sun had reached its northernmost point and was now beginning to travel southwards again, people thought that evil spirits used this period to move about freely and might prove to be disruptive. To counteract these shenanigans, healing waters from wells were drawn and bonfires were contructed to ward off any unwanted apparitions.

Danish Vikings continued with these customs for many years. Eventually, in the early twentieth century, a small witch made out of straw and cloth was placed on the fire to commemorate the church-led witch-burnings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Communities that gather around these fires sing a midsommervise or a "midsummer hymn" that was originally composed in 1885, entitled, ''vi elsker vort land," which translates to ''we love our country." It is also common practice to hold these fires close to bodies of water today.

Such was the case last night, as the fire was held close to the shores of the Aarhus Bay. After a delicious BBQ in Mindeparken (thanks to Thomas Bager and his girlfriend, Stine), I accompanied several others to the nearby shores. Upon arriving there, this is what we discovered:


First of all, there was no witch being burned. A little disappointing, seeing as how this is done to release the witch's spirit from the area and send it to some mountain in Germany, where it can meet up with other witches. If that pour soul wasn't taken care of last night, who knows where it could be by now... Secondly, I don't know what types of evil spirits the creators of this fire were intending to ward off, but frankly, I wasn't convinced. This might work for a few imps, maybe even a wood sprite, but certainly not for any ghoul of note. I was expecting a fire at least two or three-hundred stories tall, just to be safe. I think the other people in attendance wanted the same, as their singing left much to be desired. It was pleasant, but it wasn't quite as powerful as I would have thought it might be. Furthermore, all of the songs sung sounded exactly like several popular Christmas carols. If I was a transient evil spirit, I can honestly say, I'd have probably kept a-marchin' right on through town.

All in all though, it was nice to experience another Danish holiday. I'm going to call it a night for now, but I should be back tomorrow with a look at this weekend's upcoming matchup. Until then, enjoy your daylight while you still have it.

Red, White & Brew(s)

As promised, I'm back now with a brief assessment of Saturday night's rousing World Cup match. I returned to the same pub with several of the same guys that I posted about earlier last week and upon closer inspection of the joint, I found a Connecticut license plate hanging above one side of the bar. My geography might be a little spotty, but I'm pretty sure the Constitution State is at least a good two-hour train ride away. This left me to wonder how such a decorative piece found its way here in the first place. The most likely explanation: one of the several Americans that works behind the bar is either from CT, or kidnapped someone from there and is holding the plate as ransom. I'll be sure to phone Chris Dodd when I get to the bottom of this mystery.

On the soccer side of things, the pub filled up quite nicely prior to gametime, with folks of all ages in attendance. Very much looking for a performance more becoming of the Scandinavian champs, the people were literally clammoring with anticipation and excitement. Before the game came on one of the several large projection screens situated around the bar, some strange satellite sports network recapped all the day's highlights in not only soccer, but also horseracing, rugby and of course, cricket. Most people here know a little something about cricket and they all say, ''Yeah, it's pretty much like baseball." I'm not so sure about that, what with the wooden ball, wickets and flat bats that never seem to hit the darn thing properly. It's pretty amusing being clueless about the sport and watching those highlights with scores of 217-168 flash by. At least it's comforting to know that no crickets are ever actually harmed during play (I think).

The broadcast ended and before long, the game commenced. Team Danmark faced a very energetic Cameroon squad that struck first with aggressive ball pressure just in front of the Danish zone. A lethargic effort to get the ball out soon resulted in a quick steal, shot and score for Cameroon within the first ten minutes of the match. A brave young man of no more than seventeen wearing a green and yellow jersey was particularly happy with this. The place became rather jittery and grumbles could be heard at some of the tables and benches surrounding us. The Danes did not lose their composure though and soon began playing more tenaciously themselves.

This effort would prove worthwhile as they scored their first goal of this year's tournament in the thirty-third minute when star player Niklas Bendtner slid into a pass coming across Cameroon's zone that froze the goalkeeper and knotted things at one apiece. The pub went wild and I found myself joining in with the chanting crowd. I mean, I am entitled to Danish healthcare, why shouldn't I be allowed to cheer for a soccer game? This would close out the scoring for the half and kept the intensity raised for the remainder of the contest.

The two teams both had chances in the second half, but the Danish attacks continually built momentum that culminated in the sixty-first minute with a scoring strike from Dennis Rommedahl. Denmark took a 2-1 lead and never looked back. The bar was in high spirits (in more ways than one) through the end of the match. Following the conclusion, the town was indeed painted red (and white). People were giddy with excitement:


Everyone certainly was into the game; I noted many different types of fans around the bar: There were the casual observers, who were more concerned with their own conversations than the goings-on on the screen. There were the hoot-n-hollerers, who led loud, boisterous cheers, whether anyone was their to follow or not. There were the barroom coaches, whose strategic insight in the form of hand gestures and head bobs clearly made difference in the end. There were old guys who puttered about in search of the perfect place to watch from, yet never seemed to get there. Amidst these various characterizations, only once did I almost see things get ugly.

A very short elderly fellow was watching nearby with presumably his daughter. The two were continually blocked by a much taller young man about my age. I noticed the older guy try to speak to his obstruction several times, but to no avail. Before long, this would not stand and the man barked some terse Danish words towards the kid in a very hoarse old guy voice. The kid had words for him too, but I think he started to realize he was dealing with someone who has seen quite a few more World Cups than he. Trying to play the tuff-guy card, he just turned his back on the situation. But after doing so, I noticed him inch inward from the older man's vantage point. so as to not be spoken to again. It just goes to show you: don't mess with old men when it comes to situations like these. Their old man powers always seem to prevail. Perhaps he was a Jedi.

I just realized I've posted on three consecutive days. Goodness, I haven't done that since my days as a plucky young newcomer in mid-March. I wonder if I've got four in me? Stay tuned to find out ... (Spoiler Alert: probably not and I won't post again until August.) Just kidding; I'll be back soon (maybe).