AFI’s Europe Top 20
Europe’s Top 20 American Football Teams!
Here it is, our compilation of what we think are the Top 20 best American football teams in Europe. As mentioned previously, we have waited to see most of the teams in action.
We thank Jarle Magnus Henriksen from Norway for his valuable input in our selection process.
At #1 we place the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. The Unicorns are undefeated in Germany and in the Big6 Europe tourney play. They’ve earned a place in the Eurobowl final June 20/21. They have been totally dominant in all of their games.
At #2 is the Dresden Monarchs. The Monarchs have looked impressive, particularly when they knocked off the defending German champions, the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions. However, they’ve only played the two games, so the Unicorns get the nod.
The New Yorker Lions are a close third. They have opened the season a little tentatively but they did so last year as well. They are an outstanding ball club and their win against the Swarco Raiders proved a point.
After their initial loss to Braunschweig, the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes have played very solid football. Their quarterback Blake Bolles leads the German league in passing, averaging 290 yards per game. They could be dangerous for anyone this season.
The Swarco Raiders are on a roll and, although they have lost three games, are playing as well as any team in Europe right now. They’ve defeated multiple German clubs, and have given recent drubbings to the Vienna Vikings and Danube Dragons.
Sweden’s Carlstad Crusaders have picked up more or less where they left off in 2014, dominating teams. Despite some coaching turmoil with a new head coach coming in after only two games, they have not missed a beat. They dispensed with both the Danish (Copenhagen Towers) and Finnish (Helsinki Roosters) champions with apparent ease. They are close to cracking the top five.
The Saint Ouen l’Aumône Cougars of France remain undefeated as the French playoffs loom. They have had only one hiccup early in the season – a tie with the Templiers in their opening game of the season – but avenged that with a convincing victory Sunday. They are a top 10 team without question.
The Vienna Vikings and Prague Black Panthers are quality teams although Vienna’s bad loss to the Unicorns in the Big6 dropped them out of the top 5 where they were a permanent fixture last year. Prague’s offense is again fun to watch. They are averaging 360 yards passing a game in the Austrian league and 35 points per game.
The Allgau Comets from Germany were 5-0 entering their match up with Schwäbisch Hall on the weekend but were brought down to earth with a thud. They fell behind 20-7 after the first quarter and then watched as the Unicorns tacked on another 14 points in the fourth quarter to win going away 40-14. The Comets may be the most improved team in Germany this season, but reaching the top echelon is still a ways away.
The London Blitz’s play in IFAF Europe’s Champions League has been impressive and both they and their crosstown rivals the London Warriors could be knocking on the door to the top 10 this season. The Warriors face the Swarco Raiders in the Battle4Tirol on June 6. That will be an interesting game.
Italy’s Ancona dolphins have lost only one game this year and that to the Lazio Marines but returned the favor this past weekend. They both deserve to be in the Top 20. The same goes for the Wroclaw Panthers from Poland who are dominating the Polish top league and have one of the best running backs in Europe in Marcus Sims.
We are certain you have plenty of comments and we would love to hear them. We do not mind if you don’t like our list but let us know what you think nevertheless.
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