Will Powell and Marcus Sims have taken their European American football experience to another level. Not content with simply playing and extending their on-field careers, the two veterans of football in Europe want to pass on their experience. They are taking an in-depth look at life playing football on the European continent and helping players get highlighted.
The South Dakota alum are traipsing through Europe with a film crew, putting together a 12 part documentary series – “Moving the Chains” – a Podyum Production – on American football in Europe.
Will Powell:
“The documentary is going to incorporate the struggles and triumphs for players, coaches, and managers in playing American Football in Europe. We want to highlight the passion of these people and showcase the tight European community for American football. With every country we visit, we will incorporate the culture and popular monuments as much as possible so we can really tell the story for people around the world and in the US in particular of how great the experience is to play abroad. “
This is not a “fly by night” production. Sims and Powell have brought in a professional crew to shoot and produce “Moving the Chains” including filmmaker Timmy Schrader, Emmy-nominated producer and social media guru Hailie Meyer and well-known director/producer Jay Ness.
The crew have been filming games, practices and workouts and interviewing players, coaches and club staff in order to bring out the true atmosphere of American football in Europe.
And they should know. The pair played together in Germany in 2014 for the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns reaching the German final that year. Powell played in Serbia with the Novi Sad Dukes winning the Serbian championship in 2015 and also played for the Nimes Centurions in 2013.
In 2015, Sims was the star running back for Polish finalists the Wroclaw Panthers.
“Moving the Chains” will take a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of European club teams. Besides making stops in Spain, France and Great Britain, Powell and Sims are planning to head to Germany, Austria, Italy and Poland with a possible stopover in Sweden.
The journey kicked off in France on February 22 and will wind up on April 17 in Germany documenting their German alma mater the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns.
That will also mark the launch of their new website – the Podyum – aimed at providing full statistics and details on teams and players in Europe.
“This has been a long time in the making. It was an idea that we got while playing together in Germany and now we will see it become a reality.”
To follow their progress as they advance through Europe, check out the Podyum Facebook page.
