Not really, a photo will do.
And we want your stories too.
Is there a difference in culture between winning American football championships in Europe as compared to North America?
We want to find out.
In North America there is a culture of getting a championship ring for winning titles, at almost any level. Multiple Super Bowl winners like legendary NFL QB Joe Montana (above left) and current New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (above right) sport fistfuls of them.
In Europe, some teams and players do get rings and some don’t.
JoJo Joyner played for Team Germany in the European American Football Championships this past June. Germany won the tournament in a thrilling final against Austria and elected to get rings.
“I could not imagine winning a title without getting a ring,” he said. “But Europe has a different culture and many teams in Europe opt just for the trophy and player medals.”
JoJo Joyner with his rings.
Joyner was born in Germany and moved back to the States when he was young. He played college football in Virgina before returning to Germany to play and live.
In Europe this year, in American football, 21 championships have been decided. That does not count division or conference winners. But how many of those teams and players are wearing championship rings – or plan to?
That is what we would like to find out. It seems the climate is changing in Europe and more and more players are discovering the satisfaction of wearing a ring to commemorate an accomplishment as exciting as winning a championship.
Team Germany RB Danny Washington shows off Euro title rings from 2010 and 2014.
In fact, some of the major championship ring companies would like an answer to the same question.
Jostens, perhaps the world’s largest, already has representatives in Europe. They realized early on the popularity of rings, not only for football but other sports as well.
Other companies are eyeing the market in Europe too including Baron Championships Rings from Canada.
So we want to gauge the growth of the industry in Europe.
To do that, we need your help.
Send us your photos and stories to info@americanfootballinternational.com or rkelly@americanfootballinternational.com.
We will pick the best ones and publish an article about it.
Let’s see what you got!