German Football League 2000

German Football League 2000
master	Cologne crocodiles
final	German Bowl XXII
Relegated	Landsberg Express
Teams	11
Games	60 + 7 play-off games
← GFL 1999 GFL 2001 →
2. Bundesliga - 2000 ↓

German Football League 2000 gives an overview of the 2000 season of the American Football Bundesliga, which was the 22nd season of the 1st Bundesliga / GFL.

League division

Kiel Baltic Hurricanes Hamburg Blue Devils Braunschweig Lions Dusseldorf panther Cologne crocodiles Aschaffenburg Stallions Rüsselsheim Razorbacks Franken Knights Stuttgart Scorpions Munich cowboys Landsberg Express

Teams 2000 GFL North GFL South0000

Overview of the participating teams and their all-time Bundesliga and GFL balance sheets. Shortly before the season, the Bremen Bravehearts withdrew their report due to acute financial problems. That is why there were only five teams playing in the North group and there were no inter- conference games for the Franken Knights .

	team	Years	S.	U	N	home			Selection			TD ratio
GFL North	Cologne crocodiles	19th	163	4th	50	83	2	22nd	80	2	28	6699: 3273
	Dusseldorf panther	19th	153	9	57	79	6th	24	74	3	33	7012: 3164
	Braunschweig Lions (TV)	6th	40	0	25th	21st	0	11	19th	0	14th	2100: 1500
	Hamburg Blue Devils	5	42	2	14th	25th	0	5	17th	2	9	1535: 936
	Kiel Baltic Hurricanes	4th	20th	0	23	12	0	10	8th	0	13	1155: 1177
GFL North	Munich cowboys	21st	135	6th	2	78	1	38	57	5	54	5460: 3997
	Stuttgart Scorpions	8th	25th	2	60	15th	2	26th	10	0	34	1752: 2604
	Franken Knights (N)	4 (5)	12	2	31	7th	0	15th	5	2	16	677: 1634
	Rüsselsheim Razorbacks	4th	19th	1	22nd	11	0	10	8th	0	12	1025: 1063
	Landsberg Express	3	8th	1	25th	4th	0	13	4th	1	12	637: 1104
	Aschaffenburg Stallions	1	8th	0	4th	4th	0	2	4th	0	2	446: 195

• (N) - Newcomers
• (TV) - defending champion

Season course

Regular season

In the northern group, the Cologne Crocodiles prevailed as first in the table with only one defeat. The defeat set it against the Düsseldorf Panthers, who had not been victorious until then, but then took off and ended up in third place at the end of the regular season. The Braunschweig Lions scored one point more than the Panthers and thus secured home rights in the first play-off round. The fourth play-off place was achieved by the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes, who made it into the play-offs for the fourth time in a row. With just one win out of 12 games, the Hamburg Blue Devils, who were runner-up in the previous year, ended up in fifth place in the table.

In the southern group, the Munich Cowboys were the dominant team. And the only team that was able to finish the season with a positive point relationship. The Rüsselsheim Razorbacks, who won the southern group last year, landed in second place with an even point ratio. Third place went to the newly promoted Franken Knights, ahead of the Stuttgart Scorpions and the Aschaffenburg Stallions, who missed the play-offs. While these three teams were only separated by one point, the Landsberg Express dropped early and ended up in last place in the table.

Closing tables

GFL North

	society	Sp	S.	U	N	TD	Diff.	Points	Average audience
1.	Cologne crocodiles	10	9	0	1	346: 186	+160	18: 2	1,884
2.	Braunschweig Lions	10	7th	0	3	360: 160	+200	14: 6	11,360
3.	Dusseldorf panther	10	6th	1	3	232: 161	+71	13: 7	1,800
4th	Kiel Baltic Hurricanes	10	3	1	6th	247: 250	−3	7:13	3.210
5.	Hamburg Blue Devils	10	1	0	9	148: 315	−167	2:18	9,500

GFL South

	society	Sp	S.	U	N	TD	Diff.	Points	Average audience
1.	Munich cowboys	12	12	0	0	510: 175	+335	24: 0	2,660
2.	Rüsselsheim Razorbacks	12	6th	0	6th	207: 304	−97	12:12	1,683
3.	Franken Knights	10	4th	1	5	284: 326	−42	9:11	1,200
4th	Stuttgart Scorpions	12	4th	1	7th	341: 413	−72	9:15	1,333
5.	Aschaffenburg Stallions	12	3	2	7th	194: 320	−126	8:16	1,237
6th	Landsberg Express	12	2	0	10	166: 425	−259	4:20	430

Relegation

Due to the withdrawal of Bremen, before the season, there were no relegation games in the north, the Assindia Cardinals rose directly.

In the south, the Landsberg Express had to deal with the Saarland Hurricanes . The first leg in Landsberg was almost a debacle for the home team. The Hurricanes were already leading 34-0 at halftime and even increased to 40-0 before the home side got points. In the end it was 40:22 for the second division champions. The Express then stopped playing for the second leg. The personnel situation no longer allowed a playable squad. The Saarlanders won 20-0 without a fight and celebrated their first promotion to the top German division.

league	Home club	Visiting club	Result	After quarters
south	Landsberg Express	Saarland Hurricanes	22:40	0:13, 0:21, 8: 6, 14: 0
south	Saarland Hurricanes	Landsberg Express	20: 0 *

^* Rating

In the north there was no relegation, there the Assindia Cardinals rose directly, in the south the Saarland Hurricanes rose, the Landsberg Express from.

Play-offs

In the quarterfinals, the Cologne Crocodiles had more trouble with the Stuttgart Scorpions than expected after the Interconverence Games. Only in the third quarter could the 21:14 half-time lead be extended to 42:14. In the end it was 49:33 for the crocodiles. The Munich Cowboys and Braunschweig Lions made their home games more confident. In Munich 2300 spectators saw a 40: 7 against Kiel, in Braunschweig 9200 spectators followed the 49: 6 of the home side against the Franken Knights. The only away win in the quarter-finals was celebrated by the Düsseldorf Panthers, who flashed their class at Rüsselsheimer Sommerdamm and gave the local Razorbacks 63-0 down.

The viewers of the semifinals were offered very exciting football food. In Munich, 4,200 spectators, more than 1,000 of whom came from Braunschweig, saw a game on a knife edge in which the leadership changed several times. At halftime the Lions were leading 10: 7, but in the third quarter the Cowboys turned the tide with a touchdown to 14:10. Then it was the Lions' turn again and took the lead again in the fourth quarter, 17:14. Two minutes before the end of the game, the Lions were already very close to their next touchdown, but the Cowboysdefense only allowed one field goal and came back into possession at 14:20. QB Ken Suhl tried everything, but on the 25-meter line of the Lions, after a failed fourth attempt, it was over and the Lions celebrated their fourth German Bowl entry in a row. For the Munich Cowboys it was the first defeat of the season and also the last.

4500 spectators gathered in Cologne to watch the 43rd traditional duel between the Crocodiles and their arch-rival from the Altbierstadt, the Düsseldorf Panthers. And they saw two lines of defense that didn’t allow too much, even if the Crocodiles' outstanding running back, Calvin Arrington, gained 145 meters of space. Nevertheless, it was only 14: 3 for Cologne when the Panthers made the touchdown two minutes before the end. After a successful two-point conversion it was suddenly only 14:11 and the Panthers saw their chance again. But the following onside kick from kicker Ralf Kleinmann found itself in the arms of Cologne's WR David Drane and the crocodiles were able to celebrate their finals a little later.

Quarter finals

Semifinals

German Bowl XXII - Braunschweig

1N

Cologne crocodiles

49

4S

Stuttgart Scorpions

33

1N

Cologne crocodiles

14th

3N

Dusseldorf panther

11

2S

Rüsselsheim Razorbacks

0

3N

Dusseldorf panther

63

1N

Cologne crocodiles

31

2N

Braunschweig Lions

29

1S

Munich cowboys

40

4N

Kiel Baltic Hurricanes

7th

1S

Munich cowboys

14th

2N

Braunschweig Lions

20th

2N

Braunschweig Lions

49

3S

Franken Knights

6th

German Bowl

The German Bowl XXII took place on October 7th in front of 20,312 spectators in the Eintracht Stadium in Braunschweig . For the Braunschweig Lions it was the fourth participation in the final, for the Cologne Crocodiles it was even the sixth. Nevertheless, the contrasts could not be clearer, because while the Lions, so far always left the field as winners, the Crocodiles had always lost. Often they failed extremely narrowly, in 1997 against the Lions 23:26, in 1993 against the Munich Cowboys with 36:42 a.d. or in 1991 against the Berlin Adler 20:21.

In a lively exchange of blows, the Crocodiles took over the reins after the 14:17 connection of the Lions in the third quarter. With eight moves they bridged 86 meters in just under four minutes and increased to 24:14. After only six attempts, the Lions had to give Cologne the right to attack again and this time 68 meters were bridged with six Spilzzug, to the touchdown in the fourth quarter and the score of 31:14. The Lions now had just under 10 minutes to correct the result. This almost succeeded, the Lions only needed 45 seconds to shorten it to 21:31. Then the Crocodiles took seven minutes off the clock, but failed with their field goal. The Lions then bridged 80 meters in one minute and made it 29:31. But the onside kick captured by Pascal Ritzheim in favor of the Crocodiles ensured the end result for the Cologne team 45 seconds before the end of the game.

Scoreboard

German Bowl XXII - Braunschweig
team		Points	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Cologne crocodiles		31	7th	7th	10	7th
Braunschweig Lions		29	0	7th	7th	15th
Cologne	Braunschweig	player	Move
7th	0	Calvin Arrington	4 yard run (PAT Alexander strand)
7th	7th	Matt Riazzi	4 yard run (PAT Steffen Dölger)
14th	7th	Michael Davis	1 yard run (PAT Alexander strand)
17th	7th	Alexander Strand	35 yard field goal
17th	14th	Estrus Crayton	7 yard run (PAT Steffen Dölger)
24	14th	Michael Davis	5 yard run (PAT Alexander Strand)
31	14th	David Drane	9 yard pass by Michael Davis (PAT Alexander Strang)
31	21st	Matt Riazzi	8 yard run (PAT Steffen Dölger)
31	29	Jörg Heckenbach	53 yard pass from Adrian Rainbow (conv.Jörg Heckenbach)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Huddle 10/2000
2. ^ All games of the Rothenburg Knights in the 1987 season were taken out of the rating, source: www.football-history.de
3. ↑ ^{a b} Huddle 38/2000
4. ↑ ^{a b} Huddle 39/2000

Web links

• Official GFL homepage