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89-719: The club has one national championship to its name, winning the German Bowl in 1993. As of 2015, the club has played more GFL games than any other team, 405, followed by the Berlin Adler with 378, one of only three other teams with more than 300 league games. The Cowboys have played 35 out of a possible 38 seasons at the highest level of the game in Germany, more than any other club. American football in Munich dates back to 1975 when local football enthusiasts met with soldiers of

178-596: A German TV interview with Alexander Sperber, son of a U.S. Army soldier and German mother, which created enough interest to form a number of teams and the league, referred to as German-American Football League. In March 1979, the AFBD , the American Football Federation of Germany ( German : American-Football-Bund Deutschland ), was formed, the first of its kind in Europe. This organisation, in 1982,

267-734: A fifth final in a row in 2004, when the Berlin Adler won their first title in 13 years. After that, the Braunschweig Lions set a new record, winning four German Bowls in a row, beating four different teams in the finals. In 2005, the Blue Devils were once more the opposition, followed by two southern teams, the Marburg Mercenaries in 2006 and the Stuttgart Scorpions in 2007. The seventh title for

356-589: A late fumble, the only turnover of the game, while driving towards good field position for a field goal. The Lions won their ninth German Bowl in 2014 with the highest-ever winning margin, defeating the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 47–9. Schwäbisch Hall scored no points in this game after a field goal on their first possession until the fourth quarter when most of the Braunschweig starters, including MVP quarterback Casey Therriault, were already off

445-619: A license, leaving an extra spot in the league which was awarded to the Lübeck Cougars . The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns repeated their 2011 success and once more defeated the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in the German Bowl, becoming the first team from the south to win back-to-back championships since the 1982 Ansbach Grizzlies. The 2013 season saw a return to northern dominance with all four southern teams knocked out in

534-402: A much different roster than they would've had, had a "normal" 2020 season been played, it is impossible to gauge the "actual" competitive strength of any given 2020 GFL team, even if they did play. The 2021 season was heavily influenced both by the lingering effects of COVID-19 – many teams were only allowed full contact team training much later in their preseason than usual – and the founding of

623-578: A new record, winning four German Bowls straight, beating four different teams in the finals. In 2005, the Blue Devils were once more the opposition, followed by two southern teams, the Marburg Mercenaries in 2006 and the Stuttgart Scorpions in 2007, in an unbeaten season for the Lions. The seventh title for the Lions came in 2008, against the new force of the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes . However, after 2008 Braunschweig's dominance would end and

712-535: A possible 32 seasons at the highest level of the game in Germany, more than any other club. The history of American football in Germany, outside the US Army bases in the country, began in 1977, when the Frankfurter Löwen were formed as the first club to play the game in Germany. At first, this team was only able to play US Army teams, lacking German opposition. The formation of the league dates back to

801-596: A quarter-final round as well. The 1982 season saw Ansbach repeat its title, this time against the Cologne Crocodiles . After that, the era of the Düsseldorf Panther versus Ansbach Grizzlies rivalry began, with the two teams meeting in the next four finals. Of those, the team from Düsseldorf won the 1983, 1984 and 1986 editions, while the Grizzlies earned their third championship in 1985. With

890-515: A system still in place as of 2010. The Panther earned their fourth title in 1992, defeating the Munich Cowboys, which, in the following year, won the championship themselves, against Cologne Crocodiles, who suffered their fourth defeat in their fourth German Bowl. Munich's title in 1993 was to be the last occasion for the next twelve years that a team from the South would reach the final, and

979-462: A system still in place as of 2022. The league, which had peaked at 26 clubs in four regional divisions in 1990, was reduced to the two-divisional format, with eight teams per division. The Panther earned their fourth title in 1992, defeating the Munich Cowboys, which, in the following year, won the championship themselves, against Cologne Crocodiles, who suffered their fourth defeat in their fourth German Bowl. Munich's title in an undefeated 1993 season

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1068-519: A team at any given time. In November 2010, a new Bundesspielordnung , the rule book of American football in Germany, was published. One major change was that the sport now placed citizens of European Union countries on equal footing with German nationals, meaning, restrictions on the number of these players per team on the field were now not in place anymore. However, the restrictions on non-EU nationals remained in place, unless those players could prove that they had spent at least three years playing for

1157-528: A youth team in the sport in Germany. This was an update in part mandated by the Bosman ruling (which established a precedent for association football but applies to all professional sports) and the rules on Freedom of movement for workers in the European Union . For the 2011 season, a club can sign up up to ten non-EU players, have six of those on the line-up for any given game but only two of those on

1246-613: The Nordwestdeutsche Football Liga – NFL . By 1981, the Bundesliga was expanded to two regional divisions of seven clubs each. The early years of the league were dominated by two teams, Frankfurt and Ansbach, who met each other in the first three editions of the German Bowl. Of those, Frankfurt won the first two, remaining unbeaten in 1979, and Ansbach the last. The era of the Frankfurter Löwen

1335-547: The 2020 season indicates that the team would have qualified for a season if one had been held, but due to Covid-19 no games of the planned 2020 season were actually played. This is a list of the winners of the regional divisions of the GFL. A record 15 divisional titles were won by the New Yorker Lions, while the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns hold record for division titles in the south, 14. The Ansbach Grizzlies still have won

1424-407: The Berlin Adler both have six titles to their name, but Berlin has the best win–loss record of all clubs, 75 percent. Altogether, as of 2021, twelve clubs have won a German Bowl, while a further four clubs have reached the German Bowl once but lost their sole appearance ( Stuttgart Scorpions , Badener Greifs , Marburg Mercenaries and Frankfurt Universe ). The most-played match up in the history of

1513-402: The Berlin Adler won their first of what would be six national championships by 2010. In 1988, Red Barons Cologne defeated the Düsseldorf Panther in the final, while, from 1989 onwards, the Berlin Adler became the first team to win three championships in a row, all against teams from Cologne . After the 1990 season, the play-offs were reduced to eight teams again, dropping the wild-card round,

1602-770: The COVID-19 pandemic despite other European football leagues as well as other sports in Germany playing some form of 2020 season. The delays and ultimate cancellation caused some teams significant financial and organisational hardship as many costs – including salaries, transportation, and room & board expense for import players – were incurred despite no games being played. Furthermore many players decided to – temporarily or permanently – leave their clubs (sometimes without ever actually playing for them) to play in those European leagues which did hold play. A very limited number of exhibition matches involving German teams were nonetheless held, but as they sometimes involved German teams with

1691-405: The Cologne Crocodiles , saw an increase of clubs to fifteen, including the two break-away clubs Düsseldorf and Bremerhaven. After that, the era of the Düsseldorf Panther versus Ansbach Grizzlies rivalry began, with the two teams meeting in the next four finals. Of those, the team from Düsseldorf won the 1983, 1984 and 1986 editions, while the Grizzlies earned their third championship in 1985. With

1780-666: The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns defeated Kiel 48–44 to carry off the national championship for the first time. The Unicorns repeated their 2011 title in 2012 in the highest-scoring German Bowl to date winning 56–53 on a late field goal, while the 2013 title went to a resurgent and renamed Braunschweig, now playing as the New Yorker Lions in a close 35–34 victory against the Dresden Monarchs in their first German Bowl appearance. Dresden missed an extra-point attempt after their first touchdown and went on to lose on

1869-468: The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns later that same year. German Bowl participants since 1979: No German Bowl was held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 -related cancellation of the 2020 season . German Bowl XLII which had originally been scheduled for 2020 was held in 2021 instead. The placings in the league since the renaming of the league to GFL before the 1999 season: An asterisk in the column for

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1958-670: The US Army to play the game. In 1979, the Munich Cowboys club was formed. In 1979 , the Cowboys became a founding member of the American Football Bundesliga , renamed the German Football League in 1999, together with the Frankfurter Löwen , Düsseldorf Panther, Ansbach Grizzlies, Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks . The Cowboys made their first appearance in the national championship game,

2047-536: The 1986 final, the golden age of the Ansbach Grizzlies ended and the club disappeared from the top level altogether by 1991. From 1986, a wild-card round was introduced as well, taking the number of teams in the play-offs to twelve. The 1987 German Bowl saw two completely new teams compete against each other, the Badener Greifs making their only appearance in the championship game to date, while

2136-535: The 2013 edition where they were upset by the Berlin Adler in the quarterfinal of the playoffs. As the 2018 German Bowl was an all Southern affair, balancing out the all Northern German Bowl 2013, the divisions have achieved parity in representation at the final for the period beginning in 2011. However, in terms of wins the North still has the edge even for the 2011-2019 period as Schwäbisch Hall won it all four times in that decade whereas Braunschweig's New Yorker Lions won

2225-498: The 2017 season after the retirement of Schwäbisch Hall icon Siggi Gehrke who had coached the team for most of its existence and is mostly credited with the enduring success of the team. The final score in German Bowl XLI was Braunschweig 10, Schwäbisch Hall 7 making Braunschweig champions for the twelfth time in their history – more than any other team. The 2020 season was delayed multiple times and ultimately cancelled due to

2314-806: The Bowl five times in the same period. The German Bowls since 1979: Champions in bold * indicates overtime wins The host cities of the German Bowl were: German Football League The German Football League ( GFL ) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA . In 1999, the league switched its name from American-Football-Bundesliga to German Football League . In terms of attendance figures, cumulative salaries paid by teams, performance in international exhibition games and competitions and ability to draw foreign talent,

2403-431: The Bowl, while northern clubs have appeared 58 times. After the first three German Bowls, the final was only contested by two southern clubs one other time; in the 2018 edition when another Frankfurt based team - Frankfurt Universe - did what had only been achieved before by the long since defunct Frankfurter Löwen - reaching a German Bowl against another GFL South representative - The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns . Between

2492-616: The Dresden Monarchs surprisingly lost to the Cologne Crocodiles despite the latter having lost a substantial number of players to the crosstown ELF Centurions . This, however, would prove the only loss of Dresden on the way to their first division title and the second German Bowl participation after 2013 as well as their first ever championship. Braunschweig meanwhile struggled and never achieved full team cohesion, in part due to relatively strict anti COVID-19 measures in

2581-412: The Düsseldorf Panther in the final, while, from 1989 onwards, the Berlin Adler became the first team to win three championships in a row, all against teams from Cologne . The Adler also managed to remain unbeaten in 1989 and 1990 and only suffered one defeat in 1991, at home against the Cologne Crocodiles. After the 1990 season, the play-offs were reduced to eight teams again, dropping the wild card round,

2670-595: The GFL and the country's more popular association football leagues. The most dominant era of any team in German football begun in 1997, when the Braunschweig Lions reached and won the German Bowl for the first time. The Lions would play in every one of the next twelve German Bowls, up until 2008, and win seven of those. Their first title, in 1997, was won against the Cologne Crocodiles, who were now five for five in German Bowl defeats. The following six seasons,

2759-615: The GFL due to Covid and the competition by the ELF before ever having played a single GFL match. In the end, the GFL once more started "understrength" with a six team division in the North and an eight team division in the South rounded out by the utterly non-competitive Stuttgart Scorpions and Frankfurt Universe. As can perhaps be expected, the season was full of upsets and surprises despite top teams in Dresden, Schwäbisch Hall and Braunschweig largely keeping their roster intact. In their opening game,

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2848-400: The GFL has been divided into a northern and southern division. Only in 1979 was it played in single division format, while, from 1986 to 1990, it was divided into four regional divisions. As of 2010, the Munich Cowboys have played more GFL games than any other team, 335, followed by the Berlin Adler with 312, the only other team with more than 300 league games. The Cowboys have played 29 out of

2937-405: The GFL is arguably the strongest national league in Europe. The GFL is partitioned into north and south conferences, each with eight teams. In each conference, every team plays against every other team of its own conference, both at home and away. Until 2011, each team also played home and away interconference games against the team from the opposing conference that finished the previous season on

3026-469: The GFL2 on first attempt and, from there, to the GFL in 2004. The team was however relegated from the GFL again in 2006. Munich returned to the GFL in the 2008 season and came third in the southern division, losing once more to the Braunschweig Lions in the play-offs. The year 2009 was less successful and the Cowboys were almost relegated once more. The team continued to be present in the GFL in 2010, where it

3115-474: The German Bowl but this time the team from the South finally overcame their northern rival winning their third championship in a 14–13 nail biter that was decided by a blocked field goal attempt by Braunschweig late in the game. Despite losing the game, Braunschweig great David McCants was honored as the German Bowl MVP that year. While Schwäbisch Hall and Braunschweig again won their divisions in 2018,

3204-570: The German Bowl, in 1992, but lost the game to the Düsseldorf Panther by a point. The 1993 season saw the club's greatest success. It reached the German Bowl once more, this time against the Cologne Crocodiles . Playing at home in Munich, the Cowboys where 7–20 behind at half time but managed to equalise 29–29 at the end of regular time. The team then turned the game around and defeated the Crocodiles 42–36 to win their first, and as of 2019, only national championship. After an era of lesser success,

3293-575: The German Bowl, with the second title won against a new force in the game in Germany, the Hamburg Blue Devils . In 1996, the Blue Devils then reversed the fortunes and defeated the Panthers in the final. In 1999 the competition adopted its present name and initials. The unusual decision to operate solely under an English language name and initials in its own country was made to try to prevent confusion among native German speakers between

3382-606: The German Bowl: Recent seasons of the Munich Cowboys: German Bowl The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany . It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League . The New Yorker Lions , from Braunschweig , are the record winners of the German Bowl, with 12 successful participations out of 18 overall. The Düsseldorf Panther and

3471-514: The Lions came in 2008, against the new force of the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes . Kiel also played in the 2009 final, losing to the Berlin Adler, before finally being successful in 2010 and securing their first title against the same team. German Bowl XXXIII was held on 8 October 2011 at the MDCC-Arena in Magdeburg . The 2011 season saw the end of an 18-year title drought for the south, when

3560-465: The Lions from Braunschweig managed to avenge their semifinal defeat the year prior beating Frankfurt at home on their way from yet another division title to yet another German Bowl triumph against the Unicorns, in the process thwarting Schwäbisch Hall's attempt at their own "championship three-peat" and dealing the first defeat in the tenure of Head Coach Jordan Neumann who had taken over the job ahead of

3649-465: The Panthers in 1983 and 1986 and the Grizzlies in 1985, both teams were able to win the title without a loss all season. With the 1986 final, the golden era of the Ansbach Grizzlies ended and the club disappeared out of the top level altogether by 1991. From 1986, a wild card round was introduced in the play-offs, taking the number of teams in the play-offs to twelve. The league had now expanded to 24 teams, divided into four divisions. Two of those were in

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3738-463: The Panthers in the final. The most dominant era of any team in the sport in Germany begun in 1997, when the Braunschweig Lions reached and won the German Bowl for the first time. The Lions would play in every one of the next twelve German Bowls until 2008, and win seven of those. Their first title, in 1997, was won against the Cologne Crocodiles, who now had the unenviable record of five losses in five German Bowl appearances. The following six seasons,

3827-487: The allowed number of foreigners on the field for a team at any given time, in this case specifically, Americans, was reduced to five. In the early years American players would simply be recruited from the (then plentiful) American military installations in Germany which in part helps explain the early dominance of Frankfurt (near Rhein-Main Air Base ) and Ansbach (site of several US armed forces facilities). However, with

3916-577: The citizenship of an EU country when they are eligible through ius sanguinis or residence. In other European leagues similar limits are implemented by other means. For example, the Austrian Football League limits the number of players who can receive financial compensation for playing while the Italian Football League limits the number of players who have played college football (regardless of citizenship). As such,

4005-532: The club finished fourth in the southern division of the GFL but lost 28–69 to the NewYorker Lions in the quarter finals of the play-offs. The following season they missed out on play-off qualification after finishing fifth. The Munich Cowboys Ladies team has been quite successful in its recent past, reaching the Ladies Bowl on five occasions and winning it in 2005 and 2006. The club's appearances in

4094-486: The divisions to nominal strength if possible. The league had been expanded from 12 to 14 teams for the 2011 season. It further increased the number of teams to 16 in 2012. Below the GFL sits the GFL2 , formerly the 2nd Bundesliga , which was formed in 1982. It is also divided into a northern and southern division, with eight teams in each. For the 2011 season, both the northern and the southern champions are promoted, while

4183-412: The drawdown of US forces in the mid-1980s and the increase in talent and professionalism throughout the league, a more formalized mechanism was put in place to recruit and fly in former college football players to play in Germany for pay (salary) as well as room and board . In 1982, the number of American "imports" was reduced to four, in 1983 to three and, by 1986 only two were allowed on the field for

4272-509: The end of an 18-year title drought for the south, when the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns defeated Kiel 48–44 to take out the national championship for the first time. The Unicorns would miss only one out of the remaining German Bowls of the decade, when they were upset in the 2013 quarter finals by the Berlin Adler. For the 2012 season, the Mönchengladbach Mavericks , runners-up in the northern division in 2011, were refused

4361-477: The end of the golden era of the Ansbach Grizzlies in 1986 and the rise of the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (who first reached the German Bowl in 2011), southern clubs have only made five appearances in the championship game of which only one was successful (the Munich Cowboys in 1993). After first reaching the German Bowl in 2011, the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns made all (as of 2021) subsequent German Bowls except

4450-468: The end of the golden era of the Ansbach Grizzlies in 1986 and the rise of the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (who first reached the German Bowl in 2011), southern clubs have only made five appearances in the championship game of which only one was successful (the Munich Cowboys in 1993). From 1993 to 2006 no southern team reached the German Bowl, with twelve consecutive finals played without southern participation. On five occasions no southern team progressed beyond

4539-425: The field at any given time. Players are marked with an "A" on their jersey and helmet to allow referees to determine at a glance whether the limit is obeyed on the field. These restrictions are specifically in place for US, Canadian, Mexican and Japanese citizens and, on request, exemptions can be made for players from countries without established structures in the sport. This rule is designed to prevent an advantage to

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4628-459: The field. The Lions repeated their 2014 success against the Unicorns in 2015, winning 41–31. Success in American football in Germany and at the German Bowl differs hugely between the clubs from the northern and the southern division, with the south only winning ten German Bowls and the north the remaining 32 (through XLII). Similarly (through XLII), southern clubs have only made 26 appearances in

4717-403: The final was contested by the Lions and the Blue Devils on five occasions, with the Lions winning in 1998 and 1999, while the Blue Devils won 2001, 2002, and 2003. Only in 2000 did neither of those two win the Bowl; instead, the Cologne Crocodiles finally reversed their fortunes and won a championship in their sixth attempt. In 1999, the Bundesliga was renamed to German Football League. In 2002,

4806-428: The final was contested by the Lions and the Blue Devils on five occasions, with the Lions winning in 1998 and 1999, while the Blue Devils won in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Only in 2000 did neither of those two win the Bowl. Instead, the Cologne Crocodiles finally reversed their fortunes and won a championship in their sixth attempt. In between, in 1999, the Bundesliga was renamed to German Football League. Braunschweig lost

4895-438: The final where Braunschweig prevailed once more, this time by a more narrow 41–31 margin. 2016 again saw Braunschweig and Hall win their divisions and meet in the German Bowl with Braunschweig achieving a "championship three-peat" beating the Unicorns 31–20 under Head Coach Troy Tomlin, one of the coaches to have won the German Bowl most often with his team. In 2017 Hall and Braunschweig once more won their divisions and reached

4984-531: The first ever title of a team from the New states of Germany in GFL history as the Dresden Monarchs defeated the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 28–19. In German Bowl XLIII the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns defeated the Potsdam Royals 44 to 27 to win their fifth championship. Success in American football in Germany and at the German Bowl differs hugely between the clubs from the northern and the southern division, with

5073-428: The first two and Ansbach the last. The era of the Frankfurter Löwen came to an end soon afterwards and the club went defunct in the mid-1980s, while the Ansbach Grizzlies continued to be an outstanding team, playing in all of the first eight German Bowls. Unlike the first season, play-off semi-finals were played in 1980 and 1981 to determine the two German Bowl contestants. From 1982, the play-offs were enlarged to include

5162-453: The game is the Braunschweig Lions versus the Hamburg Blue Devils , having been played six times, last in 2005. The matchup between the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns and the New Yorker Lions has occurred five times - all in the span from 2014 to 2019. German Bowl XIX to German Bowl XXX (inclusive) all had appearances by the Braunschweig Lions (later to be renamed for sponsorship reasons to "New Yorker Lions") for twelve consecutive appearances over

5251-488: The ice hockey team EHC München . Additionally, the ambitious basketball team of the FC Bayern Munich took over the clubs cheerleading team in 2009. The Cowboys, who attracted 1,100 spectators per game in 2009 suffered a 30 percent drop in attendance in 2010. In 2011, the Cowboys finished fourth in their division and qualified for the play-offs once more, where they were knocked out by the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in

5340-408: The last time until 2011 that a team from the South would win the championship. The Bundesliga and the German Bowl were from then on dominated by the North. In 1994 and 1995, the Düsseldorf Panther once more won the German Bowl, with the second title won against a new force in the game in Germany, the Hamburg Blue Devils . In 1996, the Blue Devils then reversed their previous misfortune and defeated

5429-413: The league also lost its longest-serving founding member, the Munich Cowboys suffering relegation for the first time, alongside another one of the "original six", the Düsseldorf Panther, who had however missed the 1980 and 1981 seasons because of the league split. Braunschweig lost a fifth final in a row in 2004, when the Berlin Adler won their first title in 13 years. After this, the Braunschweig Lions set

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5518-428: The league, from 1995, the division strength was reduced to six. For the next 16 seasons, six teams per division was the set number, with occasional seasons going underway in reduced strength because of late withdrawals. Also, an inter conference round was introduced in 1994, with teams from different divisions now meeting for the first time during the regular season. In 1994 and 1995, the Düsseldorf Panther once more won

5607-543: The new European League of Football ( ELF ) which "plundered" the roster of GFL teams in Frankfurt and Stuttgart (sending the erstwhile playoff or even championship contenders to the bottom of their division) and led to the withdrawal of teams in Ingolstadt and Hildesheim after the attempts to move those teams to the new ELF fell through. The Elmshorn Fighting Pirates earned the questionable distinction of retiring from

5696-513: The north, one in the south and the fourth one in Central Germany. The 1987 German Bowl saw two teams compete against each other that had thus far never reached the final, the Badener Greifs making their only appearance in the championship game to date, while the Berlin Adler won their first of, as of 2021, six national championships. Both teams went into the German Bowl without a defeat all season. In 1988, Red Barons Cologne defeated

5785-467: The northern and southern divisions. Of the 190 games played in this era, the north won 140, almost 75 percent, the south only 48 while two were drawn: As a sign of the strong influence of Americans in the game in Germany, upon formation of the Bundesliga in 1979, there was no restriction on how many foreigners a team could field. The only stipulation was, that every team had to field a minimum of three German nationals at any time. Soon, this changed, and

5874-635: The playoffs saw Braunschweig fall at home to the Frankfurt Universe in the semifinal by a score of 20–17 marking the first German Bowl contested by teams from the same division since 2013 and the first all southern German Bowl since 1981 (incidentally then also including a team representing Frankfurt, in that case the Frankfurter Löwen). In the end, the regular season division champ beat the runner up, just as had happened in 2013. Thus making German Bowl XL Hall's third triumph. In 2019

5963-413: The quarter finals. In 2012, the club came eighth in the southern division of the GFL, having to face GFL2 southern champions Allgäu Comets in the promotion-relegation play-off in which the Cowboys won both games and survived. The 2013 season saw a much improved performance with the team finishing third but being knocked out in the quarter finals of the play-offs by the Dresden Monarchs. In the 2014 season

6052-422: The quarter-finals and the German Bowl contested by the revived Braunschweig Lions, now as the New Yorker Lions, and the Dresden Monarchs who made their first appearance in the championship final, with the Lions winning their eighth German Bowl in a close 35–34 game with the only turnover coming with the last play when Dresden was driving down the field for a potentially game winning score. The 2014 season began with

6141-481: The quarter-finals. In 1989, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2013 all four semi-finalists came from the northern division. 2013 was perhaps the most drastic of these instances as the defending champion Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns were upset by the fourth seed in the North Berlin Adler on Hall's own turf in the quarter-final. The disparity is also documented by the inter conference games held from 1994 to 2011 between

6230-425: The runners-up of the two divisions will play the last placed team in the GFL division above for another spot in the league in 2012. There are various regional leagues below the GFL2 with eight tiers in total in some areas. A newly founded team must start out at the bottom of the league pyramid, just as in soccer, even though there have been rare exceptions, including the Hamburg Blue Devils . For most of its history,

6319-520: The same player playing in two different leagues in the same year may be considered an "import" in one league and equivalent to a national player in another. Reilly Hennessey, who has dual Italian and US citizenship, had to wear an "A" on his jersey in the 2021 season of the Italian Football League due to having played college football at Central Washington University but was not subject to this limitation in German Bowl XLII when he played for

6408-423: The same rank. However, this was abandoned with the league expansion to 16 teams. After the end of the regular season, four teams from both conferences enter the playoffs, to determine the German championship. The winner of a conference plays against the 4th place team of the other group, second against third of the other conference. Better placed teams enjoy home field advantage in the playoffs (regardless of record) –

6497-587: The season) met in the quarter-finals in Saarland with Saarland advancing to the semifinals losing 37–0 in Dresden in Dresden's last game at Heinz Steyer Stadion until at least 2023. The German Bowl thus sees the division champions meeting once more, but for the first time since 2012 that champion in the North is not Braunschweig. German Bowl XLII was played in Frankfurt am Main at the Waldstadion and saw

6586-459: The secondmost titles in the south, seven, despite not having competed in the league since 1990: Since the inception of the Eurobowl in 1986, German clubs have taken part in the competition in most seasons. In most cases, the German Bowl winner of the previous season was qualified. In some seasons more than one German club took part in the competition. On ten occasions clubs from Germany have won

6675-456: The seeding ensures that two teams that finished on the same rank in their division can only meet in the (neutral site) final. The final is called the German Bowl . The lowest ranked team of each conference plays a home and away series against the winner of the second division, and may be relegated if they lose. In case one or several teams withdraw from the GFL, relegation is forgone, more teams are promoted or other measures are taken to "fill up"

6764-430: The south, as of 2021, only winning ten German Bowls (four of them won by the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns ) and the north the remaining 32 (12 of them won by the Braunschweig Lions ). Similarly, southern clubs have only made 26 appearances in the Bowl, while northern clubs have appeared 58 times. After the first three German Bowls, the final was never again contested by two southern clubs until German Bowl XL in 2018. Between

6853-562: The space of over a decade. Apart from the German Bowl, a Junior Bowl has also been contested in Germany since 1982. A Ladies Bowl was introduced in 1990. Other, related, national championship games in Germany include the German Flag Bowl (est. 2000), German Junior Flag Bowl (1999) and a German Indoor Flag Bowl (2000). In 1979, the American Football Bundesliga , later to be renamed the German Football League,

6942-560: The state of Lower Saxony preventing them from training together for much of the preseason and forcing them to hold their home opener in front of empty ranks. Ultimately placing fourth in the North, the Lions were eliminated in the quarter-final on the road in Schwäbisch Hall in a game in which the Unicorns defense won the ball off of Braunschweig turnovers five times. The great surprises of the season, Cologne Crocodiles and Saarland Hurricanes (the latter having been promoted ahead of

7031-425: The team came close to reaching the German Bowl once more in 2000 and 2001 when, on both occasions, Munich lost to the Braunschweig Lions in the semi-finals. After 22 consecutive seasons at the highest level of German football, the Bundesliga and, later, the GFL, the Cowboys withdrew to the tier-three Regionalliga Süd for the 2003 season. The clubs exile in the lower leagues was short-lived, winning promotion to

7120-399: The team would struggle to even post winning records, let alone come anywhere near championship contention until 2013. Kiel also played in the 2009 final, losing to the Berlin Adler, before finally being successful in 2010 and winning their first title against the same team. In 2011, the season was expanded from 72 to 98 games because of the enlargement of the league to 14 teams. It also saw

7209-406: The top two teams would contest the first ever German Bowl on 10 November 1979. The first-ever league game was held on 4 August 1979, played between the Frankfurter Löwen and the Düsseldorf Panther, and ended in a victory for Frankfurt. The league saw a split in its second and third season, with Düsseldorf and Bremerhaven leaving the competition to take part in a separate, short-lived competition,

7298-423: The two division champions with Braunschweig taking out their ninth title with Schwäbisch Hall only scoring a Field Goal until the fourth quarter. The Lions won their ninth German Bowl victory with the highest-ever winning margin, defeating the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 47–9. The 2015 season played out similar to the previous edition with both Schwäbisch Hall and Braunschweig winning their division before advancing to

7387-400: The wealthier clubs, who could otherwise recruit a large number of players from the traditional American football countries. However, the aforementioned inevitable exception for EU citizens provides a strong incentive to sign players with dual nationality who have played college football but do not count as "Americans". In some cases the clubs have even encouraged or helped their players to get

7476-537: The withdrawal of the Hamburg Blue Devils before the start of the season, leaving the northern division with only seven clubs. In the north Braunschweig won another division title with a perfect season while the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns won the southern division for a fourth consecutive time (who then went on to beat Kiel and Dresden in the Playoffs to reach the final). The 2014 German Bowl was contested by

7565-432: Was formed, consisting of six clubs, the Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies , Düsseldorf Panther , Munich Cowboys , Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks . Of those six, the top two teams would contest the first ever German Bowl on 10 November 1979. The early years of the league were dominated by two teams, Frankfurt and Ansbach, who met each other in the first three editions of the German Bowl. Of those, Frankfurt won

7654-481: Was hereby ended and the club went defunct in the mid-1980s, while the Ansbach Grizzlies continued to be an outstanding team, playing in all of the first eight German Bowls. Unlike the first season, play-off semi finals were played in 1980 and 1981 to determine the two German Bowl contestants. From 1982, the play-offs were enlarged to include a quarter final round as well. The 1982 season, which saw Ansbach repeat its title, remaining unbeaten all season, this time against

7743-431: Was once more troubled by relegation fears but survived and will stay in the league for 2011. Phil Hickey, coach of the team and a member of the 1993 championship-winning side, is confident that he can take the Cowboys back to championship contention by 2012. The club suffers from strong competition within the city from other sports, especially the association football clubs FC Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich as well as

7832-624: Was replaced by the AFVD , the American Football Association of Germany ( German : American-Football-Verband Deutschland ). In 1979 , the American-Football-Bundesliga , later to be renamed the German Football League, was formed, consisting of six clubs, the Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies , Düsseldorf Panther , Munich Cowboys , Berliner Bären , and Bremerhaven Seahawks . Of those six,

7921-428: Was to be the last occasion for the next twelve years that a team from the South would reach the final, and the last time until 2011, that a team from the South would win the championship. The Bundesliga and the German Bowl were from now on dominated by the North. After the 1993 season, still contested with 16 clubs, the number of clubs was gradually reduced further. In 1994, 14 clubs in two divisions of seven competed in

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