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44-517: Under this name, the Lions became the most successful American football club in Germany, winning seven German Bowls as well as two Eurobowls . From 1997 to 2008, the team played in twelve consecutive German Bowls. After a number of less successful years the club won four more German titles from 2013 to 2016 as well as four more Eurobowls from 2015 to 2018. The Braunschweig Lions were formed in 1987 and

88-664: A new European competition, the BIG6 European Football League , which consisted of three teams from Germany, two from Austria and one from Switzerland, the clubs being Berlin Adler, New Yorker Lions, Dresden Monarchs, Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna , Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Calanda Broncos . The two best teams of this competition advanced to the Eurobowl XXVIII, where the Lions lost 20–17 to

132-810: A reserve side, two youth teams, the Junior Lions and the Red Cubs 94 , a Flag Football team and a women's team, the Lady Lions . All six teams are part of the mother club 1. FFC Braunschweig. The club's appearances in the German Bowl: The club's appearances in the Eurobowl: Recent seasons of the Lions: The following players and coaches have been inducted into the club's hall of fame : German Bowl The German Bowl

176-615: A sixth time, in 2006 and 2007, it had to face opposition from the southern division, the Marburg Mercenaries and the Stuttgart Scorpions , while the final victory came against the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in 2008. After winning those four consecutive titles, they faced drastic restructuring in 2009 and did therefore not qualify for the play-offs at all, but returned in 2010, when they lost to

220-612: 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 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

264-591: 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 the Berlin Adler both have six titles to their name, but Berlin has

308-614: 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 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

352-665: 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 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

396-503: 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 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

440-482: 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 saw Ansbach repeat its title, this time against the Cologne Crocodiles . After that,

484-656: The Berlin Adler. In the GFL the Lions won the northern division once more in 2014 and defeated the Munich Cowboys 69–28 in the quarter-finals and the Cologne Falcons 52–3 in the semi-finals of the play-offs to reach the 2014 German Bowl. The Lions won the championship game against the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 47–9 and took out their ninth national title, staying undefeated in the GFL that season. In 2015,

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528-676: 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 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

572-636: 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 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

616-637: The GFL and failed to qualify for the play-offs. In 2013, the Lions returned to their old dominance, winning 13 of their 14 regular season games as well as the GFL Northern Division title. After play-off wins against the Rhein-Neckar Bandits and the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes the team reached its first German Bowl since 2008, which they won by a point against the Dresden Monarchs . In 2014, the club took part in

660-526: 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

704-420: 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 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

748-705: The German Bowl were: Munich Cowboys The Munich Cowboys are an American football team based in Munich , Germany. The club, together with the Düsseldorf Panther and the Ansbach Grizzlies , is one of the oldest in Germany. The team refers to itself as The Grand Old Team of the South . The club has one national championship to its name, winning the German Bowl in 1993. As of 2015,

792-486: The Lions finally managed to win their division and earn promotion to the American Football Bundesliga , now the German Football League . The team performed well at this level in its first season there, finishing fourth and qualifying for the play-offs, where they were knocked-out in the quarter-finals. The following season, 1995, saw the club miss the play-offs but in 1996 they returned and reached

836-544: The Lions won their third Eurobowl, again defeating the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. The team also won the northern division of the GFL once more and defeated the Saarland Hurricanes in the quarter-finals and the Allgäu Comets in the semi-finals of the play-offs, facing the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns next in the German Bowl once more, which the Lions won 41–31. Apart from the first team, the club also fields

880-475: The Marburg Mercenaries in the quarter-finals. In March 2011, the club announced that the team would carry a new name for the 2011 season. Their name is shared with the fashion label New Yorker , a sponsor of the team. The Lions had an average 2011 season, in which they won only four season games and finished well clear of the play-off ranks. In 2012, the club came sixth in the northern division of

924-471: 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 the game is the Braunschweig Lions versus the Hamburg Blue Devils , having been played six times, last in 2005. The matchup between

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968-414: 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 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,

1012-481: 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 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,

1056-533: 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

1100-523: 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 the US Army to play

1144-433: 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 the Bowl five times in the same period. The German Bowls since 1979: Champions in bold * indicates overtime wins The host cities of

1188-461: 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 the 1986 final, the golden age of the Ansbach Grizzlies ended and the club disappeared from the top level altogether by 1991. From 1986,

1232-463: 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, 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

1276-419: 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 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

1320-600: The first one against the Cologne Crocodiles and title number two and three against the Hamburg Blue Devils, the latest in front of a record crowd of over 30,000 in Hamburg. That year, the Lions also took out the Eurobowl , once more playing a final against the Blue Devils there, too. The next five seasons, the Lions were to lose five German Bowls in a row. The 2000 edition saw revenge for the Cologne Crocodiles,

1364-432: The following three were all lost to the Blue Devils. The fifth and final loss came to the Berlin Adler . In this era, the only title the club did manage to win was another Eurobowl in 2003. The Lions then once more turned fortunes around and managed to set a new record by winning the next four German Bowls in a row. In the four finals, they faced four different opponents. In 2005, the Blue Devils were their Bowl opponent for

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1408-537: 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,

1452-543: 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, the German Bowl, in 1992, but lost

1496-611: 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 the field. The Lions repeated their 2014 success against the Unicorns in 2015, winning 41–31. Success in American football in Germany and at

1540-489: 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

1584-407: The new team entered the tier-three Regionalliga Nord for that season, where it came third. The Lions were nevertheless promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga , now the German Football League 2 , for the following season and spent the next six years at this level. The team was never outstanding at this level for the first five years, only finishing once with a percentage above 0.500 in this era. In 1993,

1628-450: 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, 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

1672-481: 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

1716-533: 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 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

1760-402: The semi-finals, losing to the Hamburg Blue Devils and beginning what was to become a strong football rivalry in the following decade. The year 1997 saw the beginning of the golden era of the Braunschweig Lions and the most successful era of any American football club in Germany to date. The Lions were to play in every one of the next twelve German Bowls. The club won the first three of those,

1804-426: 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

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1848-473: 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 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

1892-605: 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, was formed, consisting of six clubs, the Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies , Düsseldorf Panther , Munich Cowboys , Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks . Of those six,

1936-433: 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

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