Missant Diary: World Bowl Week
Frankfurt* Galaxy center Charles Missant has been writing a weekly diary for NFLEurope.com throughout the 2006 NFLEL season. Now that his team have qualified for the final, Missant will be writing every other day through the week leading up to Yello Strom World Bowl XIV on Saturday.*
Well, we reached our goal and made it to the World Bowl. It feels great knowing that we are playing for a championship. Last week's game against Berlin was a close one, but I felt that our team really pulled together for the win. It seems like we had been in that position before, which is a testament to the character of our team. Our defense played outstanding football all day and kept the game close, and Roger (Robinson) and Butchie (Wallace) really put the game on their shoulders and carried us to victory.
It was tough to see some of our guys go down with injuries, especially since it was the week before the championship. Craig Ochs (quarterback) has been solid for us the entire year, and we are really going to miss his leadership on the field. Keith Willis (tight end) hurt his knee, and Lenny Williams (cornerback) sprained his ankle, but I think those two guys are going to be ready to go come game time.
On a positive note, it felt great to see Roger (Robinson) break the single-season rushing record. He has been one of the reasons that we have had so much success this year, and it has been great blocking for him all season long. We also broke Whitey's (Jordan) old team rushing record that he set back in 1999 with the Rhein Fire. It feels great to be a part of an offensive line that has had a record-breaking season, and to cap it off with a trip to the World Bowl makes it that much better.
The trip over from Berlin took a lot out of us, as we had to leave at 8am the day after the game. We took a train to a town called Kassel, which took us about four hours, and then we hopped on the team bus to Düsseldorf. The train ride was actually pretty nice. They're a lot different than the trains in the states. They're big, really fast, and comfortable. They are very spacious, so you can stretch out and relax. The bus ride seemed to take forever, but we passed the time by playing cards and watching movies.
Our hotel is pretty nice. It's similar to the hotel that we were staying at in Frankfurt, but it's more spread out. We're close to the city, but it feels like we're in the middle of nowhere because there are no other buildings around, and there are trees and open fields surrounding us. I haven't gotten the chance to check out Düsseldorf yet, as we just got in, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the city has to offer if time allows it. I know there are things on the schedule that have been planned in advance for us, so I'll have to wait and see. Either way, I'm just happy to be here.
I'm excited for the World Bowl. It finally sunk in today when we hit the practice field, and despite the rainy weather, everyone was excited to get things going. It was business as usual on the field. Coach Jordan had us work on the same things that we have been working on all year, and it was nice to get back into our weekly routine.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the World Bowl week, and I'll keep you guys updated with my diary as best I can. Thanks again for checking in!
