Team Johnson!
The Elephants got back on the winning track today, running past the Palermo Corsari for a 60-26 victory. The win improves our record to 6-2 on the season and a tie for 2nd place in the Italian Football League.
The game itself almost never took place - as the game was suspended for an hour and half due to a disagreement between the Corsari and the League/Officials over the use of suspended players. Apparently (I do not know for sure), the League had suspended 4 Corsari players for a fight in their previous game, however Corsari did not not agree with the decision and argued that the players should be allowed to play. Once the officials finally threatened to make the Corsari forfeit the game if they used the suspended players, they conceded that they would follow the rules and play began. (ANOTHER 'ONLY IN ITALY' MOMENT!!!)
Matt and Claudio sandwich "WHITE BOY" - Matt's roommate/teammate last year in Finland and a new addition to the Corsari. This pose - White Boy's signature - has been appearing across Sicily and reports are it is now spreading internationally.
When play finally began, we played with great intensity, and hit their blitzing defense with a few long passes for scores and an early lead. Sometimes when you play a team that comes after you as the Corsari did, plays end up going for either zero yards or big gains. Lucky for us, the gains came in bunches - with Claudio Mangano picking up the slack for an injured Matt Epperson, hauling in touchdown catches of 43, 20, 57, and 27 yards. I finished the day with 227 yards and 5 TDs, with Giuseppe Strano catching the other TD. This - along with great play from our defense - gave us a solid 41-14 halftime lead.
However, the big story of the game was the blocking of our offensive line & fullback, Giuseppe Strano, opening up holes for our strong running back Enrico Lombardo. While starting slowly, Enrico got stronger as the day went on, rushing for 3o7 yards on only 17 carries! (That's an 18.1 yards per carry average!) That gaudy total includes TD runs of 43, 14, 55, and 72 yards! GREAT GAME ENRICO!!!
The happy Elephant Family poses for a post-game pic with our "Fundo Bianco" supporters. Fundo Bianco is a downtown Catania hangout, and the staff showed up today with a banner & PRE-GAME SMOKE SHOW. AMAZING!!!
As the season comes down the stretch (I can't believe we only have 2 regular season games left!), I am so proud of the way our team is coming together. Defensively, we are growing every week and did a good job containing their athletic quarterback. More than that, the "Elephant Family" is so fun to take the field with!
In talking to someone who knows the history of Italy Football very well, I was told that players in the north - due to the close proximity and number of teams - move around quite frequently from team to team. However, being located more remotely in Sicily makes such a thing not possible for Catania players. That means that players who begin playing here often stay for many years... and that the phrase "Once an Elephant, Always an Elephant" rings true. Even more, it creates an amazing family atmosphere that is truly very special... and is the way that Football was meant to be played.
3 Pink Elephants in Action: Roberta (Claudio's Girlfriend) rockin' the foam finger, Valeria (Giuseppe's Girlfriend), and Christie, all smiles! The FOAM FINGER, aka Corsica (after its similarity to the Mediterranean Island's shape), was originally a New York Knicks momento but is now in full support of the Elephants!
~ J. Twice
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