The Main Square in Schwabisch Hall glows at night like a Disneyland village.
... journalist professors teach you to lead with your best stuff - so here's one more shot of cool downtown Schwabisch Hall lit up at night!
After an our trip down the Romantic Road, we made a 45 minute diversion to the town of Schwabisch Hall, Germany for an incredible evening of fun.
For those of you who are not familiar with this quaint village of 30,000 inhabitants, it is the home of the German Football League's Schwabisch Hall UNICORNS - the team my brother played quarterback for in 2002. Having heard all of his stories and seen his pictures, Christie and I knew we had to make our own pilgrimage to "The Hall" to meet his former coach and see the town... and what we found blew us away!
The town of Schwabisch Hall.
Christie loving the town square. On this warm summer afternoon it felt idyllic!
We arrived in the town around 7 pm, making a quick detour through the downtown area. The town itself sits in a lush valley, with a very trendy & clean town center, filled with buildings that belong in "Hansel and Grettle." Immediately we knew why Chad & Michelle loved it here... having that 'not too big, not too small' feel of a very livable city. Small patios and quaint shops line the cobblestone streets, all leading to a huge church looming large over the town square... the kind that makes you think time actually stands still outside the city limits!
Unicorns Spielmacher (Quarterback) Jordan Neuman from Murray State drops back to pass during a Wednesday evening practice. He is in his 4th season as the QB for the Unicorns, and actually ended up marrying a German!
Head Coach Siegfried "Ziggy" Gehrke calls out the plays during practice. Ziggy is a positive, up-beat coach who has great rapport with his players.
An 'Inside Run' drill pitting the offensive and defensive lines. The practice field overlooked a beautiful green valley and evoked a sort of 'Remember the Titans' feel.
We then headed to the Unicorns' Wednesday evening practice, held from 7 - 8:45 at a local athletic club. I was instantly impressed with the organization and effort in the practice, which featured periods of inside run, 7 on 7, and finally a full team scrimmage for the 40 or so players there. The coaching was done at an intense, high level and the players showed great savvy and respect for the game. Ziggy ran the offense, featuring a similar spread attack to what we do in Catania, and jumped around the field giving encouragement to his players.
In the German League, teams are allowed 4 American players on the active roster (compared to the 3 in Italy), however they can only play 2 at one time... thus forcing the Americans to wear a huge "A" on the back of the helmet. It is also interesting to note that the position of quarterback is called "Spielmacher" - which literally translates into 'Play Maker.' I think this is an apt description of what it takes to be a good QB... and is the name that my brother and I used for football camps back home in Washington.
Sweet decal!
The history of the Unicorns also parallels that of the Catania Elephants. When Ziggy was only 18 years old, he became infatuated with the game of football on TV, although he knew none of the rules or how to play. After doing some research, he found that Stuttgart - located 100 km away - had a team and contacted them about coming to a practice. He was immediately hooked on the game, and practicing with the Stuttgart team (offensive line!) as he learned the game.
Ziggy realized that he would not be able to drive that distance many times a week, and therefore knew he had to start a team in Schwabisch Hall. He took a picture of himself and a few other players in full uniforms, and placed an advertisement in the local paper about starting a football team. He was instantly flooded with calls and the Unicorns were born!
(NOTE ON THE NAME: Helping Ziggy in the early days was a Canadian named Philip Roth - like the author. When the team was formed, they held a meeting of a few players to come up with a name. Philip declared that he had 'always dreamed of starting a team called the Unicorns.' When no other names caught their attention, they went with their gut and named the team the Unicorns. The creature is held in high distinction in Germany, thought to have mythical powers and being very masculine. However, they are all VERY AWARE of the mostly 'feminine' portrayal of unicorns in the United States. I say... LONG LIVE THE UNICORNS!)
After practice, we watched the Euro2008 Soccer Semifinal between Germany and Turkey (which the home team won 3-2) while enjoying some good German food. Afterwards, Ziggy gave us a great city tour which included a walk into the historic downtown. Again, we were extremely impressed with Schwabisch Hall and were very glad to experience 'real' Germany as opposed to just the big, touristy cities.
Gelato in Germany? It was my usual Stracciatella - and boy had I missed it!
Germany won 3-2, causing massive, spontaneous parades to burst out across the region. The favorite method of celebration was to drive slowly down busy streets with 4 crazed fans hanging out the window, waving flags, and singing songs. The guys were sans auto, but high on German love!
In the morning, we enjoyed a great breakfast with the Gehrke family before embarking on our next journey (on to Prague...) A big thanks to the Unicorn family for their hospitaly!
You can follow the Unicorns and all the GFL action on their website: www.unicorns.de!
Ziggy's future quarterback...
... and future linebacker!
~ J. Twice
3 comments:
congrats about playoffs!! just leaving london today to head for barcelona for 4. can's wait to see my jj and cc! will blog ya later to see what up! xoxoxox mmm
Jason, you sure put a lot of effort into your weblog! Writing the piece about Schwaebisch Hall (that's how you spell our town if you don't have an "A" with two dots on top of it at your disposal) must have taken longer than your stay here. And that stay sure was very pleasant for your hosts. Of course it was not nice tricking us with what you and Christy left on your bed (to other readers: it CERTAINLY was not what you imagine now!) but other than that we had a great, albeit short time. Thanks for the positive portrayal of our town and good luck in the playoffs! And remember: Should those South Tyroleans (Austrians think Bolzano should be part of their country and most people there speak German) put an end to your season, think about another visit to the home of the Unicorns.
Ziggy
Ziggy - we will do our best to stop the South Tyroleans! Thanks again for your hospitality - and best of luck with your own season! We'll be in touch as we travel north to depart!
JJ
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