Meet the Press

Back in #6 - I was all smiles on Raiders Import Media Day.

Before the Super Bowl, the biggest "off-field" event is the annual media day, where thousands of reporters gather from around the globe to question the biggest stars in the game.  The same thing happens here in Austria before our season, except it is only Raiders players, the reporters are from the Tirolean region, and the event can be housed inside a meeting room at the Hilton.  But other than that, EVERYTHING is the same... well, almost everything.

This Earth... This Realm... This... AUSTRIA!  Beautiful View this morning from our bathroom.

With the arrival of our final import - Nick Comly from Ontario, Canada; more on him later - our international roster is now complete.  It also means we don't fit in one car, so we walked the 5 minutes to catch the bus down the hill into downtown Innsbruck.

Our walk takes us a block south of the Gotzen signature landmark.  It is incredible to see the church with ski slopes in the background.

Upon arriving at the Hilton, we were ushered to the BOZEN room (inappropriately named after the rival Italian team to the south, the Bolzano Giants) where a room had been prepared for us to meet the press.  There was a big table up front where the new imports would sit, along with head coach Santos Carrillo and General Manager Daniel Dieplinger.  There was even a crystal helmet from Swarco (Swarovski) and the Eurobowl Championship trophy!   

Even I could translate the German word "Presskonferenz."

"Johnson" was to be seated next to "Epperson" - as we knew the media would have many questions about the number of Cannoli that Matt ate last season in Sicily. 

And now a word from our sponsor... SWARCO!  For those of you unfamiliar with the name, SWARCO is the industrial division of the Swarovski crystal corporation.  They use the crystals in everything from traffic lights to ball bearings... or in this case, an official crystal-painted helmet!  (Not for actual contact)

Once the press conference started, the bulk of the action was in German.  I did my best to nod and look interested, even making periodic notes on the supplied leather pad with the supplied leather pen.  I always see lawyers doing that on TV and thought it would be appropriate.  After our GM gave a season overview, Santos gave a background about each import player and answered a few questions from the media.  Our first game of the season is a rematch of the Austrian bowl against the defending champion Graz Giants, and they were curious to see how we are approaching that game.  They also asked Matt about being reunited with me, and he gave them a patented answer with 7.3 cliches.

Daniel reassured the media that our team's focus with first on the Austrian season, then on the Eurobowl...

... while Santos (disappointingly) failed to provide any "bulletin board" material for our first opponent.  Come on 'Tos - you are a RAIDERS COACH... you must be CONTROVERSIAL!

From left to right: Nick, Alex, Santos, Matt, and Jason.

Our four imports are officially DEFENSIVE LINEMAN Nick Comly from Ontario, DEFENSIVE BACK Alexander Hoad also from Ontario, WIDE RECEIVER Matt Epperson from Texas, and myself.  The one thing that really excites me about this group is that everyone is first and foremost GOOD PEOPLE who care about the team.  Everyone is easy-going and should get along well.  As I mentioned before, our most recent addition was our defensive lineman.  Here's the skinny on the big guy:

NICK COMLY played Defensive Line at Accadia University in Canada, where he was a two time all-league and all-Canadian player.  He spent time during the '04 season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL, then headed over-seas for a stint with the Lazio Marines (located just outside of Rome) in the Italian League.  He has since been coaching defensive line and most recently become the defensive coordinator at Accadia, and interestingly enough played a few games in Serbia last season.

Every Quarterback needs a pretty girl...

After the formalities were over, we all moved to the foyer for a buffet lunch and individual interviews.  The food was specially requested by Santos - Chili Con Carne!  I enjoyed this southwestern specialty while chatting with a reporter who has a girlfriend from Catania & by discussing photography with a few of the local 'photogs.'  I was very impressed by their collective knowledge of the game and their enthusiasm for American Football.  Look for some German articles soon! 

Posing for a 'tough-guy' shot outside for TT, the national Tirolean newspaper.

Two Americans and Two Canadians... just to CFL specifications!

After the press conference, we had one final interview with Tamara Volderauer, the "Captain" of the Pirates, a Raiders Fan-club, and her boyfriend, Florian Schellhorn, who happens to be the Raiders official team photographer.  We walked to Theresienbrau, local restaurant/pub, for a cappuccino and an hour of great conversation.  Who would have thought we would have a 'fan-club!'  

 

With our new friends Tamara and Flo, Captain and Crew of the PIRATES!

Over the course of our interview, I learned that the Pirates are the unofficial fan-club of the Raiders.  Their 'crew' dresses in black Raiders shirts, pirate costumes, and other pieces of flare, while banging on large drums at ALL games - home & away.  In fact, Flo put on 25,000 km last season, many of those 'clicks coming from road games in Vienna and beyond.  It was great to meet new friends, especially those that support our team so well.  I also look forward to featuring their websites throughout the season for additional information, and will post the link when my interview goes up.

PIRATES FAN CLUB - www.piratenbucht.info

FLO'S PICS - www.footballpics.info

While we opted for cappuccinos and coke, the Theresienbrau is one of Innsbruck's coolest pubs offering "a melting pot of Austrian tradition and modern times."

Tirolean Athlete poster, circa 1895.  Before David Beckham, Michael Jordan, and Peyton Manning covered the walls of teenage athletes, this is what all Tirolean boys aspired to be. (I think some still do!)

~ J. Twice