Import receiver Taber Lemarr (#14 in white) knifes up field on the opening kickoff between the Bergamo Lions and Catania Elephants at Stadio Comunale in Osio Sotto, Italy.
The day after our battle with Graz, we hopped in our (rental) car and headed three and a half hours south into Italy to watch my former team, the Catania Elephants. They were facing the Bergamo Lions, who for those of you unfamiliar with the Italian Football League, are the perennial powerhouse. In their 26 years as an organization, they have capture 3 EuroBowl titles and 12 National Titles, including the last two. They are also the darkly portrayed antagonists in the now infamous John Grisham novel Playing for Pizza that gives this very blog its own very name. I love using the term 'very.'
Sharing a pre-game moment with Catania Head Coach George Contreras (White Beard / Sean Connery rugged good looks). Like Santos in Innsbruck, last year George was the defensive co-ordinator and was elevated to the top position in the off-season. We lived with George last season and he is an extremely close friend & fantastic person. You can follow his blog (much wittier and thorough than mine) at COACHINGFORPIZZA.COM.
A not-quite capacity crowd of 114 were on hand at kick-off. I know because a) I counted, and b) There was a bet riding on it.
Despite their annual success, Bergamo does not draw that large of a crowd and plays their home games at the unassuming Stadio Comunale (Community Stadium) in Osio Sotto, Italy. Osio Sotto is a small frazione of Bergamo, which is itself a larger frazione of Milan in northern in Italy. Making matters worse was the weather, which began the day as drizzly & 40 degrees (5 celcius) and quickly disintegrating into a pouring & 38.
Current Catania Quarterback Luke Tracy from Orange County, California. He is wearing the white version of my #6, which he wears extremely well. I hope he enjoys this version, because I have the red one back at home in Seattle. (SORRY DAVIDE! IT'S FOR THE WALL!)
The Elephants were looking to bounce back from a disappointing 14-12 loss to Ancona in the opening week of the season, and it was going to be a difficult task against Bergamo. At QB for the Elephants was Luke Tracy. Before our season began Christie & I traveled to Sicily and I spent a week working with Luke and the Elephants. He is a tremendous athlete - much faster than me - and a great person. He is also an avid surfer, which is sweet, and will spend one of the upcoming bye weeks catching waves in IRELAND!
The Elephants are running the offense I installed last year, with a few tweaks. This is a difficult thing for any quarterback - having to learn a new offense versus me running my favorite plays last season - so it will take time for things to click. They were also fighting an up-field battle with two typical Italian mishaps hampering their team: forgotten paperwork led to one of their starting linemen being ineligible, and their starting strong safety forgot the clocks changed overnight and missed the flight! Futtitini!!! (Ask Matt) This showed at the beginning of the game as Bergamo raced out to a 21-7 lead.
Up in the stands with Matt, Christie, and Laurie - George's wife & better half.
Midway through the second quarter, the Elephants got a boost from import defensive back Lawrence "LA" Atkinson, who returned a punt 65 yards to cut the Bergamo lead to 21-12. Luke hit Taber for the two point conversion to make it 21-14. The Elephant supporters (aka those in the picture above plus Luke's parents) went crazy.
Elephants celebrate LA's punt return TD while Bergamo's heads were down.
In Italy, every gesture has a meaning, and I can't quite decipher if this is a first down signal, a friendly gesture to a friend in the lower part of the stands, or disgust at how someone is driving. Also of note: Bullhorn in the lower left of the screen, which in a bizarre-twist would play "Happy Birthday" in a series of annoying beeps.
The Elephants got the ball back one more time before the half, and quickly drove down the field. With no scoreboard and no clock, we could do nothing but gaze at the medieval fortress down the street from the stadium and guess how much time remained. It was actually very similar to European soccer, where 'stoppage time' is kept by the ref on the field and it is really anyone's guess. My guess is that it's whenever the ref feels like it. Luckily, there was time for one final play and Luke threw a beautiful 40 yard post to Taber as time (may or may not have) expired.
HALFTIME SCORE: Bergamo 21, Elephants 14
Being that this was my first Italian league game that I wasn't playing in, I was fortunate enough to have time to investigate what was going on. The first interesting thing I discovered was the Italian Zamboni.
No... not this kind of Zamboni.
YES! Italian Zamboni hard at work!
While most of you immediately assumed when I said ZAMBONI that I meant the famous self-propelled ice resurfacing machine invented by one Frank Zamboni of Paramount, California in 1949 (US Patent #2,642,679), I actually meant the guy that appears to re-draw the field of Italian league football games! This diligent worker braved the elements to retrace the sidelines and both 30 yard lines in RED so that the fans in the stands could better see the action. No word yet on Frank Zamboni's Italian heritage, although rumor has it he grew up near Agrigento.
Could this non-descript door and humble "BAR" sign lead to paydirt?
YES! Italian football coffee bar!
The second thing I got to discover was the half-time food. While I was expecting hot dogs, in turn I found a very authentic Italian caffe just steps from the endzone. It was serving strong espresso (of course no cappuccino - it was after 10am) and a variety of pastries. If only Matt would have known last year - he would have been unstoppable on Nutella Bianco Cornettos!
Offense going to work on a late drive.
In the second half, the Elephants battled hard. The defense stepped up with a number of key stops. I was really impressed with their improved speed, physical presence, and teamwork this season. However, they couldn't quite contain Bergamo QB LittleJohn (Best name ever?) Bradshaw out of Morgan State, who broke a 40 yard TD run (his third of the day) to give Bergamo a 28-21 third quarter lead.
The offense twice moved the ball inside the 15 yard line, led by receiver Claudio Mangano who had a number of brave catches over the middle. However, both times the Elephants came away empty handed after getting a couple unbelievably poor spots by the refs and some untimely penalties (also unbelievable.) In a last ditch effort, a late pass over the middle was intercepted by Bergamo QB turned safety LittleJohn Bradshaw (when your name is LittleJohn you are pretty much unstoppable against anything other than the Sheriff of Nottingham, one Claudio Mangano) who returned the ball 90 yards to seal the victory for Bergamo.
FINAL SCORE: Bergamo 35, Catania 21
I was extremely proud of the way the Elephants battled, especially in the bad weather conditions and against a team like Bergamo. I think they learned a lot about themselves that they can hopefully build upon in the upcoming weeks. The most important thing is that they learn to STAY TOGETHER when tough things happen, which I am sure they will.
POST-GAME SIGHTING: OBI WON CANNOLI!
The real play of the day: Claudio brought Matt a shipment of fresh cannoli from Catania! Look at the pure joy on his face, joined by running back Enrico Lombardo (#37) and Lucky.
The Grin. The White Fingerprints. The Addiction.
Last year Matt earned, and I do mean EARNED, the nickname Obi-Won Cannoli after his addiction to these ricotta-filled sicilian deserts. I must admit they do taste a little bit like heaven, with the sweet ricotta center, crispy shell, and all important pistachio SLANT on the ends, but Matt took it a step two far by averaging double figures each week. I must stop, I am salivating right now.
Real Final Score: GOOD MEMORIES!!!
It was awesome to get to share some time with our good friends and see them play! (And yes, new Raiders teammate Alexander Hoad did look at me a little funny when he saw me and my Italian friends kissing on the cheek.) I wish them nothing but the best this season, and just being around all of them made me remember the PURE JOY it was taking the field with them!
THE USUAL SUSPECTS: No game is complete without a post game smoke.
~ J. Twice
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