Berlin Thunder
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| Berlin Thunder | |||||
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| Year Founded | 1999 | ||||
| Year Retired | 2007 | ||||
| Home Field | Olympic Stadium | ||||
| City | Berlin, Germany | ||||
| Team Colors | Black, Green, Tan, Orange, White | ||||
| Head Coach | John Allen | ||||
| Championships | |||||
World Bowls (3)
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The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europa, which is a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental league for the National Football League. Most of the players were young American professional players assigned by NFL teams to receive additional game experience and coaching. Coaching staffs are predominantly provided by the NFL for developmental purposes as well. In addition, "national" players, or non-American players, compete on each team. Berlin's 2006 squad included players from Germany, Finland, England, Mexico and Japan. Players and coaches had their living expenses paid for by the league while in Europe in addition to their salaries[citation needed]. They currently play their home games at Olympic Stadium.
The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season.
The Thunder have won the World Bowl 3 times: 2001, 2002 and 2004 (a year that they went 9-1).
They also made it to the World Bowl in 2005, but were narrowly defeated by the Amsterdam Admirals. The final score was 27-21.
Two Berlin quarterbacks, Rohan Davey (2004) and Dave Ragone (2005), were named NFL Europe Offensive Most Valuable Playerss. Linebacker Rich Scanlon (2005) was named NFL Europe Defensive MVP. In 2006, the Thunder had three players earn All-NFL Europe honors: guard Chad Beasley and safety (football position) Anthony Floyd earned all-league honors at their respective positions and German defensive end Christian Mohr was honored as the national player on the defensive all-league team.
On April Fools Day 2006, the Thunder recorded their very first tie in franchise history. Trailing the Hamburg Sea Devils 17-0 at halftime, the Thunder erased their deficit to tie it up, going into overtime. Unfortunately, neither team could come up with a point in the extra period. This was only the second tie in the history of NFL Europa. The previous tie came in the 1992 season between the Birmingham Fire and the London Monarchs. The final score for that game was also 17-17.
[edit] Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin Thunder (NFL Europe) | |||||
| 1999 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th League | -- |
| 2000 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6th League | -- |
| 2001 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2nd League | Won World Bowl IX (Dragons) |
| 2002 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2nd League | Won World Bowl X (Fire) |
| 2003 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th League | -- |
| 2004 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1st League | Won World Bowl XII (Galaxy) |
| 2005 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Lost World Bowl XIII (Admirals) |
| 2006 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 6th League | -- |
| 2007 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6th League | -- |
| Total | 45 | 49 | 1 | (including playoffs) | |
[edit] Notable players
David Akers - K (1999)- Chris Barclay - RB (2007)
- Lang Campbell - QB (2005)
Rohan Davey- QB (2004)- Anthony Floyd - S (2005)
- Ben Hamilton - C (2002)
Israel Idonije - DE (2004)- Dave Ragone - QB (2005)
- Brian Simnjanovski - K (2005)
- Brian Waters - C/OG (2000)
See also: Category:Berlin Thunder players
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