Rhein Fire
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| Rhein Fire | |||||
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| Year Founded | 1995 | ||||
| Home Field | LTU Arena | ||||
| City | Düsseldorf, Germany | ||||
| Team Colors | Maroon, Black, Gold, White | ||||
| Head Coach | Rick Lantz | ||||
| Championships | |||||
World Bowls (2)
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The Rhein Fire is a franchise in NFL Europa, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Germany in 1995, the franchise was the relocated Birmingham Fire of the 1991-1992 WLAF seasons.
The team is based in Düsseldorf (and early on was occasionally referred to in the U.S. as the Düsseldorf Fire), playing its games in LTU Arena since the 2005 season. Prior to this the team played in Arena AufSchalke in nearby city Gelsenkirchen while LTU Arena was being built. The team shares facilities with the football (soccer) club Fortuna Düsseldorf. The Fire also hosted the 2005 World Bowl, where the Amsterdam Admirals upset the then-defending champion Berlin Thunder.
The Rhein Fire has been one of NFL Europa's most successful teams as far as fan appeal and competitively on the field. The team is based in an area of Germany that does not have a local Bundesliga team and American Football has become increasingly popular. The team itself has played for five World Bowl championships throughout its history, winning in 1998 (over the Frankfurt Galaxy) and 2000 (over the Scottish Claymores).
As with all teams in NFL Europa, the roster of players is predominantly comprised of American "developmental" players assigned by the member teams of the National Football League. These players live in Europe during the springtime season, as do their coaches, with their living expenses paid by the NFL in addition to their salaries, which are meager by professional sports standards. There are a small, but growing, number of "position players" of European extraction as well, and also European kicking specialists.
Contents |
[edit] Head Coaches
- Galen Hall (1995-2000)
- Pete Kuharcek (2001-2005)
- Jim Tomsula (2006-2007)
- Rick Lantz (2007-)
[edit] Notable players
Manfred Burgsmüller (1996-2002)
Byron Chamberlain (1996)- Bill Schroeder (1997)
- Mike Croel (1998)
- Patrick Gerigk (1998)
- Mike Quinn (1998)
- Marcus Robinson (1998)
- Danny Wuerffel (2000)
- Michael Lewis (2001)
- Jamal Robertson (2002)
- Drew Henson (2006)
Saverio Rocca (2006)
[edit] Season-By-Season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhein Fire (World League) | |||||
| 1995 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5th League | -- |
| 1996 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th League | -- |
| 1997 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Lost World Bowl V (Dragons) |
| Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) | |||||
| 1998 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Won World Bowl VI (Galaxy) |
| 1999 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd League | -- |
| 2000 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Won World Bowl VIII (Claymores) |
| 2001 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3rd League | -- |
| 2002 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Lost World Bowl X (Thunder) |
| 2003 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2nd League | Lost World Bowl XI (Galaxy) |
| 2004 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5th League | -- |
| 2005 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th League | -- |
| 2006 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd League | -- |
| Rhein Fire (NFL Europa) | |||||
| 2007 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Totals | 66 | 59 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
[edit] External links
- Rhein Fire web site (German)
- Fire-Universe Fanzine (German)
- NFL Europa: Rhein Fire (English)
- Videos from Rhein Fire (English)
| NFL Europa |
| Amsterdam Admirals | Berlin Thunder | Cologne Centurions | Frankfurt Galaxy | Hamburg Sea Devils | Rhein Fire Former teams: Barcelona Dragons | London Monarchs/England Monarchs| Scottish Claymores See also: World Bowl | Stadiums | WLAF |
