A Win is a Win

The trip to Budapest was a success all the way around. We ended up winning the game 39-7 and everyone made it there and back just fine. The game wasn't nearly as pretty as the score would indicate. A win is a win none the less and it gives a starting point to move from. There is a lot of work to be done and we must get much better in order to get to where we want to go.


While we won fairly handily, there were some down spots. Most importantly, we got hit by the injury bug which we can't afford. Joe Sturdivant injured a knee and will be out this week as well as next week. That really hurts because Joe is a guy we could plug into multiple spots on both offense and defense plus he is a great leader and teammate. Also OL/DL Tobi Biehl got a knee injury and was out for the second half of the game. Heading into this weeks game, he will likely play, but he is going to be less than %100.

The game itself was quite the experience. A big cluster if you will. Suffice it to say, I have been involved in sandlot pickup games that were more well organized and cleanly run. This was due to a number of factors. #1 The officiating was anywhere from terrible to downright dreadful. They just don't have enough experience or know how to properly interperate the rules to make quality calls. #2 The field was 90 yards long and probably about 47 yards wide. So not a regulation field because it was on a soccer field. #3 No game clock or play clock. The officials had both the game and play clock on their watch. The play clock was ridiculously fast too. It would start almost immediately after the play was whistled dead. That forced us to rush a little bit with our play calls and getting them into the huddle. #4 We were traveling with a skelton crew. This meant no athletic trainer or no one in charge of water/equipment. #5 Like I mentioned before, the travel was going to be a grind and it most certainly was. All in all, the travel was as smooth as possible and went off without a hitch.


The city of Budapest was like you would expect a formet Soviet bloc city to look like. There were parts that looked amazing and just like any major industrialized city. Other parts looked very rough and poor. After the game we had dinner downtown and spent a few hours walking around and taking pictures. We then jumped on the bus to Vienna and then took the train back to Hohenems. I went to bed at 7 in the evening and didn't wake up until morning. I was exhausted.

Now we are preparing to play the Vienna Vikings and we will have our hands full. They are one of the premier teams in Austria and all of Europe. As you might imagine, they have a bit more money and a better set up than we do. We plan on giving them all they can handle and we do have the benefit of having played a game while this will be their first game of the year.






That is all for now. Hope all is well back home. Take care

--Josh