Friday, 26 May, 2017:
My day started my day bright and early but I was secure in the knowledge that . . .
San Gines hot chocolate loving
Laurie Contreras would be
in Sweden in just . . .
MORE DAYS!
The reason for my 6:00 a.m. wake up was that I needed to be in Stockholm Central train station in time to catch a train that would whisk me away two hours west of Stockholm to the interesting city of Örebro.
And why Örebro you ask?
It was time for the biggest game
of Sweden's Superserien regular
season to date
Örebro would be hosting Carlstad
at 6:30 p.m.
As you can see by the league standings above, The Black Knights and the Crusaders are easily the two best teams in the 2017 Superserien.
The 5-0 Örebro Black Knights have outscored their opponents by an aggregate score of 264 to 6!
Meanwhile the seven time defending Superserien Champion Carlstad Crusaders were also 5-0 and they have outpointed their opponents by a tally of 245 to 40.
It should be a great game that would be broadcast live to all interested American football aficionados in Sweden!
By the way, Carlstad has won every game between these two old-time rivals since 1999.
But first, I had to get there.
The 565 bus got me near
Stockholm Central with lots
of time to spare
A cool theater appeared while walking the final quarter mile to Stockholm Central.
Stockholm Central
The boarding process was neat and efficient, I was in Örebro after a comfortable ride exactly on time.
Outside of Örebro Central
train station
Now for the hard part, how to get to my hotel? I knew that it was near the Örebro Slott, so I followed the signs.
The Havana Cafe was tempting
Anybody need a spare chair?
People appeared small in Örebro
The Örebro Slott
It dates from the 14th-century!
Part of the moat
Solid Construction
Random Rampaging Equine
EUREKA!
I found my Hotell
Yes, two Ls is correct!
Game Day Poster
in the Behrn Hotell
I had a few hours to kill, so I asked the lady at the Hotell's front desk for advice on which way to go for a stroll.
She pointed me in the direction
of Örebro's canal system
Serene
Tranquil
The canal's path took me right to Örebro's Wadköping Open Air Museum.
Authentic looking
Brian FitzGerald would have
trouble with the design of
this building
Quaint museum which was gratis
A wooden bowl for son Michael's
Civil war Reenactments
I've been searching for nearly a year and finally found it for him today.
More of . . .
. . . Örebro's Canal system
Man? Horse? Archer?
An Örebro Slott photo . . .
. . . and another
A statue in front of Örebro's
City Hall
Careful, HE HAS AN AX!
At 4:00 p.m., I finally got the chance to meet long-time internet friend and Mr. American Football in EuroBall, Roger Kelly, face-to-face for the first time.
He was my ride to the game.
The Behrn Arena
Jennifer the Black Knights'
Press Relations Liaison
Roger was here to cover the game for his American Football International website and Jennifer really helped us out a lot when we first arrived at Behrn Arena.
Roger and me
At long last, I met an old friend.
GOOD TIMES INDEED!
Danny Mitchell and me
Danny is the Carlstad Crusaders OC. He also mentioned to me that he played his college ball at Willamette University.
When queried, he answered "Why yes, I know Brandon Bennett, he was my coach at Willamette."
Brandon was our OUTSTANDING OL/DL in Sicily in 2008 with the Catania Elephants.
In other words, I am so old that I coached a coach's coach.
SMALL WORLD INDEED!
Johan Stål and Roger Kelly
Johan has been a great WR/DB for the Crusaders for several years now.
An estimated 1,900 fans
were in attendance
That is a lot for a EuroBall game.
This choir did a splendid job
singing the Swedish Anthem
Here come the
Carlstad Crusaders!
And here come the home team
Örebro Black Knights!
GREAT beard on Black Knights'
HC Adam Fiddler
Great KO Return by the
Black Knights to start the game
Good opening drive
Örebro center was a BEAST!
Inside Run Blocking
Airborne Crusader!
For the first of three times in
the opening half, Örebro failed
to score once in the Red Zone
The Crusaders though would
NOT be denied
#6 for Carlsbad on the
Dying Cockroach block
Number 6 is Sebastian Johansson, a Swede who played college football at Marshall University and had a tryout with the San Diego Chargers last Summer.
Behrn Stadium has not one but
TWO functioning scoreboards!
As you can see, it was Carlstad in a romp, 34-0.
So much for a competitive game.
Sebastian Johansson
up close and personal!
The Örebro Slott
at "Magic Hour"
Overall it was . . .
A GREAT DAY FOR AMERICAN FOOTBALL!
Finally meeting Roger Kelly was a delight as well.
Five more days . . .
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