Blitz looking for Victory in Europe
With less than two weeks remaining before the EFAF Cup final in Finsbury Park, the British American Football community is casting aside old rivalries and throwing its support behind the host team.
On the 2nd July, the London Blitz will become the first British team to contest a major European final since the PA Knights’ loss to the Tyrolean Raiders in 2004. Regardless of the result against their Serbian opponents, the Kragujevac Wild Boars, the Blitz’s place in the final marks a new high in their meteoric rise to become the top team in Britain.
Founded in 1984, the Ealing Eagles enjoyed mixed success in the 80s and early 90s when British American Football last enjoyed nationwide popularity. In 1987, they earned promotion to the Budweiser League’s Premier Division, reaching the playoffs in their first season. In 1994, the team were forced to merge with the Woking Generals due to a lack of players and played one season as the Hayes Generals. The following year, the Generals became the London Blitz and went 8-0-1 in their inaugural year.
In 2006, following promotion to the top tier of British football, the Blitz appointed Mark Moss as Head Coach after the previous coach left the team. In a remarkable first season, Coach Moss led the Blitz to their first ever national championship game where they were finally defeated by cross town rivals the London Olympians. They have been practically unstoppable ever since. From the time that Moss took over as Head Coach, the Blitz have reached every Britbowl, winning three out of five.
This domestic success has allowed the Blitz to take British football to European shores. Last year they reached the semi finals of the EFAF Cup, losing in Sweden to the Carlstad Crusaders. This year they have gone one step further and have not only reached the final, but will be hosting it at their home in Finsbury Park. Ed Morgan, club secretary and starting safety says that the team’s success is down to a few simple principles “No player is bigger than the team; Build it and they will come and finally; work hard, play hard. We have some great personalities and leadership at the club and that has driven the whole process”. He also emphasises the impact that Coach Moss has made at the club, “He has led from the from the front and made sure players and coaches focus and work hard but also have a great time playing football”.
There is no secret to the Blitz’s success. They practice two times per week during the season. They have basic facilities and a modest fan base. In accordance with British rules on amateurism, they do not pay any of their players. They are very similar in many ways to many of their opponents in the British American Football Association Community League. The culture of winning is borne out of the responsibility that rests on each player’s shoulders. “It is an expectation that players stick to the lifting programme and watch game film on opponents”, explains Morgan, “the whole club is built on players taking responsibility for themselves and their team mates in terms of on the field and off it. Players have to practice well out of responsibility to their team mates”.
This responsibility is driven not only by the coaches but by the players too. “All the players take pride in their individual strength and conditioning and lifting competitions in the off season are hotly contested”, says Morgan, “for the last two seasons we have worked with Strength and Conditioning coach Cameron Harris who has pushed the players and their expectations to another level”. The players have created a culture that breeds competition in the squad and that translates to a high level of performance on the field.
But it is not just in Football that the Blitz have tasted success this year. They won BBC London’s Amateur Team of the Year award earlier this season and have appeared on a range of national TV game shows in an effort to raise club funds. Morgan is extremely modest on the subject. “Our profile is helped because of the success that we have had and our proximity to the major broadcasters in London. The profile of the sport is rising all the time at the moment, especially with the introduction of the NFL Wembley games”. Undoubtedly the Wembley games are doing a great deal to raise the profile of the sport, but it is the efforts of clubs like the Blitz at the grass roots level that are driving the popularity of the sport as a participatory activity and a spectator sport.
There remains a long way to go however and the Blitz are doing their bit to make the sport more attractive to potential fans. “We have built up a steady following over the last few years”, explains Morgan, “We are trying to do whatever we can to improve the fan experience at Finsbury Park. We have done particularly well over the last couple of years with Saturday EFAF Cup games with lots of other British American football teams coming out to support and see what is going on”.
A huge boost to this effort was the Blitz’s successful bid to host the EFAF Cup final on 2nd July at Finsbury Park. “Having the game at home is a fantastic opportunity for us to share the experience with the City, community, fans, friends and family”, explains Morgan. “We are pleased that we have Sky Sports cameras coming down to film the game and we have the whole of British American football behind us so we are expecting a bumper turnout”.
The final will certainly be the biggest game involving a British team on British soil in many years. The Blitz have worked hard over the past five years to become the nation’s top team and it is certain that the entire British American Football community will be behind them in their quest to add European silverware to their growing trophy cabinet.
