- New Yorker Lions
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New Yorker Lions Founded 1987 League German Football League Team history Braunschweig Lions (1987-2010)
Hygia Lions (2010-2011)
NewYorker Lions (2011 - Present)Stadium Eintracht-Stadion Based in Braunschweig, Germany Team colors White and Red
President Claus Holtz Head coach Phil Hickey Manager Phil Hickey Championships Eurobowl: 1999, 2003
German Bowl: 1997–1999, 2005–2008Division titles GFL North: 1998, 1999, 2002–2007 Website www.newyorker-lions.de/ Logo used from 1987 until 2011.The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.[1]
Under this name, the Lions became the most successful American football club in Germany, winning seven German Bowls as well as two Eurobowls. From 1997 to 2008, the team played in twelve consecutive German Bowls.[2]
Contents
History
The Braunschweig Lions were formed in 1987 and the new team entered the tier-three Regionalliga Nord for that season, where it came third. The Lions were nevertheless promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga, now the German Football League 2, for the following season and spent the next six years at this level. The team was never outstanding at this level for the first five years, only finishing once with a percentage above 0.500 in this era.[3]
In 1993, the Lions finally managed to win their division and earn promotion to the American Football Bundesliga, now the German Football League. The team performed well at this level in its first season there, finishing fourth and qualifying for the play-offs, where they were knocked-out in the quarter finals. The following season, 1995, saw the club miss the play-offs but in 1996 they returned and reached the semi-finals, losing to the Hamburg Blue Devils and beginning what was to become a strong football rivalry in the following decade.[3]
The year 1997 saw the beginning of the golden era of the Braunschweig Lions and the most successful era of any American football club in Germany to date. The Lions were to play in every one of the next twelve German Bowls.[3]
The club won the first three of those, the first one against the Cologne Crocodiles and title number two and three against the Hamburg Blue Devils, the latest in front of a record crowd of over 30,000 in Hamburg. That year, the Lions also took out the Eurobowl, once more playing a final against the Blue Devils there, too. The next five seasons, the Lions were to lose five German Bowls in a row. The 2000 edition saw revenge for the Cologne Crocodiles, the following three were all lost to the Blue Devils. The fifth and final loss came to the Berlin Adler.[3] In this era, the only title the club did manage to win was another Eurobowl in 2003.
The Lions then once more turned fortunes around and managed to set a new record by winning the next four German Bowls in a row. In the four finals, they faced four different opponents. In 2005, the Blue Devils were their Bowl opponent for a sixth time, in 2006 and 2007, it had to face opposition from the southern division, the Marburg Mercenaries and the Stuttgart Scorpions, while the final victory came against the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in 2008.[3]
After winning those four consecutive titles, they faced drastic restructuring in 2009 and did therefore not qualify for the play-offs at all, but returned in 2010, when they lost to the Marburg Mercenaries in the quarter finals.[3]
In November 2010, the club announced that the team would carry a new name for the 2011 season. Their name is shared with the NewYorker, a sponsor of the team.[1] The Lions had an average 2011 season, in which they won only four season games and finished well clear of the play off ranks.[4]
Teams
Apart from the first team, the club also fields a reserve side, two youth teams, the Junior Lions and the Red Cubs 94, a Flag Football team and a women's team, the Lady Lions. All six teams are part of the mother club 1. FFC Braunschweig.[5]
Honours
- Eurobowl
- Champions: 1999, 2003
- Runners-up: 2002
- German Bowl
- Champions: (7) 1997–1999, 2005–2008
- Runners-up: (5) 2000–2004
- EFL
- Participations: (7) 1998–2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009
- GFL
- Northern Division champions: (8) 1998, 1999, 2002–2007
- Play-off qualification : (15) 1994, 1996–2008, 2010
- League membership : (18) 1994–present
- GFL 2
- Northern Division champions: 1993
German Bowl appearances
The clubs appearances in the German Bowl:[2]
Bowl Date Champions Runners-Up Score Location Attendance XIX October 4, 1997 Braunschweig Lions Cologne Crocodiles 26-23 Hamburg 14,800 XX October 3, 1998 Braunschweig Lions Hamburg Blue Devils 20-14 Hamburg 22,100 XXI October 9, 1999 Braunschweig Lions Hamburg Blue Devils 25-24 Hamburg 30,400 XXII October 7, 2000 Cologne Crocodiles Braunschweig Lions 31-29 Braunschweig 20,312 XXIII October 6, 2001 Hamburg Blue Devils Braunschweig Lions 31-13 Hanover 23,193 XXIV October 12, 2002 Hamburg Blue Devils Braunschweig Lions 16-13 Braunschweig 21,097 XXV October 11, 2003 Hamburg Blue Devils Braunschweig Lions 37-36 Wolfsburg 20,517 XXVI October 9, 2004 Berlin Adler Braunschweig Lions 10-7 Braunschweig 17,200 XXVII October 8, 2005 Braunschweig Lions Hamburg Blue Devils 31-28 Hanover 19,512 XXVIII October 7, 2006 Braunschweig Lions Marburg Mercenaries 31-13 Braunschweig 15,897 XXIX October 6, 2007 Braunschweig Lions Stuttgart Scorpions 27-6 Stuttgart 8,152 XXX September 29, 2008 Braunschweig Lions Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 20-14 Frankfurt 16,177 - Champions in bold.
Recent seasons
Recent seasons of the Lions:[3][6][7][8][4]
Year Division Finish Points Pct. Games W D L PF PA Postseason 2005 GFL (North) 1st 18–6 0.750 12 9 0 3 410 177 Won QF: Saarland Hurricanes (32–17)
Won SF: Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (33–8)
Won GB: Hamburg Blue Devils (31–28)2006 1st 22–2 0.917 12 11 0 1 483 165 Won QF: Darmstadt Diamonds (79–0)
Won SF: Stuttgart Scorpions (36–17)
Won GB: Marburg Mercenaries (31–13)2007 1st 23–1 0.958 12 11 1 0 354 166 Won QF: Weinheim Longhorns (55–26)
Won SF: Marburg Mercenaries (26–21)
Won GB: Stuttgart Scorpions (27–6)2008 2nd 17–7 0.708 12 8 1 3 328 214 Won QF: Munich Cowboys (32–13)
Won SF: Marburg Mercenaries (49–21)
Won GB: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (20–14)2009 5th 6–14 0.300 10 3 0 7 168 212 — 2010 4th 10–14 0.417 12 4 2 6 258 247 Lost QF: Marburg Mercenaries (21–31) 2011 6th 8–20 0.286 14 4 0 10 222 311 — - RR = Relegation round.
- QF = Quarter finals.
- SF = Semi finals.
- GB = German Bowl
References
- ^ a b NEW YORKER wird neuer Namensgeber der Braunschweiger Footballer (German) GFL website, published: 20 March 2011, accessed: 31 March 2011
- ^ a b Bowls GFL website, accessed: 1 January 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g Football History (German) Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 2 January 2010
- ^ a b GFL 2011 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 18 September 2011
- ^ 1. FFC Braunschweig website (German) accessed: 8 January 2011
- ^ GFL 2008 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011
- ^ GFL 2009 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011
- ^ GFL 2010 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011
External links
- (German) Official web site
- (German) German Football League official website
- (German) Football History Historic American football tables from Germany
German Football League · 2011 clubs GFL NorthAssindia Cardinals • Berlin Adler • Dresden Monarchs • Düsseldorf Panther • Kiel Baltic Hurricanes • Mönchengladbach Mavericks • New Yorker LionsSouthMarburg Mercenaries • Munich Cowboys • Plattling Black Hawks • Saarland Hurricanes • Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns • Stuttgart Scorpions • Wiesbaden PhantomsGFL 2 NorthBerlin Rebels • Cologne Falcons • Hamburg Blue Devils • Lübeck Cougars • Magdeburg Virgin Guards • Troisdorf JetsSouthBadener Greifs • Darmstadt Diamonds • Franken Knights • Frankfurt Pirates • Kirchdorf Wildcats • Holzgerlingen Twister • Rhein Neckar Bandits • Weinheim LonghornsGFL Juniors NorthWestCentralDarmstadt Diamonds • Gießen Golden Dragons • Kaiserslautern Pikes • Mainz Golden Eagles • Wiesbaden PhantomsSouthFranken Knights • Rhein-Neckar Bandits • Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns • Stuttgart Scorpions • Weinheim LonghornsRelated: German Bowl • Junior Bowl • List of American football teams in Germany Categories:- American football teams in Germany
- German Football League teams
- Sports clubs established in 1987
- Sport in Lower Saxony
- Braunschweig
- 1987 establishments in West Germany
- Eurobowl
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