Grisham Days

Week 1 was a much anticipated match up with the 10 time defending IFL champions, the hated Lions of Bergamo, who are our rivals both in fiction and reality. In John Grisham's novel, Playing for Pizza, the Panthers lose to the Lions in the regular season but end up facing them again in the Superbowl where they pull off a dramatic upset. Staying true to Grisham's vision, we ended up losing a hard fought game 39-18, although it was closer than the score indicated. 

There was an incredible amount of build-up (for Italian standards) heading into the game. Not only was it the season opener where we would get our first chance to show what we can do,  but Big Grish (as Corey has started referring to him) was in attendance and there was a lot of buzz surrounding the team and the book. There had been quite a few articles in the local papers and magazines (including one which did a side-by-side comparison with Danny and Tom Brady!) and the night before the game there was a big press conference with Grisham and some members of the team. Basically it was the first time the city of Parma was interested in American football so we had some pressure to put on a good show. 

The Game Day atmosphere was actually quite impressive as our side of the stadium was full and about half of Bergamo's side. The theme from Gladiator was blaring as we made our entrance and everyone was pretty jacked up for the kickoff. The game started out at a fast pace as they jumped out ahead after a long pass that got them deep into our territory. 3 plays later they ran a designed QB bootleg and he walked in untouched as our D-end was clueless about where the ball was. We responded on the next drive as Danny dropped back and heaved one into the endzone to Corey who made an amazing catch over the head of the defender. Our defense couldn't stop anything though as they marched down the field again, this time capping it off with a 15 yard pass. Our offense struggled a bit with the fierce pass rush of the Lions, who we found out practice 5 times a week and have scheduled work out times (much different than the majority of the guys we play with whose diets usually consist of ham, coffee, and cigarettes). The Lions offense kept up the pace and by the end of the first quarter it was 21-6. We managed to pull within one score as Danny burst through the middle on a QB draw and scampered 25 yards for the score. The Lions regained their two-score lead right before half time though as one of our corners got beat deep. We came out ready to mount a comeback in the second half but penalties and dropped passes killed any momentum we got going. Danny hit Corey on another deep ball for his second score of the day but it was too little to late and we came up short in the end. 

Although we were pretty beat up after the game from going both ways and special teams (high school was a long time ago!) we managed to make it out to Polipo's for the post-game festivities. Big Grish was the guest of honor and I think he got a little more than he asked for, although he took everything in stride. Beers were flowing, pizzas were flying everywhere, and the Italians were singing dirty drinking songs and declaring their hatred for Bergamo. I can't wait to see what happens when we win!

Pre-Season

It's been over a month since we arrived but I'm just getting around to setting this up so I figured I would backtrack a bit for those who haven't heard from me. Corey, Danny and I flew to Italy February 29th (yes it was a leap year) where we met up with our 2 roommates / coaches. The offensive line coach is James "Big Bear" Bonelli, a California native who played at Notre Dame and more recently was a sales rep for Caterpillar. James is a pretty laid back guy whose self-proclaimed favorite things in life are sleeping and eating peanut butter. Although he looks a bit intimidating at first glance (see pictures) Big Bear tends to make friends wherever he goes. His last semester of college he was a pizza delivery guy on campus and usually ended up staying for a few slices wherever he went. Coaching the defense is John "Little Bear" Perrigo. He grew up in Montana, where as a mullet-draped teen he spent his time hunting, fishing, and blowing things up. John is the eldest of the group at 26 and is probably the best cook out of the group. He was also the only one who could drive a stick-shift upon arrival...unfortunately he showed up 2 days after we blew out the clutch on our 5-seater Fiat. 

Our Coach Andrew is a really cool guy and has been a big help getting us settled in. He's been thankful to have some fellow Americans here finally and loves to trash on the Italians. He's a few years older than us and played LB at Illinois State before playing for the Panthers in '04. Aside from coaching the Panthers, Andrew works for a vegetable exporter and can tell you everything there is to know about olives, tomatoes, etc. He never left Parma and is engaged to an Italian girl named Bella. She's a great cook and usually has us over for dinner at least once a week. Bella's parents live nearby and they also usually join us for a meal. Families here usually stick pretty close together and its not uncommon for people to live with their parents until their 30 years old. Bella's younger brother Zambo plays defensive end and he's been showing us around to all the bars and discos. 

As far as the team goes we have a really solid group of guys and they have been very welcoming. Players range in age from early 20's to late 40's and are all a bunch of characters. One of our cornerbacks, Tomas, is 35, decked out in tattoos and has been both a professional bob sledder and heli-skiier. Another guy named Cola (short for Colacino), who plays defensive line, comes from the south of Italy and is always shouting in a dialect that nobody understands. He's good for at least one personal foul a game and usually has to be held by the belt so he doesn't jump offsides. The level of play isn't too bad though, as most have been playing for a number of years. Lanzo, our middle linebacker and defensive captain is legit and is a natural hitter. We also have a good Italian running back who is a tough north-south runner who can carry the load up to 20-30 times a game. I've been playing all over the place on offense, running-back, slot receiver, and even some tight end and Rover on defense (basically what I played at Harvard). Practice is pretty intense and these guys put a lot into it considering they work all day and don't get paid to show up to practice.

So the first few weeks were pretty much a whirlwind just trying to settle in and get used to the different culture. Everything shuts down during the middle of the day so you really have to plan your day accordingly. The city of Parma is fairly small but it is a very nice place with plenty to do. I've been told that it is one of the richer cities in Italy the people here are especially into fashion even for Italians (that explains some of the stares we get when we go out in public). We don't exactly have a demanding schedule as we practice 3 times a week from 8:30 - 11 pm so the rest of our time was filled with going out most nights and sleeping til 11 or 12 (I think we still haven't lost our jet lag). We've seen a lot of sights and so far we've been to Milan, Bergamo, Verona, and we also spent a weekend in Frankfurt, Germany. The architecture around the city is pretty cool to look at and the art inside the churches is beyond anything we have back home. The food is also amazing although there's not much variety. Anything you order, whether its pizza or pasta, is most likely going to have some kind of pork product along with parmesan cheese. That about sums up our first month, next I'll re-cap our first few games.