American Football in Poland

This picture was taken by Ada Iniarska on the 20th of September and it is of my buddy Oskar and I getting ready for our second football game of the day.  We are currently playing in the PLFA 8 and our final games will be in the championship tournament on the 12th of October. I think that I will be making many posts about American football here in Poland :) .  When I first started coming here to Poland in 2003 there was no league and any mention of football would bring up a soccer discussion.  Information about the football leagues in Poland can be found on the PLFA website www.plfa.pl which has all of the team stats, upcoming matches and rankings.  There are a total of five different football leagues here in Poland as follows: Topliga, PLFA I, PLFA II, PLFA 8 and PLFA J.  Topliga or Top League is a league that consists of the countries top 8 national teams.  PLFA I is a league of 8 teams which hope to play well enough to gain entry into the Top League.  PLFA II is a league of 21 different teams and it consists of teams that either hope to play well enough to gain entry into the Top League or they are the second teams for football organizations that already have a team that plays in the Top League.  PLFA 8 is a league of 19 different teams that consist of amateur players that have just played in Poland for their first season.  PLFA 8 is 8 on 8 football instead of the traditional 11 on 11,  This league is also a series of 13 different 4 game tournaments that determine an overall champion.  PLFA J is a league consisting of Junior players that are ages 12-17.  So my first season of playing football here in Poland I played for the "B" Eagles in PLFA II or the "Beagles" as we are called we went 4-2 overall and I am still playing for the Eagles in the PLFA 8.  I really enjoy the enthusiasm and the comradery the players have that are playing the game.  After a game I would say that at least fifty percent of the time the two teams will get together for a photo and share a laugh.  For anyone who has played the game, you should know how much fun it is and in Poland you will get the opportunity to relive some of that former glory you had playing in the USA.  There are many different levels to this sport as I have highlighted above in my post so there is a lot of opportunity to find a spot on one of the many teams.  This is a very exciting time in Poland and I am working out on the field and in the weight room and trying my best to share my love for the sport with all of my new friends in Poland :) .