Rhein Fire
The
Rhein Fire is a franchise in
NFL Europe, formerly the "World League of American Football". Established in
Germany in
1995, depending on your view the franchise either was the resurrected and relocated
Birmingham Fire of the 1991-1992 WLAF seasons, or was a new and separate franchise.
The team is based in
Düsseldorf, returning there for the
2005 season having played its home games in the
Arena AufSchalke in the nearby city of
Gelsenkirchen for two years while the "LTU Arena" (the stadium it shares with the
football (soccer) club
Fortuna Düsseldorf) was being built on the site of the
Rheinstadion, torn down in 2002. The Fire also hosted the 2005
World Bowl, where the
Amsterdam Admirals upset the then-defending champion
Berlin Thunder.
The Rhein Fire has arguably been one of NFL Europe's most successful teams with regard to both fan appeal and competitively on the field, where it has played for five World Bowl championships, winning in 1998 (over the
Frankfurt Galaxy) and 2000 (over the
Scottish Claymores).
As with all teams in NFL Europe, the roster of players is predominantly comprised of American "developmental" players assigned by the member teams of the
National Football League. These players live in Europe during the springtime season, as do their coaches, with their living expenses paid by the NFL in addition to their salaries, which are meager by professional sports standards. There are a small, but growing, number of "position players" of European extraction as well, and also European kicking specialists.
*
Galen Hall (1995-2000)
*
Pete Kuharcek (2001-2005)
*
Jim Tomsula (2006-)
*
Manfred Burgsmüller (1996-2002)
*
Byron Chamberlain (1996)
*
Bill Schroeder (1997)
*
Mike Croel (1998)
*
Patrick Gerigk (1998)
*
Mike Quinn (1998)
*
Marcus Robinson (1998)
*
Danny Wuerffel (2000)
*
Michael Lewis (2001)
*
Jamal Robertson (2002)
*
Drew Henson (2006)
| Rhein Fire (World League) |
| 1995 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5th League | -- |
| 1996 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th League | -- |
| 1997 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Lost World Bowl V (Dragons) |
| Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) |
| 1998 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Won World Bowl VI |
| 1999 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd League | -- |
| 2000 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Won World Bowl VIII |
| 2001 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3rd League | -- |
| 2002 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st League | Lost World Bowl X (Thunder) |
| 2003 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2nd League | Lost World Bowl XI (Galaxy) |
| 2004 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5th League | -- |
| 2005 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th League | -- |
| 2006 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd League | -- |
| 59 | 0 | (including playoffs)
*Rhein Fire web site (German)
*Fire-Universe Fanzine (German)
*NFL Europe: Rhein Fire (English)
*Videos from Rhein Fire (English)
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