The Adventures of Baron Von Robinson

Andrew Robinson is playing semi-pro football in Germany and blogging about it? Andrew Robinson is playing semi-pro football in Germany and blogging about it.

Our favorite quarterback-turned-tight-end (all due respect to Cody Catalina) has resurfaced across the pond back at his rightful position.  Robinson arrived there in June and has taken over as their starting quarterback.  As for who they are and what this is all about, I'll let him explain:

The Hornets are currently in the GFL2 (German Football League: 2nd Division). Last year, they were in the GFL3 (3rd division) and came in 1st place, thus advancing to the 2nd division, with the last place team from the GFL2 being forced to drop to the GFL3. The transition to the GFL2 has not been a smooth one to say the least, as the Hornets are currently in last place and are in great danger of being relegated back to the GFL3. To put things in even greater perspective, the Hornets’ record (as of June 18th) is 0-7, and they have been outscored 35 to 229 by their GFL2 opponents. Needless to say, my expectations were not great considering I stepped off of the plane 2 days earlier, had 1 practice with the team, had not played QB in about a year and a half, and the Hornets’ dismal performance thus far in their season.

So as you can imagine, Drew is their savior.  As he should be.

The league itself is notable due to the fact that the teams involved have some of the best team names I've ever seen. The Saarland Hurricanes, Kaiserslautern Pikes, Ball Bearings Schweinfurt, Dusseldorf Panther (singular), Freiburg Sacristians, Magdeburg Virgin Guards, Neumünster Castle Demons and Frankfurt Oder Red Cocks to name a few. And that doesn't include some of the teams up in the main GFL like the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns.

As for Robinson, when he's not busy taking in the sights, fine arts and delicious Bavarian beer, he's playing quarterback again. And leading the Hornets back to glory.

The Hornets almost won their first game with Robinson, who put up a solid performance (12 rushes 108 yards 1 TD, 58% Comp Rate 286 yards 1 TD 0 INT).  But it was the 2nd game of the season when Robinson exploded for a 2007 Louisville-game-type performance to lead them to their first victory of the season.  Robinson's stat line was gaudy (15 rushes 140 yards 1 TD, 56 passing attempts 385 yards 5 TD’s 1 INT).  IN his third game, the Hornets found valiently but once again fell just a little short, losing 31-27 to Holzgerlingen Twister. 

That last game was a microcosm of what life is like on the road in the German Football League:

Because of the injuries and some other extenuating circumstances, we were only traveling with about 35 players, which left our depth situation interesting to say the least. Also, I was informed before we arrived at Holzgerlingen that their field is nicknamed "The Beach" mainly because of the sand that is packed into their "Astroturf"-like field. Anybody who is familiar with Astroturf knows that it is not fun to play on because of the turf burns and scrapes one experiences when tackling or being tackled onto the turf. Also, there is concrete laid beneath the very thin turf lining, which makes those falls extra hard. If that wasn’t enough, we only brought our blue jerseys and not our white ones, and because Holzgerlingen was the home team, they chose to wear their blue jerseys. This forced us to wear a bunch of old Twister jerseys and I got lucky number 13. And if that wasn’t enough, the field was not regulation size and has to be a good 10-15 yards short. And oh yeah, it was raining.

Andrew's not the only Orange over there.  Former SU LB Jake Flaherty plays for the Platting Black Hawks. Lots more photos of Andrew and the Hornets here and we shall eagerly anticipate any updates as he attempts to pull a Devo and turn Hanau into a champion.

In the meantime I leave you with Andrew's discovery that German Football League fans do have one thing Syracuse fans don't.  Access to hard liquor.

As I’m wandering around the stadium, getting acclimated to my surroundings, I notice that at the concessions stand, in addition to the German beer, there is hard liquor being offered, including Jack Daniels. I can’t even imagine the sorry state of student sections at the Carrier Dome, and elsewhere around the country, if college stadiums started serving Jack Daniels at football games!

I leave you with some game footage of Andrew (#3) and the Hornets (in blue).  Somebody take that guy's horn away!

HUGE H/T: BCSTour & PFCWillReiner