"JJ's Corner - Sieg über die Zweifler" (win above doubters)
By: Jabari Johnson
Hello Lion Nation!
Thanks for tuning in to another edition of JJ’s Corner. As you all know by now, we won our first game of the season against pre-season #1 in the South and last year’s opponent in the GFL Super Bowl the Stuttgart Scorpions.
The score was 27-9, a very decisive win for us. I think what this win did for us was to help us jell as a team.We became much closer, we learned to depend on one another and most important of all is we learned that we could win together.
Before that game, there where many people who doubted us. We knew that going into the game. But as we had our team meeting a few hours before the game in the hotel, we talked about believing in ourselves and believing in what the past great Lion teams have done and that is simple “WIN”.
The odds where stacked up against us. From people not believing and telling us, to some media believing that we may not win because of the old coach of BS who is now in Stuttgart, to having a new head coach here in BS. All of these odds where stacked up, but like Steffen Dölger said during the team meeting “we have to stick together and we must come back to Braunschweig with a win”.As the team meeting went on, and as I could look into the eyes of other players and see who was ready to play and who was not, my eyes began to look up at this HUGE HUGE Guy.
All I could see was Ludger. Ludger was standing and as he begins to speak, it was like if the entire hotel had shut down just to listen to what he had to say.
It was an amazing thing to be apart of. The Bus ride to the game was amazing because nobody had anything to say. It was as if we were all meditating and seeing in our minds what we were going to do out there. As the game went on, I could see that everything what we had talked about in the meeting before the game was happening. It is an awesome feeling when a team can come together and do what some people thought was not possible, and that is, WIN.
After the game, the celebration was great. But the bus ride home was even better. I have never witnessed anything in my life as to what happened on that bus coming back. I thought partying when you win a game back in the states was crazy, as Ryan said “the states have nothing on how the Germans party”.They where singing and stripping. Some of the guys thought it was cool to get naked and sit on side of the people who where sleeping and take pictures, and I am not going to mention any names but they know who they are. It was absolutely funny and great to witness as well. But I guess that is what happens when you win a big game and then you have a 6 and half hour bus ride back home. You have to do something to pass the time right?
Well now that we are back and settled down, it is now time that we prepare ourselves for this next game against the Dresden Monarchs. As of now, we don’t know much because they have yet to have a game. But what we do know is that they have one of the best safeties in the GFL if not the best and that is Lee Johnson. Lee Johnson #11 at that time, played with Hamburg in 2005 against us in the German Bowl in Hannover. They also have a running back from the NFL in 2006 in Tony Hollings. So they should be a much-improved team than the years previous. It is our job though to go out there and prove to them and the fans that they are no match for the Lions.I want to thank the fans for making the trip down to Stuttgart in support of us, and thank you to everyone who listened on the radio as well. We will need your support for the following games as well. So tell everyone to come out to the next home game with your red or white shirts and bring your popcorn because we are going to put on a big show for our first home game of the year.
Thanks again for reading another edition of JJ’s Corner.Liebe Grüße!
Jabari
