Warsaw Eagles
| Founded | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Warsaw, Poland |
| Head coach | Phillip Dillon |
| Owner(s) | Paul Kusmierz, Sev Zakrzewski |
| League | Polish American Football League |
| Colours |
Blue and Orange |
| Mascot(s) | Pierzak |
| Polish Bowl | 2006, 2008 |
| Website | warsaweagles.com |
The Warsaw Eagles are an American football team in Warsaw, Poland. They play in the Polish American Football League. Paul Kusmierz is the owner of the team.
History
The team was founded in 1999 by a group of NFL enthusiasts consisting of Jędrzej Staszewski, Piotr Gorzkowski, Jan Kowalski, Grzegorz Mikuła, and Tomasz Kozankiewicz, who are considered to be the founders of the Warsaw Eagles club. In 2004 the club purchased professional sports gear for the first time to be able to spar with the very first opponent on the Polish arena - Fireballs Wielkopolska. The first game was played on December 17 of 2004 in Suchy Las near Poznań. In 2006 along with 1. KFA Wielkopolska, Pomorze Seahawks (currently Seahawks Gdynia) and The Crew Wrocław (currently Giants Wrocław), the Eagles debuted in the very first edition of the Polish American Football League and having dominated each game, won the first Championship title. The Eagles would go on to win the title again in 2008 defeating The Crew Wrocław 26:14.[1] In 2009 the team signed contracts with its first two transfer players from the United States. In the 2012/2013 season four American players play for the Eagles.[2]
Uniforms
The Warsaw Eagles’ navy blue home jersey has orange numbers, letter outlines and vertical stripes on opposite sides. The away kit consists of a white jersey with dark blue letters and numbers that have orange outlines. Players wear white socks, navy blue helmets with an Eagle head, and navy blue pants to all games.
Season-by-season records
| PLFA champions (2006–2007) PLFA I champions (2008–present) |
PLFA II champions (2008–present) | Championship Game appearances |
| Season | League | Division | Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | Postseason results | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | PLFA | — | 1st | 3 | 0 | 0 | Won Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 34–6 | [3] |
| 2007 | PLFA | Central | 1st | 6 | 0 | 0 | Lost Semi-Final (Miners) 13–16 | [4] |
| 2008 | PLFA I | — | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | Won Semi-Final (The Crew) 8–7 Won Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 26–14 |
[5] |
| 2009 | PLFA I | — | 3rd | 4 | 3 | 0 | Lost Semi-Final (Miners) 26–31 | [6] |
| 2010 | PLFA I | — | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | Lost Semi-Final (Devils) 13–54 | [7] |
| 2011 | PLFA I | — | 3rd | 7 | 2 | 0 | Lost Semi-Final (Devils) 13–31 | [8] |
Fan Traditions
Bernie Dance
Fans of the Warsaw Eagles club have adopted the Bernie Dance (a dance style from the 1993 comedy film Weekend at Bernies II which involves loosely wobbling arms and tilting one’s head back) to celebrate each touchdown scored by their players during the game.
Eagles’ Nest (Orle Gniazdo )
An official fanclub organization called “Eagles’ Nest” composed of the team’s most devoted fans.
Stadiums
Warsaw Eagles game site locations and stadiums:
- pre-2010: Piaseczno, Żyrardów, Marymont
- 2010-2012: Bemowo
- 2013- : Polonia Stadium
Honours
- Polish Bowl
- Champions: 2006, 2008
Individual Player Achievements
Video of Clarence Anderson’s (WR) 75-yard punt return from Eagles’ home game against Warsaw Spartans during the 2012/13 season has been prominently featured across all major Polish and American sports media programs including ESPN and ESPN2.
Current Staff
Front Office
Owner – Paul Kusmierz
Co-Owner – Sev Zakrzewski
General Manager - Jacek Śledziński
President of the Board - Roman Iwański
Head Coaches
Phillip Dillon - Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator
Tom Wesolowski - Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Dan Miles – Assistant Coach
Tomasz Kawiarowski - Director of Player Personnel
Karol Ratyński – Physiotherapist
Artur Lubas – Strength and Conditioning
Michał Kułakowski - Mental Coach
Current Roster
- 3 Shane Gimzo
- 16 Roman Iwański
RUNNING BACKS
- 23 Piotr Osuchowski
- 25 Jakub Juszczak
- 31 Maciej Wróblewski
- 34 Witold Szpotański
- 35 Damian Tarnowski
- 37 Artur Góralczyk
- 40 Dawid Więckowski
- 45 Michał Kozdrój
WIDE RECEIVERS
- 7 Clarence Anderson
- 8 Marcin Łojewski
- 11 Rafał Sokołowski
- 19 Filip Mościcki
- 13 Michał Jodłowski
- 19 Tomasz Balcer
- 21 Szymon Modzelewski
- 81 Kuba Zduń
- 83 Krzysztof Stojak
- 84 Michał Śpiczko
- 85 Marcin Jodłowski
- 86 Tomek Sitarek
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
- 63 Łukasz Nowicki
- 64 Michał Pienczak
- 66 Łukasz Pietrzak
- 68 Bartłomiej Struss
- 70 Łukasz Kustra
- 74 Mateusz Sławiński
- 78 Maciej Król
DEFENSIVE BACKS
- 22 Mateusz Adamczewski
- 24 Caleb Singleton
- 29 Szymon Pobudkiewicz
- 30 Antoni Omondi
- 33 Tadeusz Tarach
- 44 Dominik Koniusz
- 48 Radek Gołąb
- 49 Eryk Przepiórzyński
- 82 Łukasz Koniusz
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
- 56 Mateusz Mędrala
- 57 Tomasz Szczeszek
- 61 Radosław Wiankowski
- 72 Krzysztof Dreger
- 75 Robert Gieleciński
- 77 Maciej Laskowski
- 90 Marek Włodarczyk
- 95 Robert Szulecki
- 96 Grzegorz Modzelewski
- 98 Wiktor Nowak
- 99 Jakub Dzikowski
LINEBACKERS
- 9 Łukasz Cackowski
- 20 Maciej Traczyk
- 43 Mark-Avery Airhart
- 47 Antoni Gmurczyk
- 50 Jan Cenkier
- 51 Konrad Paszkiewicz
- 54 Daniel Tarnawski
See also
References
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "PLFA 2006". pzfa.pl. Retrieved 13 Jul 2011.
- ↑ "PLFA 2007". pzfa.pl. Retrieved 13 Jul 2011.
- ↑ "PLFA I 2008". pzfa.pl. Retrieved 13 Jul 2011.
- ↑ "PLFA I 2009". pzfa.pl. Retrieved 13 Jul 2011.
- ↑ "PLFA I 2010". pzfa.pl. Retrieved 13 Jul 2011.
- ↑ "PLFA I 2011". pzfa.pl. Retrieved 13 Jul 2011.
External links
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