Well, snatch my britches!I had no idea that Israel had an American-style football league!
See, this is the kind of thing that I miss out on by focusing almost entirely on the never-ending conflict.
Apparently, the league has been around for 9 years and is (according to wiki) comprised of eleven teams.
These are:
The Jerusalem "Big Blue" Lions
The Tel Aviv Pioneers
The Tel Aviv/Jaffa Sabres
The Jerusalem Kings
The Beersheva Black Swarm
The Judean Rebels
The Ramat Hasharon Hammers
The Petah Tikva Troopers
The Northern Stars
And
The Rehovot Silverbacks
I tapped the Judean Rebels on the shoulder via their facebook page and they got back with me, lickety-split. I think that they're going to be my team. Besides, I love the name.
The Judean Rebels!
But, I must admit, the Black Swarm is a terrific name for a football team, as well.
The Ramat Hasharon Hammers have a pretty cool logo.
Youtube, needless to say, has a large collection of clips featuring the IFL.
Israel also has a national team that plays countries from all around the world. In fact, you can watch the entire Israel / Spain game from about a year ago. Sure, the opening minute or two is choppy and the broadcast is entirely en Español , but there they are!
It seems as if American-style Israeli football is beginning to get some attention which, of course, is how I came across it.
Steve Leibowitz, the President and founder of the American Football Federation in Israel, has a very recent series of four articles discussing the sport at the Times of Israel and over at The Land of Israel Network they have a radio episode entitled, Israel Uncensored: American Football in Israel on the World Stage.
I think that this is great fun and I would encourage any of you guys who enjoy American football to check it out.
Go Rebels!
