I made it!!!! We are the champions of National Flag Football League!
Hello my Steemit fam'!
Sorry for being away for a couple of days but I had to do what I was supposed to do :)
My team Split Sea Wolves was in the final four of Croatian Flag Football League. We finished 1st in the regular season and yesterday, we had to go to a 5 hour trip with 3 small cars to a city Karlovac to play final four. 11 senior player and one junior player aged 16 went to fight for our hometown colors. How it went? Take a look/read... ;)
It was Sunday (yesterday) and the meeting point was the same as always, Solinska street. When everybody arrived, around 8:30 AM, we headed to Karlovac. As you maybe already know, we are Tackle Football champions for two straight years, but we never won a championship in Flag Football. We were focused like never before like it was a tackle game. We went on a long trip with a goal to proceed to finals and what happens there happens. We wanted to win our first game and that was the only goal.
Meeting point
We knew we are the strongest team because we practiced way too hard and we already showed that in the regular season. But we never took that for granted, we knew what can happen if you lose your focus, so we were prepared to give our 110%.
From left to right: Free Safety (Me), Mike, Wide receiver/Blitzer, Cornerback/Free Safety
Apparently, our driver is sleeping haha ;) :P
This was a long trip and we wanted to come there as fresh as we can so we had a lot of quick stops and a long one, where we took some time in Macola restaurant to lunch and put some energy and refreshment in our body and mind.
Bolognese - The food for the winners haha
Quick stop to fuel our car
On our way through beautiful Croatia, we had to take a quick stop and take some photos of Peručko jezero (Peručko lake). It was something from a dream so I took some photos to share it with you to see the nature at its finest :)
Look at this beauty above, isn't it just marvelous nature doing magic! Peručko jezero is long for about 19km and I'm glad we took time to stop here and feed our soul. My country is rich with natural beauties. There are so many places you can visit, from the coastal to the mountainside, from the historic places to nature's untouched places. Nature's beauty is simply everywhere here, I can't describe it good enough for you to understand that on almost every step there is something to see.
I took also some photos of a village and 2 castles while we were driving. If we stopped to take photos of every beautiful thing we see, we would be late for a game for about 2 days probably xD
After a bit of tiring trip, we finally arrived in Karlovac. We were satisfied that we had 2-3 hours before the 1st game of the final four (We played 2nd game). The place looked really good, good pitch and dressing rooms with hot water to shower after. What can you ask for more? But anyway, whatever it is, we were here to win and nothing else. We dressed up in our new tackle jersey and we headed to chill a bit and see how the first game is going to finish.
The pitch was really good for playing with cleats
Chilling and preparing for the game. Our coach is really satisfied with our preparations so you can see him here laying on the grass and watching the game
We are ALL IN
The first game was played between Karlovac Dukes and Zaprešić Saints. Saints were small favorites here but Karlovac played at home, so anything could happen. In the end, Saints were winners with a result 40:20, and they were the first finalist in National Flag Football League for the year 2018.
Saints (yellow) vs Dukes (blue)
Our first game was against Bjelovar Greenhorns. They are always a tough opponent even though they finished 4th in the regular season. But, they are the team with the most experience in the league. And we all know what can experience do to you. We were careful but also, we knew we can win and we believed each other.
The first drive we played defense. They had a chance to score a TD but we intercepted it and did a Pick Six (Pick Six is when you intercept the ball and bring it all the way to their TD zone, where you score 6 points). We were so excited!! We had a great start but we knew this was only the beginning of the match and everything can happen.
The first half was really tough and it ended in 1 TD difference for us. In the second half, we pushed harder and played some really good football. I had one interception, you could see some one-handed catches from WRs,... We just pushed a pedal to the medal :D And we won it. The result was Sea Wolves 34:24 Greenhorns! We are in the finals and we accomplished our goal - to go to the finals!
We were a bit tired after the first game. The sun was not helping at all
It was time to win the 1st place for the first time in our history
The finals took place after the game for third place that was one by Bjelovar Greenhorns. They were better and they played this year a really good football and deserved their third place. For us, the final game was much easier from the mental aspect. We accomplished our goal and we said to ourself that we now have to go there and have fun and just do what we were doing the whole season.
The first half of the game was a crazy one, it ended with us leading for a 1 TD difference. We knew our offense have a ball in the first drive of the second half so we wanted to capitalize on that and score another one so we can put pressure on our opponents. We knew that our defense is best in the league and that everyone has the problem to score TD against us. Also, we knew our offense have quality to score a TD. So it was a perfect plan.
And we did that! Our offense scored the TD and put a really big pressure on them. We could see in their plays that the panic mode is ON :D By remained calmed and playing every time until the end, we finished the game and won it 45:18. They couldn't score against us and our offense was on fire so everything was smooth until the end.
Mighty defense. We were just very tough to beat...
I am mostly amazed by the thing that we said that we're going to play until the end. Even tough we knew we won the championship few plays before the end, we said that we're playing until the end and that we're not giving up on that plan. EVER! Also, I am amazed how we played the whole season and how this Championship is sweet because we played as a team. We never gave up on one another, we never doubted us.
The medal for this year. 4th in 2 years for my Split Sea Wolves
And now... Split Sea Wolves is currently holding Flag Football And Tackle Football title in year 2017/2018. We are proud of our team and we really think that we deserved this!
After taking a shower and a bit of talk with other teams, we headed to our hometown, Split. Ofcourse, tradition says that we go somewhere to celebrate and eat, so after a half of hour of drive we stopped for a bite. I will not tell you how sweet it was to eat like a champion. That feeling that we didn't lost kept us going on our long way home...
NOM NOM NOM
Anyway, I wanted to share this with you because this is my passion. Split Sea Wolves is simply my passion and I give everything I can to win matches and help around. I almost broke my ribs playing in the finals but WIN is the best medicine ever. I woke up like nothing happened to my ribs and I am already prepared for our next practice.
We don't have much time to celebrate so we start tackle practice in 2 days haha Yes, my friends. If you want to be a champion there is no time to rest. American football is a really complex sport full of tactics and you need to practice hard and learn more than that, to win something.
Our goal for this tackle season is THREEPEAT or repeat the last year and win title again, for the third time in a row. Something that nobody did in the history of the league...
Anyway, I just saw how long this post is xD I'm not gonna bother you anymore haha Thanks for reading and your support, it really means to me because I share what I'm really passionate about. See you again people ;)
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Čestitke!! Uživaj!!
Hvala! Oću oću :D
Congratulations!! The thrill of victory can be seen in your faces. You got some fantastic pictures of the event. Now the pressure is on to go back to back and repeat as champions next year. The competition will be after you.
Thanks brother! I am really enjoying this day as a champion :D When I collect the videos, I will make some highlights...
<3
Well done guys, congratulations!! :D
Thanks my friend! It's over now so I can chill a bit, finally :D
That's awesome man congrats! What positions do you play for your team? I played in flag football leagues while in the military and also recently at my university where we also won the championship. I played QB and Safety for our team. Here is a picture of some of the guys and I holding the trophy.
aaaa great man and congrats on your championship!
I am currently playing at Free Safety position :D you know how it is ;)
Hey, @whack.science! I am a curator of the Whaleshares Curation Team. I have selected your post to be presented in a live curation discussion on Monday 18th June. Your post will be awarded a Whaleshares vote on the night. I do hope you can come along and spectate. The event will be held in The Curation Lounge on the Whaleshares server.
Here is a post from the last weeks' show:
https://steemit.com/competition/@nikflossus/the-31st-whaleshares-curation-show-let-s-talk-about-project-giving
oh, this is quite a surprise! I am honored that you selected my post, I hope that you felt at least a bit of my passion here :)
I hope I will make it on the hangout ;)
Most of all, thanks for curating around! I really appreciate that! I always appreciate people helping people!
Much love, Mr. Spacely ;)
I felt a lot of your passion in the post and it was amazing that you showed up for the show! This was a completely fresh and different post in my eyes and it deserves recognition!
Thanks once again, I always try to do something new and original. I'm glad that you were surprised when you saw the post :D
Well, you most definitely did something new!
Lovely pictures and congratulation on this your wonderful achievement. Enjoy it to the fullness
Thank you! We really enjoyed this one. The crazy season is behind us, now we are concentrating on tackle football :D The real American football.
Congratulations on the win and what beautiful scenery on the way there
Thank you! Yes, that scenery was really something special to experience! It was a tough choice to leave :D
@whack.science I can Imagine I think I saw that Lake a couple of times there and yes it was a sight hard to leave
Great job and congratulations! must have not been easy climbing to the top, would you get a chance to represent the country?
Thank you! Yes, we will get a chance to represent our country. We will see when the next tournament will be ;)
bravo
Hvala!
WooooooHooooooo. I know for an absolute fact how hard it can be to repeat. That is a serious win, and your dedication to the plan shows through your photos!
Congratulations!!
Thanks brother! I know that repeat is tough to do, but I know who we are, I know we will grow much more. This is not a stop, this is just a drive-by :D We really practiced for this one, that's why the victory is sweeter ;)
<3