Rob Lunn is saying goodbye to football with a foreign accent.
The former Connecticut defensive lineman missed the final two games of his career last fall with a knee injury. With no hopes of an NFL career, it was a bitter way to leave the game.
So, why not recreate John Grisham’s “Playing for Pizza” and try semipro ball in Europe? It seems many countries have some version of American football. It’s a little off the radar, but also a chance to earn some money, live abroad for free and bid the game farewell in style.
“If this was in Des Moines, Iowa, I’m not sure I’d be interested in playing,” he said. “I don’t have any delusions about it being incredible football and making millions of dollars.”
Lunn was recruited by Bob Bradley, a long-time college assistant who has coached the Carithian Black Lions of Klagenfurt, Austria for four seasons. The league permits six American players per team who double as unofficial coaches for local teammates.
“Europeans, particularly Austrians, lean in a far more laid back direction,” Bradley said. “In my mind, the greatest challenge is to get 18-25 year olds to ‘get it’ … that running into each other is a good thing. I have little doubt that it will be a lifetime experience [for Lunn] on many levels.”
The spring league isn’t a bad life. Lunn will room with American players in a small castle in the mountainous border near Slovenia and Italy. Teams practice thrice weekly for 1 1/2 hours versus 20 hours overall by college teams.
“It’s a paid vacation,” said Lunn, who leaves March 1. “I’ve never been overseas before. It’s going to be different not having my parents see me play. They hadn’t missed a game for five years.”
Lunn doesn’t speak German and was “never a big drinker” so the local beer might be lost on him. But he expects to learn something about the culture before backpacking across Italy following the season.
“Hopefully, it’s all about football, not about foreign policy,” Lunn said. “If you can appreciate it, you can have good time.”
Afterwards, Lunn already has a job blogging for a sports network. The author of TheFatWhiteGuy.com averages more than 2,000 visitors daily on college sports, women and life. It also appears on the blog by Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley.
Those Austrian football recaps should be interesting reading.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
