It was a thrilling game of American football played at an out of control pace, as the Hamburg Sea Devils went out to get an early lead and with that they ended the cheering of a highly enthusiastic crowd of 48.125 at the Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena. They beat the Frankfurt Galaxy, 37-28, and captured World Bowl XV and the championship of NFL Europa.



With the situation the NFL Europe is going through at the moment, the league's future management in doubt, this well-played struggle in front of an energized arena filled with frantic public might have been the advertisement its brand of football needed.

Hamburg won by puzzling Frankfurt's defense, they succeeded at hitting consecutive big plays. Quarterback Casey Bramlet was the outstanding player. Sent by the Washington Redskins for his second go-round in Europe, Bramlet passed for 347 yards and a World Bowl record four touchdowns as he won the game's most valuable player award.

The Sea Devils searched their strategy for offensive tricks, scoring on a 19 yard flea-flicker from Bramlet to Marcus Maxwell, and a fake end-around that turned into a 51-yard touchdown pass to the faker, Josh Davis.

Coach Martino, who took over the Hamburg Sea Devils on the last day of pre-season when Jack Bricknell was forced to retire by illness, for him, this victory in the NFL Europe was especially sweet; a championship in his first year as a head coach after 30 years as an assistant.

The key for Hamburg was playing with the lead, because Frankfurt's offense was almost equally as hard to stop. With no intention of disqualifying a fighting team that helped make the game interesting, I have to admit Frankfurt played catch-up most of the game.