It’s Tuesday before season rollover, and that’s, as always, Bowl game Tuesday.

The SEA LIONS are not playing in one, mind you, as they could not make the jump from regular season to the postseason. But they celebrate nonetheless, as they had their season-ending encounter with the visiting All Stars today, which they won 34:21. And later in the day they’ll visit the KMN Mandalorians from the Elite division NC East to play a friendly game while following the Bowl game between the Space Kraken and the Sunrise City Prairie Dogs. It is quite a happy ending to S55, and it does, if you put all these little annoyances aside, fit.

In the league the SEA LIONS managed to score a record of 10–6, which was another step forward after being 9–7 and 8–8 in the seasons prior. They began hot and won 8 of the first 11 games. But then they hit a stretch of games where experience and preparedness ultimately made the difference. So in the end they were on the outside looking into the playoffs. But they managed to secure another season in the Elite league through winning some tough games, also, so S55 is celebrated as a success, nonetheless.

The team also had quite a successful run in the Supercup this season, where they were able to get to the fourth round for the first time in franchise history.

One player that has a big part in why the SEA LIONS are that successful, sadly, will be retiring at the end of the season, and this one will have a lasting impact as he’ll not be replaced so easily: DE Pariat Vanich decided that this would be his last season playing football. Right from the start when he joined the SEA LIONS he was a dominant force on the defensive line. In this final season he finished second in the league in Tackles for Loss, had a tackling success rate of 88.5 % and even two sacks. His presence will be sorely missed. Also retiring will be assistant coat Vaidotas Stankevicius, who has been in charge of the DL, as well as AC Bisujaksha Jana, who had been overseeing the development of the WR-corps.

Nonetheless: Especially on the defensive side above the ball the coming season will be a challenging one. Offensively the front office was able to keep together the dominant OL for another season, but there are retirements looming on various positions, too. The starting QB, our best TE, possibly 3 OL-players, maybe even our leading rusher… this coming season may be the last one in which the Offense of the SEA LIONS is able to compete at this level.

So we’ll try to make the best of it, no?

[Editorial note: As the beat writer for the HAMBURG SEA LIONS has been incredibly lazy these days due to „nothing really going on, no?“, we decided to let the fans have their voice and chime in through short messaging]

+ + + „Another season in the Elite: AWESOME! Congrats to the squad, keep up the good work. You rock!!!“ + + + „More difference makers to help Nico Stanzetti! We can’t rely on the old mans arm 2 much! Who knows how long he wants to play like that!!!“ + + + „Winning another World Bowl FC was cool, but we lost too much after that. Wished ‘twas the other way, some of these losses damn hurt :/„ + + + „Would have preferred if you’d kept Chad Cannon and sold Jeffe Micombero instead! Dude’s WAY to slow and has no hip movement anymore XoX“ + + + „2nd year on a row that the team couldn’t finish the season properly. It’s a shame! The OC should come up with something, do your job, man!“ + + + „IDK how people think this season SUCKED??? We still 1 of the best 16 teams in RZA, so chill, y’all *facepalm*“ + + +

The HAMBURG SEA LIONS are proud to announce the very first inductee to enter their Hall of Fame. He is one of the most valuable players that the SEA LIONS acquired early in the history of their franchise. And although he was almost 30 years old when he joined the team his impact can not be under appreciated, as he helped win the young franchise their very first league title in S52.

Welcome Enric Montserrat!

He was drafted in the second round of the S41 draft by the Mongolian Prairie Weasels 2 in the Galaxy league. As they were already a really good team he sat his first 5 seasons with only very limited participation in league games. He did gather experience on the highest level, though, as the Prairie Weasels won the Conference Championship twice and therefore were members of the Elite league in these seasons. But he had to wait until his 6th season to make his first rushing TD on league level. He had 3 overall that season, and again 3 in the following one. Then the manager of the now defunct Prairie Weasels decided to sell him, and so he landed with the HAMBURG SEA LIONS in the Admirals League in S49.

In his first season with the new team he rushed for over 1.000 Yards and scored 10 Touchdowns, more than he did with his former team in 8 season combined. He helped tremendously to establish the young franchise on D1 level, even to get to their first playoff appearance in just their third season. That season, S50, was another successful one for him personally with over 750 Rushing Yards and 8 TDs.

His numbers dropped in S51 due to the fact that the SEA LIONS had drafted and bought other RBs to help him carry the load since he did not get any younger at this point, being 32 years old already. So at the beginning of S52, just after the franchise had relocated to the Dragons league, he told the front office of the SEA LIONS that he would retire at the end of the season.

That did not stop him from turning in the third best season of his whole career, though. He scored 8 TDs in the league, one of which was the winning one in the Championship Game against the perineum bandits. He was awarded in this game with his third career MVP. In the ensuing Super Bowl game he was instrumental in getting the OT-win against the Alaskan Fur Trappers and was able to celebrate the first league title for the franchise with his teammates. Talk about ‚going out with a bang‘.

He may not have played very long for us, but his contributions are still felt today. So it was a no-brainer for us invite him to be our first Hall of Fame inductee, and we’re glad that he accepted.

For the second season in a row the HAMBURG SEA LIONS had faced the ALASKAN FUR TRAPPERS for the last league game of their season. And for the second time they were fortunate to beat them in that last league game. The difference to last season, though, was that this game had not the implications it had the last time. But we’ll get to that later.

The first foray of the SEA LIONS into the Elite of RZA started wondrous, with 4 consecutive wins at the highest level to start the season. There included were impressive wins against the San Diego Blitz and the conference championship participant Zombaes, with the latter clearly being caught on the wrong foot.

But then began the struggles that were anticipated, with 3 losses in a row. The SEA LIONS rebounded with 2 wins, but lost 5 more games over the remaining course of the season, which had them at a record of 8–8 in the end. 6 of those 8 losses were by a TD or less, with 3 being even by a FG. Those were especially hard to swallow, although they had them realizing that playing the Elite is a game of detail and experience.

That was apparent in the last two losses against the Deflators and the division opponent Chelt Nam Bobbers, where both games were lost because of in-game-decisions made by the OC that cost them the win and, overall, their chance for the playoffs. But they were lucky enough as the Fur Trappers were a bit more unfortunate in the last stretch of the season and had another season in the Elite secured at the second to last game day due to a loss by the Fur Trappers to the mystics. So they had no pressure entering the field for their last game of the season, where they not only won, but showed promise to the attending crowd to again give their best shot in the coming season.

In the regular interview that he gives at the end of each season Joe Chrill, Manager of the HAMBURG SEA LIONS, said: „We met our goals this season with securing another go at the highest level. And I think the fanbase, the team, the whole franchise can be very content with the accomplishments. We had highs and lows, started strong and lost some close ones. But us being one of only three surviving teams of those that were promoted speaks volumes about our work, and of course shows the high level at which is played in the Elite.“

In the offseason the top performers were given new contracts to avoid a drop off in combat strength, and obvious holes in the squad were filled with promising talent to make the team hopefully even stronger. Said Joe Chrill: „The team will continue to grow, as it has last season. Of course the main goal will again be to avoid relegation, which will be hard enough. But seeing the state of the squad it would not be too boisterous to aim at a spot in the Playoffs this time.“

It would be exciting, that’s for sure.

When toe hit ball in the 4th Quarter of the Superbowl, with mere 11 seconds to go in the game, the whole stadium was silent, albeit in awe. The Kicker of the Alaskan Fur Trappers had just kicked a 46 yard field goal to tie the game 23:23, but it was a boneheaded play by the HAMBURG SEA LIONS prior that had made the whole stadium go into a state of disbelief, for fans of both sides.

That the HAMBURG SEA LIONS would be on this field to even have this play was the result of a magical run. They had switched to the Dragons League, coming from the Admirals League, just at the beginning of this season, and early on it seemed that their wish of playing more competitive games would backfire when they lost their first league game against Viper 9:21. As it turned out that would be the last league game they would lose this season, curiously. Some of their games were very close, but luck was a constant guardian this season and, together with great coaching and coordinating, helped the SEA LIONS have a (nearly) spotless record in the Regular Season. Entering the playoff tournament as the #1 seed they won their match-up with the Baltic Stars in the Divisional Round as well as a nail biter in the Championship Game against the perineum bandits.

Having folded in the postseason for 2 seasons prior this time the squad stepped up: The Defense stopped both opponents enough to outscore them on the other side of the ball. The passing game with Quarter Back Nicolò Stanzetti at the height of his abilities was almost clean, and especially against the bandits a tough rushing game did a lot of damage. In this game retiring Running Back Enric Montserrat received one final, but well deserved MVP.

For their first Bowl-Game the SEA LIONS then entered the field against the Alaskan Fur Trappers, and it became another nail biter in which the home team lead after a scoreless third quarter 17:13. The SEA LIONS scored another two Fieldgoals and were confident that this 10 Point lead would be enough. But then a touchdown for the Fur Trappers happened, and that seemed to put too much pressure on the Offensive Coordinator of the SEA LIONS and the QB was told to pass on 4th Down on their own 29 Yard line. The failed completion and the ensuing field goal by the Fur Trappers to tie the game was what led to the aforementioned stadium-wide state of disbelief.

While these kind of plays were believed to be extinct in the playbooks of the SEA LIONS, it luckily this time did not go horribly wrong, with luck guarding over the team once more, letting the coin fall on the right side. And once more the strong rushing attack stepped up. In his last game for the SEA LIONS Enric Montserrat contributed 29 of his overall 44 rushing yards in overtime and helped secure the first Superbowl win in the history of the SEA LIONS.

The aforementioned play, though, showed the inexperience of the still young franchise, too. Yes, the SEA LIONS have made remarkable progress in the last two seasons, but errors like this have plagued them from early on. And deviating from their usual attack, like they now did in the Bowl-Game, still shows a lackluster set of options that brings an equal amount of security.

In the next season they’ll have to play opponents like the Fur Trappers on a weekly basis. And it would be highly unusual if the coins keep falling to their advantage. So they have to step up their game and play smart like they did, for the most part, in and leading up to the Superbowl.

For now the mood, though, is ecstatic in Hamburg. Members of the team were seen until very late in and around the franchises’ premises for now three days in a row, celebrating this historical League Championship with the fans. We’re told that the front office is already collecting addresses of jewelers and goldsmiths, and a parade is being planned. Today they will continue to honor the early days of this great sport in playing the Constanta Ravens as part of the LEATHERHEAD SERIES 3, after that there’s going to be a whole weekend of celebrations while the new season is being laid out.

And it will be well deserved celebrations, that’s for sure

The HAMBURG SEA LIONS again shook up the ADMIRALS league today with their announcement that they will not be playing there anymore, instead moving their business to the DRAGONS league.

That move surprised a few since the SEA LIONS would have had a relative easy road to the playoffs in the coming season. Their division-opponents already moved out of the NC West, leaving them a clear path to a home game in the playoffs.

But, as Joe Chrill, the manager of the SEA LIONS, said, "the DRAGONS league is more fan-friendly for our Hamburg-based team, having their kick-off an hour earlier than the ADMIRALS." The management of the SEA LIONS once again shows a lot of love for their fanbase, as it seems. "And", the manager added, "we do love competition, so playing in the league with the highest ELO average has a great appeal for us, too."

Let's hope the move was well calculated, then...

Season 51 is coming to an end these days as the bowl games are happening and the offseason approaches. It’s the time to plan for the future as well as reminisce about the season that’s behind. And what a season that was:

Under the guidance of new Head Coach Vashita Neelam the HAMBURG SEA LIONS bamboozled the league with a record of 15–1, winning not only the division-title in the NC West, but the #1-seed in the whole conference as well. The Offense surrounding QB Nicolò Stanzetti scored 63 TDs through the air and 28 TDs on the ground. Leading Rusher yards-wise was S50-Second-Round-Pick Mohammad Bolen, who ran for 1.053 Yards. Leading Receiver was Simeon Padoyan with 77 Catches for 695 Yards and 14 Touchdowns, with the second best Receiver Süleyman Berger – 61 Catches, 665 Yards and 11 Touchdowns – not far behind. Berger was one of the big surprises this season, and it was obvious that he benefitted a lot from the new HC.

So, after advancing to the playoffs for the first time in S50 they got their first home playoff game. That game, sadly, was nothing to write home about, since the Offense had one of the worst days of the whole season. And the Defense, which again was a staple for success all season long, was totally outmatched by the opponents attack. But after overcoming the shock of seeing their team dominated in this unforeseen fashion, the attending crowd began to celebrate the overall achievements of the SEA LIONS in the last quarter of the game, showing a lot of love and appreciation for the still young teams' progress.

When asked about where he see’s his team standing, the manager of the SEA LIONS, Joe Chrill, wasn’t too critical about the loss, instead pointed to the goals they reached in S51: „Our main objective was to win the division, which we achieved with winning the very last game of the Regular Season. And we were competitive in the Supercup as well, advancing to the second stage of the Playoffs. So the season went pretty well, as we see it.“ He was, too, very adamant when it came to talking about the new HC: „The contribution of Vashita Neelam to our success cannot be underestimated. His positive influence is everything we hoped for when we hired him.“

The second season under his guidance may be harder than the first, though. The SEA LIONS will not be taken lightly anymore in the league, the opponents will invest even more to match the men from Hamburg. And they will be judged way more critical now that they’ve shown what they are capable of. But sight should not be lost of the fact that they still just enter their 4th season in the Admirals I, and the young team still has a lot of room to grow.

So, when Joe Chrill left the podium to return to his duties managing the team, he spoke words that a lot of fans of the SEA LIONS will agree upon: „We’re very optimistically looking forward to the coming season.“

Season 50 of RZA comes to a close these days. It has been the second season for the HAMBURG SEA LIONS in the league Admirals I, and they by far exceeded expectations, finishing with a record of 12–4 and earn themselves a first trip to the postseason. They did not make it very far, yes, losing the Wildcard-Playoff-Game at VenoM 21:31. But sources tell that the front office of the SEA LIONS would have been, at the start of the season, happy with a positive record and a 3-game-win-streak somewhere in between. So everyone is quite pleased with the things that were accomplished.

When the fans were asked to vote for MVP of the season, the results were pretty clear: QB Nicolò Stanzetti ran away with the award, bringing everything the SEA LIONS hoped for when they added him to their roster in S49. He threw 29 Touchdowns and ran for two more while only giving the ball away 5 times (4 INTs, 1 Fumble). He’s been a great role model so far for the young Andrey Baizhanov who’s growing behind him to hopefully become an equally good QB in the future.

„Offensive Player of the Year“ went to Sherman Schmidt, who scored 15 TDs and had 1158 Receiving-Yards this season. He had a great year, leading the overall young WR-Corps of the SEA LIONS.

The results for „Defensive Player of the Year“ were not even close: Antonia Andrews played a dominant season with 14 Sacks and a Pick6, showing times and times again his experience in the game and his game-wrecking abilities on the field.

The awards were handed out on Wednesday when the SEA LIONS welcomed vamosahi to HAMMER SPORTS PARK for the final game of the celebratory „Admirals S50“-Friendly Cup. The game was lost, unsurprisingly, but it was the whole state of the SEA LIONS in a nutshell: a slow start with quickly being behind, having difficulties getting the scoring going, but then rallying and catching up, just to come up short in the last minutes of the game.

So they do not need to look very far to see at what points they have to improve to be competitive with the best of the league. There’s still a lot of work to do, but it seems the front office already built a pretty good foundation over the last two seasons. Now only time will tell what the HAMBURG SEA LIONS will be able to accomplish in the next ones.

What a night that was yesterday in HAMMER SPORTS PARK, home of the HAMBURG SEA LIONS. For the second time in a row, Tovari came to visit in the last week of the Regular Season. Being the only team in the Division by whom they were beat, the SEA LIONS felt a bit tense at the beginning. But the first drive of the opponent came to a halt in midfield, with the pass rush of the SEA LIONS already warming up with two sacks. LB Titas Paksas had one of them which would be his first of 4 in the entire game, earning him a well deserved MVP for the game. The other nominees for MVP were LB Kurt Robertson, with 1 Pick6, a sack and a forced fumble, and QB Nicolo Stanzetti, who again showed a lot of poise and ability, adding 3 more TDs to his resumé.

At the end of the game, Tovari was held to only 3 Fieldgoals while the offense of the SEA LIONS scored 45 points, 21 of them unanswered in the second half. The crowd in attendance was already ecstatic as with this win the SEA LIONS qualified for the Playoffs for the first time, but when the big screens showed the outcome of the game between the Oxford Bulls and vamosahi, the whole stadium exploded: The Bulls had lost by 41 points against their division opponent, and because of their own big home win, the SEA LIONS not only managed to advance to the playoffs, but to conquer Seed 5, too.

The partying crowd surrounding the stadium and later various location in the city was felt until the early morning hours. By then, though, the team was already preparing for the game to come. The first Postseason-game ever will be at the Community Arena, home of VenoM, winner of the NC North. They won 6 of their last 7 games and are not to mess with… but they do not play perfect at home. AND the SEA LIONS had them visiting this season in week 5 and beat them 51:21.

So the dreams of the fans are not without foundation, but the staff of the SEA LIONS knows that it’s a lot of work to do for the game on Tuesday. Joyous work nonetheless, the first postseason appearance of the SEA LIONS being already the cherry on top of a delicious pie that is S50.

It's the 49th RZA-Week for the HAMBURG SEA LIONS, and the smart ones out there know: That's when the puppy protection expires and such things as automatic mediacenter payments stop. But it's a good moment, too, to look back on what one has accomplished in this short amount of time, and therefore we had an interview with the manager of the HAMBURG SEA LIONS, Joe Chrill. Enjoy!

Q: Hello, Joe Chrill. Thanks for taking your time for this interview. You’re the manager of the HAMBURG SEA LIONS for 169 days now. How do you assess the first 48 weeks of your tenure?

A: Hello. It was and will continue to be hard work, but with a lot of joy. I see daily how everyone in the team, be it players, coaching staff or personell, do their job with high sincerity and passion. We have formed a solid team with a lot of potential. And being 7–3 in the league shows that all the effort is worth it and we’re on the right path. We lately lost a playoff-spot in the supercup, unfortunately. But there are still games to play. We were able to win World Bowl I and are doing good in the friendly cups in which we participate. We are persuasive and surprise, sometimes even ourselves. Short: It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll.

Q: Surprise is a good cue: The biggest one of the season so far may be the season-opening win at the Green Mark Packers who had just been relegated down from the ELITE League. And even the fewest would have predicted a home win against VenoM in week 5. How did you manage to form such a strong squad in such a short time?

A: It’s first and foremost a team effort. Only if everyone has the eye on the ball you can make the catch. I’m not so sure if you can call it a strong team already, though. We’re just starting, this is our third season. And the squad has by far not gained the strength that it would need to play with the Elite permanently. We just have to take small steps, look onward to the next two seasons. Especially the financial aspect will be challenging, next season we will pledge fully to the media center for the first time. Teamwise a lot of young players still need time to grow and gather experience. The game against the Packers was a great surprise, yes, maybe even legendary in our short team history. Our squad entered the opponents stadium fearless. But looking back the time in the game was our twelfth man. The Packers were down 9:14 and standing on our 5-Yard-Line, ready to score a touchdown to win when time expired. And about the game against VenoM I can just say: Some days everything just clicks.

Q: The first half of the season was a successful one, but in the coming weeks the schedule will be a lot tougher. Your latest league-match at vamosahi showed that your squad does indeed struggle against established teams when not everyone brings his A-game. What are your expectations for the remainder of the season?

A: We’re looking only as far as the next game to keep the focus. The match against vamosahi again showed that the team and it’s performance are still too reliant on daily form. We still need time to establish stability and continuity. And you’re right: The back end of the league schedule is tough. We’ll be playing strong opponents until the end. We just can give our best each game and hope for it to be enough. But it sure would be nice if we’d be able to secure a playoff-spot this year.

Q: I’d say you’re fanbase would enjoy this very much, too. Thanks for the interview, Joe Chrill, and good luck for the next games.

The HAMBURG SEA LIONS start their S50-campaign with a record of 2–2 from the first 4 league games. And what a start that was. The SEA LIONS managed to catch the big favorite GREEN MARK PACKERS off guard and took home the points with a 14:9-victory. In this game the defense of the SEA LIONS was able to win 2 goal line stands to prevent the opponent from scoring more than 3 points and stopped the PACKERS from scoring in Q4 on the own 2-Yard-Line with clock expiring to hold on to the win.

That game-winning defense then had two down games, though, including the home-opener that the visiting OXFORD BULLS were able to win easily. It seemed that the defensive coordinator had tried to over-manage a well functioning unit, disrupting the chemistry of the playing personell. It sure didn’t help that in game 3 the offense was in a christmas-mood and handed TOVARI the ball 4 (!!!) times to help them win their third match-up in a row.

But fans were happy to see the errors erased when the SEA LIONS were able to bring home another division-road-win in which they held the FIGHTING FRANKONIAN to 1 TD and 1 FG while scoring at least 1 TD in each quarter themselves.

While it’s still unclear where the sudden defensive struggles stem from the SEA LIONS should find a way to fix it soon. To wrap up 2022 the second participant of last season’s Division Championship-Game, VenoM, comes to visit HAMMER SPORTS PARK. That will be quite a test for the squad. Then again: They beat the PACKERS on the road, why should the fear anyone AT HOME?

And one day later, on the first day of the new year, the HAMBURG SEA LIONS are proud to present the first edition of „NEW YEARS FRENZY“, a Friendly Cup where 16 Teams battle for a game on Super Bowl Sunday 2023 to win a cup themselves. It’s a colorful field where the SEA LIONS must match-up with FREDERICKSBURG COMANCHES, GLASTONBURY GRAIL KNIGHTS and MELITTLEMENON THEPITCHHITCHIN. Moving on to the KO round will not be easy. And beyond their own Friendly Cup the SEA LIONS have to follow the duty of the reigning champ and defend the title in the second edition of the WORLD-BOWL-Friendly Cup by Radu91.

One thing is for sure, though: The upcoming games will definitely show if the defensive problems are indeed fixed, as the league win against FRANKONIAN and the most recent friendly win against PAXTANG BLACK PANTHERS suggest. Knowing what the defense of the HAMBURG SEA LIONS is capable of it would be a lot more relaxing start to 2023 to know them functioning. There are still a lot of games to be played.

Sitting in the draft room was a joy these past days. The HAMBURG SEA LIONS were able to pick their #1-prospect in each of the first two rounds, adding promising players to the position of TE and RB. The SEA LIONS are happy to further boost their offense which, in the last season, was a bit behind a strong defense. Round 3 of the Draft furthermore granted a good CB to add depth to the squad. Now only time will tell if the long hours of evaluating the draftees were well invested.

The preseason friendly matches the SEA LIONS played were successful, too. They were fortunate to play three games at home with opponents of different strength, winning all of them. The attending visitors were pleased with what they saw of the team, as were the coaches and coordinators. So the SEA LIONS feel well equipped for the anniversary season 50.

But the first damper could come as soon as League Game Day 1 tonight, when the SEA LIONS go to visit the GREEN MARK PACKERS for the season opener. GMP relegated down from the Elite League and replaced the Conference Champ of last season, FREE AGENT MASCOTS, in the AC West of the Admirals Region. It would be a big surprise if the SEA LIONS were able to steal a win there.

After that, though, the OXFORD BULLS come to HAMMER SPORTS PARK for a re-match of last seasons meeting. That game was then the first home win for the SEA LIONS in general in D1 and is fondly remembered for that. They will try hard to repeat this feat in the first home game of S50. 


On Christmas Eve the SEA LIONS visit TOVARI and stay on the road to visit FIGHTING FRANKONIAN, having then made all the away-trips to their division opponents in the first 4 weeks of the season.

And maybe they can take home a W or two, to make a promising start to S50 a successful one.

When the quarterback of MELITTLEMENON THEPITCHHITCHIN passed the ball in the fourth quarter of the final game in WORLD BOWL I, with 2:37 to play, it seemed like a done deal that they would win the game. The HAMBURG SEA LIONS had given their best effort defensively up to this point, with two impressive goal line stands and two interceptions to prevent the opponent from scoring more than fieldgoals. Not being able to score themselves, though, they were just one point ahead. And since MELITTLEMEN had already scored two fieldgoals in Q4, it needed a heroic effort of the defense once again to win the game. Enter Aubrey Dawson, who read the QB perfectly, intercepted the pass and returned it for 32 yards to set up a game sealing touchdown pass. It was his second interception of the day, and it again showed the impact he has in an overall impressive defense of the SEA LIONS.

With this hard fought win over an experienced and highly decorated member of RZA, the HAMBURG SEA LIONS end Season 49 with an exclamation point. It's another boost of confidence to the team in a successful offseason so far, with improvements in squad and staff which hopefully set up an equally successful new season. With their focus now on the upcoming draft, the SEA LIONS look to further add contributing prospects to the team. And there are already some promising young players in the Youth Academy waiting to join the seniors.

All in all, the SEA LIONS are optimistic to have a bit more impact in the upcoming anniversary season of RedZoneAction and can hardly wait for the games to be played

When the HAMBURG SEA LIONS played against TOVARI on the last game day of season 49 everything seemed to come to an exhilarating end. They took the lead in Q4 after the defense again held them close the entire game, and when TOVARI made the FG in the last minute of regulation, everything pointed to an Overtime-Game. And having played and won an Overtime the day prior they were convinced that they can make true the statement from midseason to split with the division opponents. But they learned the hard way that a game is not over with mere 35 seconds to play, when the opponent caught the pass for a pick and scored a Touchdown 25 Seconds later.

But despite that crushing experience S49 can be seen as a successful one for the HAMBURG SEA LIONS. They ended their first competitive season with a record of 6–10 and were able to jump at least one division opponent to finish 3rd in the NC West. They even made the first round of the Supercup Playoffs by winning the last group round game.

So there's a lot to build upon in the upcoming long offseason. The Defense had a strong year, and the Special Teams crowned their season with their first punt return touchdown against TOVARI. Offensively there's still work to do, though. But the SEA LIONS will give their best shot to improve there as well.

And while the official competitive games may be over, they managed to advance to the KO round of the friendly cup WORLD BOWL I. They'll compete with CONSTANTA RAVENS on Wednesday for reaching the finals. Which will be a tough game since the SEA LIONS met with the RAVENS during the season and were beaten handily.

But the SEA LIONS learned a lot since then. And ending the season on a high note is not out of reach yet. They just have to play a complete game.

And maybe run the ball 35 seconds before the end

Eight of their regular season games are in the books and the HAMBURG SEA LIONS are 3-5. It’s been a challenging and intense first half of the season, with some eyeopening outcomes to plays and games. However, coming off a dominating home field performance at HAMMERS SPORTS PARK against the favorite Oxford Bulls, they managed to win 3 of their last four games. The defense continues to play very well, now the offense found a good balance of rushing and passing to get the ball to the opposing half of the field.

The second half of the season now brings all the match-ups with the top-heavy NC South as well as the last game against a team from the AC West, when Melittlemenon thepitchhitchin comes to visit. The chances to win a lot more games are slim, but the SEA LIONS are eager to fight. And of course there are the second games against their own NC West division rivals Free Agent Mascots, Fighting Frankonian and Tovari, where they will try to split the record, having lost all of the first encounters.

On top of that, the SEA LIONS will attend their first Friendly Cup, „World Bowl I“, in November. And with no chances to advance to the playoffs in the Supercup, they will try and win here as much as they can… well knowing that the other teams will try exactly that, too.

With League Game Day 3 coming up the HAMBURG SEA LIONS have had a rocky start to their first real season so far.

While the offseason with their first draft and roster improvement in all parts of the team was quite good, the first games of the new season were at times harsh reminders of how hard it is to play against the big guys now. But the first league games also showed that the Defense is competitive enough to hold the team close and give the Offense a chance to make a play.

This friday, as the team was on the road for 3 consecutive games, the stadium upgrade of HAMMER SPORTS PARK to a capacity of now 66600 visitors was finished. Just in time to welcome a highly decorated team on a farewell tour when the AS ROMA WOLVES come to visit tonight.

Being a nice finish to the first week of the first real season the HAMBURG SEA LIONS look forward to a good game, dispite being the big underdog.

But they know it's all about hard work and growth right now, for being competetive enough to steal a win or two this season. The coming seasons will be better for it.