World Bowl 2000 (also referred to as World Bowl VIII) was the eighth championship game of the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally ...

League. It was held at Waldstadion in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, Germany on June 25, 2000. The match-up was between the 6–4

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, ...

and the 7–3

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

. 35,860 fans were in attendance to witness the Fire coming from behind to win a close game 13–10 in the second-lowest scoring World Bowl played (only the inaugural World Bowl yielding fewer points). Claymores running back

Aaron Stecker Aaron Stecker (born November 13, 1975) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 1999. He played college football at Western Illinois and Wisconsin. Stecker also played for th ...

was named

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

in the losing cause, rushing for 92 yards including a 36-yard TD.

Background

The Fire won the first meeting 22–10 in Düsseldorf, while the Claymores won the second meeting 31–24 in Scotland.

Game summary

In this low-scoring affair, the Rhein Fire struck first when they went 51 yards on 11 plays in the opening drive, but they could only come up with a 21-yard field goal by

Manfred Burgsmüller Manfred "Manni" Burgsmüller (22 December 1949 – 18 May 2019) was a German professional footballer who played mainly as a striker; he also occasionally operated as a midfielder. He appeared in 447 Bundesliga games over the course of 17 sea ...

. The Claymores responded with their opening drive, by going 75 yards on only three plays and gracefully capping it off with a 36-yard run by running back

. In the second quarter, the Claymores increased their lead by going 52 yards on 12 plays, yet ending up with a 32-yard field goal by

Rob Hart Rob Hart (born 4 November 1974) is an English former American football placekicker in NFL Europe. He played for the England Monarchs in 1998 and Scottish Claymores from 1999–2004. He played college football at Murray State University in Kentu ...

. The Fire managed to respond on an eight-play, 34-yard drive, but the Claymore defense made Rhein settle for a 23-yard field goal by Burgsmüller. Heading into halftime, the Claymores led 10–6 and feeling confident that they would win another championship title. In the second half of the game, both sides failed to score a single point in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, it seemed like the Claymores had the game all but won. However, the Fire refused to go down without a fight. Getting the ball with 5:07 left on the clock, Fire quarterback

Danny Wuerffel Daniel Carl Wuerffel (born May 27, 1974) is a former college and professional American football quarterback. Wuerffel attended the University of Florida, where he was a prolific passer for the Florida Gators under head coach Steve Spurrier. Wuerf ...

led his team on an eight-play, 43-yard drive that was not only time-consuming, but Fire running back Pepe Pearson scored the game-winning touchdown from a yard out. Even though the Claymores got the ball back and managed to gel some reasonable yardage, Hart's 40-yard field goal attempt (which would have tied the game up) went wide left, preserving Rhein's small lead and giving them their second World Bowl title in three years. World Bowl 2000 was the final game in charge for the two head coaches, who up until then had each taken charge of every game in team history. Both would depart for the newly created

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

, with Rhein's

Galen Hall Galen Samuel Hall (born August 14, 1940) is a retired American college and professional football coach and player. He is a native of Pennsylvania, and an alumnus of Penn State University, where he played college football. Hall was previously t ...

taking charge of the

Orlando Rage The Orlando Rage was an American football team based in Orlando, Florida as part of the XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. History The team's colors were sc ...

and Scotland's

Jim Criner Jim Criner (born March 30, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State University from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career record of as a college footbal ...

at the Las Vegas Outlaws.

References

{{NFL on FOX World Bowl 2000 NFL Europe season 2000 in American football Sports competitions in Frankfurt 2000 in German sport June 2000 sports events in Europe 2000s in Frankfurt