World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...

XIV, officially known as Yello Strom World Bowl XIV, was the 2006 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 f ...

League. It was held at the

LTU arena Merkur Spielarena (stylized as MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA), previously known as the Esprit Arena (until 2 August 2018), the LTU Arena (until June 2009), and as the Düsseldorf Arena (during the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest), is a multi-functional footbal ...

in Düsseldorf, Germany on Saturday, May 27, 2006. The game was between the defending World Bowl champion

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to ...

, who finished the season in first place with a record of 7–3, and the second-placed Frankfurt Galaxy, who finished with a record of 7–3 as well. 36,286 people were in attendance, as the Galaxy stripped the Admirals of their title in a 22–7 victory. Frankfurt running back

Butchie Wallace Butchie is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by S. Robert Morgan. A blind man, he runs an East-Side Baltimore bar, and is Omar Little's bank and advisor. Like his character, actor S. Robert Morgan is blind; ...

was named MVP of World Bowl XIV, by running 18 times for 143 yards (with his longest rush being 63 yards) and 1 touchdown. This was the first World Bowl that wasn't played in June, as the league wanted to avoid a clash with the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

. Also, it marked the third-straight year that a team would fall in a World Bowl after winning the title in the previous year.

Background

The Admirals swept the regular season series against the Galaxy (38–20 in Amsterdam and 17–12 in Frankfurt).

Game summary

In a low-scoring first half, the Galaxy struck first with 1:55 left in the first quarter. Frankfurt defensive tackle

Jerome Nichols Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...

sacked Admirals quarterback

Jared Allen Jared Scot Allen (born April 3, 1982) is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football at Idaho State and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth ...

in the end zone for a safety. However, in the second quarter, the Admirals would respond with a 7-play, 55-yard drive that ended with Amsterdam running back

Larry Croom Larry Croom (born October 29, 1981, in Long Beach, California) is a former American football running back. Croom played for Long Beach Polytechnic High School and then attended Arizona before transferring to UNLV and then joining the NFL and in ...

running 12 yards for a touchdown. It gave the Admirals a 7–2 halftime lead. However, these seven points would be all that the Admirals would score. In the third quarter, Frankfurt quarterback

Jeff Otis Jeff Otis (born January 30, 1983) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as a street free agent in 2006. He played college football at Columbia. Otis was also a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, St. Lo ...

led his team on an 8-play, 66-yard drive that ended with Butchie Wallance running 4 yards for a touchdown. On their next possession, Frankfurt kicker

David Kimball David Wayne Kimball (born January 13, 1982, in Fredericksburg, Virginia) is a former professional American football placekicker, most notably with the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. He was allocated to NFL Europe by the Oakland Raiders in 2006. ...

kicking a 29-yard field goal, which would give the Galaxy a 12–7 lead going into the final quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Amsterdam Admirals couldn't get any points onto the board, as Frankfurt's defense closed any hope of a comeback. Meanwhile, the Galaxy offense, led by Otis, widened their lead with a 14-play, 62-yard drive that was capped off with a 37-yard field goal by Kimball. On their next possession, Frankfurt delivered the final nail for the Admirals coffin as Galaxy running back

J.R. Niklos John Russell Niklos II (born, June 19, 1979) is a former American football fullback. Early years J.R. played high school football and track for Thomas Worthington High School where he was an All American in both Track and Football. J.R. won th ...

capped off a 3-play, 74-yard drive with a 12-yard dash to the end zone for a touchdown. With their victory, the Galaxy captured their fourth World Bowl title in franchise history.

Scoring summary

*Frankfurt - Safety Nichols sacks Allen 1:55 1st *Amsterdam - TD Croom 12 yd run 7:32 2nd *Frankfurt - TD Wallance 4 yd run 4:22 3rd *Frankfurt - FG Kimball 29 yd 0:29 3rd *Frankfurt - FG Kimball 37 yd 4:37 4th *Frankfurt - TD Niklos 12 yd run 1:06 4th

References

External links

Frankfurt runs way to 4th title
{{Frankfurt Galaxy World Bowl 2006 in American football 2006 NFL Europe season May 2006 sports events in Europe