World Bowl '97 (also referred to as World Bowl V) was the final game of the

1997 WLAF season The 1997 World League of American Football season was the fifth campaign of the WLAF professional American football league, and the third under its six-team Europe-only format. World Bowl '97 was won by the Barcelona Dragons, whose quarterback ...

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

. It was the fifth championship game of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

(WLAF), and the third since the WLAF adopted a six-team European format. The game was held at Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain on Sunday, June 22, 1997. The game was played between the 7–3

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

and the 5–5 Barcelona Dragons. 31,100 fans were in attendance as the Dragons won their first and only World Bowl title in franchise history by beating the Fire 38–24. Dragons quarterback Jon Kitna was given

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

honors after completing 23 of 31 attempts for 401 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Background

The Dragons won the first meeting 27–12 in Düsseldorf, while the Fire won the second meeting 38–23 in Barcelona.

Game summary

The Rhein Fire managed to get the game's early sparks going as they had a nine-play, 46-yard drive that led to a 31-yard field goal by Manfred Burgsmüller. However, the Dragons would put up some real firepower, as Dragons quarterback Jon Kitna led a four-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off with a 13-yard run by running back Terry Wilburn. Then, more than halfway through the first quarter, as Rhein began a drive from deep in their own territory, quarterback T. J. Rubley threw an interception towards Dragons safety Carlos Brooks, who returned the ball 16 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, the fireworks managed to start flying. Rubley would lead a seven-play, 39-yard drive and cap it off with a touchdown on a three-yard quarterback sneak. However, Kitna and the Dragons would respond with a four-play, 79-yard drive that concluded with a 66-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marco Martos. Then, a little later in the quarter, the Dragons would further increase their lead with a five-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 40-yard pass to wide receiver Alfonzo Browning. However, the Rhein Fire refused to trail 28–10 at halftime. Near the end of the half, Rubley would lead a nine-play, 56-yard drive that concluded with him running the ball in for a touchdown on a one-yard quarterback sneak. In the third quarter, both sides had their defenses stiffen throughout most of the quarter. However, the Dragons would eventually get an eight-play, 90-yard drive working for them, as Terry Wilburn capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Trailing 35–17 heading into the fourth quarter, the Rhein Fire had to get some points quick and fast. Unfortunately for them, the only score that they could get in the final quarter was a 22-yard pass from Rubley to wide receiver Sean Foster. The Dragons then capped off their World Bowl title with a 34-yard field goal by Spanish kicker Jesús Angoy.

References

{{NFL on Fox World Bowl 1997 in American football World Bowl June 1997 sports events in Europe 1997 in Spanish sport