Munich Cowboys Explained

Team:Munich Cowboys
Pixels:215px
Founded:1979
Stadium:Dantestadion
City:Munich, Germany
Colors:Black and Gold
President:Werner L. Maier
Coach:Christos Lambropoulos
Championships:German Bowl

1993

Ladies Bowl: 2005, 2006
Titles:GFL South: 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001
GFL 2 South: 2004, 2007
Cheerleaders:Munich Cowboys Cheerleader
Mascot:Lucky Muc
Website:munich-cowboys.de

The Munich Cowboys are an American football team based in Munich, Germany. The club, together with the Düsseldorf Panther and the Ansbach Grizzlies, is one of the oldest in Germany.[1] The team refers to itself as The Grand Old Team of the South.[2]

The club has one national championship to its name, winning the German Bowl in 1993.[3] As of 2015, the club has played more GFL games than any other team, 405, followed by the Berlin Adler with 378, one of only three other teams with more than 300 league games. The Cowboys have played 35 out of a possible 38 seasons at the highest level of the game in Germany, more than any other club.[4]

History

American football in Munich dates back to 1975 when local football enthusiasts met with soldiers of the US Army to play the game. In 1979, the Munich Cowboys club was formed.[2]

In 1979, the Cowboys became a founding member of the American Football Bundesliga, renamed the German Football League in 1999,[5] together with the Frankfurter Löwen, Düsseldorf Panther, Ansbach Grizzlies, Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks.[6]

The Cowboys made their first appearance in the national championship game, the German Bowl, in 1992, but lost the game to the Düsseldorf Panther by a point.

The 1993 season saw the club's greatest success. It reached the German Bowl once more, this time against the Cologne Crocodiles. Playing at home in Munich, the Cowboys where 7–20 behind at half time but managed to equalise 29–29 at the end of regular time. The team then turned the game around and defeated the Crocodiles 42–36 to win their first, and as of 2019, only national championship.[2]

After an era of lesser success, the team came close to reaching the German Bowl once more in 2000 and 2001 when, on both occasions, Munich lost to the Braunschweig Lions in the semi-finals.[2]

After 22 consecutive seasons at the highest level of German football, the Bundesliga and, later, the GFL, the Cowboys withdrew to the tier-three Regionalliga Süd for the 2003 season. The clubs exile in the lower leagues was short-lived, winning promotion to the GFL 2 on first attempt and, from there, to the GFL in 2004. The team was however relegated from the GFL again in 2006.[2]

Munich returned to the GFL in the 2008 season and came third in the southern division, losing once more to the Braunschweig Lions in the play-offs. The year 2009 was less successful and the Cowboys were almost relegated once more.[2]

The team continued to be present in the GFL in 2010, where it was once more troubled by relegation fears but survived and will stay in the league for 2011. Phil Hickey, coach of the team and a member of the 1993 championship-winning side,[7] is confident that he can take the Cowboys back to championship contention by 2012.[8]

The club suffers from strong competition within the city from other sports, especially the association football clubs FC Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich as well as the ice hockey team EHC München. Additionally, the ambitious basketball team of the FC Bayern Munich took over the clubs cheerleading team in 2009. The Cowboys, who attracted 1,100 spectators per game in 2009 suffered a 30 percent drop in attendance in 2010.[9] In 2011, the Cowboys finished fourth in their division and qualified for the play-offs once more, where they were knocked out by the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in the quarter finals. In 2012, the club came eighth in the southern division of the GFL, having to face GFL2 southern champions Allgäu Comets in the promotion-relegation play-off in which the Cowboys won both games and survived. The 2013 season saw a much improved performance with the team finishing third but being knocked out in the quarter finals of the play-offs by the Dresden Monarchs.

In the 2014 season the club finished fourth in the southern division of the GFL but lost 28–69 to the NewYorker Lions in the quarter finals of the play-offs. The following season they missed out on play-off qualification after finishing fifth.

The Munich Cowboys Ladies team has been quite successful in its recent past, reaching the Ladies Bowl on five occasions and winning it in 2005 and 2006.

Honours

Men

Women

Juniors

German Bowl appearances

The club's appearances in the German Bowl:

BowlDateChampionsRunners-UpScoreLocationAttendance
3 October 1992 Düsseldorf Panther Munich Cowboys 24–23 8,750
25 September 1993 Munich Cowboys Cologne Crocodiles 42–36 (aet) 9,000

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the Munich Cowboys:[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Year DivisionFinish Points Pct.Games W D LPF PAPostseason
20042. BL (South)1st 20–4 0.83312 10 0 2387 131
2005GFL (South)5th 2–18 0.10010 1 0 987 321
20066th 3–21 0.12512 1 1 10154 476Lost RR: Weinheim Longhorns (0–20 & 14–27)
2007GFL2 (South)1st 27–1 0.96414 13 1 0379 166Won PR: Saarland Hurricanes (48–2 & 25–7)
2008GFL (South)3rd 14–10 0.58312 7 0 5224 164Lost QF: Braunschweig Lions (10–32)
20096th 4–20 0.16712 2 0 10151 261Won RR: Franken Knights (28–24 & 19–7)
20105th 6–18 0.25012 3 0 9174 411
20114th 14–14 0.50014 7 0 7256 277Lost QF: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (6–45)
20128th 5–23 0.17914 2 1 11297 473Won RR: Allgäu Comets (59–35 & 33–24)
20133rd 19–9 0.67914 9 1 4380 275Lost QF: Dresden Monarchs (14–59)
20144th 16–12 0.57114 8 0 6454 453Lost QF: New Yorker Lions (28–69)
20155th 14–14 0.50014 7 0 7312 380
20166th 10–18 0.35714 5 0 9335 560
20177th 6–22 0.21414 3 0 11278 489
20184th 12–16 0.42914 6 0 8290 373Lost QF: New Yorker Lions (14–59)
20197th 7–21 0.25014 3 1 10238 423
2020No season played because of the COVID-19 pandemic
20213rd 12–8 0.60010 6 0 4289 118Lost QF: Potsdam Royals (23–36)
20222nd 17–3 0.85010 8 1 1303 176Lost QF: Cologne Crocodiles (31–34)
20235th 6–18 0.25012 3 0 9169 359

Notes and References

  1. http://www.ansbach-grizzlies.com/herren/history.html Vereinsgeschichte
  2. http://www.munich-cowboys.de/vereinsgeschichte/index.php Vereinsgeschichte
  3. http://www.gfl.info/text.php?Inhalt=bowls#German_Bowl Bowls
  4. http://www.football-history.de/ Ewige Bundesligatabelle
  5. http://www.afvd.de/text.php?Inhalt=page&ID=134&menu=18 GFL German Football League
  6. http://www.afvd.de/text.php?Inhalt=page&ID=131&menu=18&menu=14&HP=AFVD#Geburtsstunde Geschichte
  7. http://www.munich-cowboys.de/head-coach-gfl-team/head-coach.html Phil Hickey
  8. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/sport/american-football-munich-cowboys-naechste-saison-ganz-bestimmt-1.991520 Nächste Saison, ganz bestimmt
  9. http://www.football-aktuell.de/cgi-bin/news.pl?artikel=128914206050101116&rubrik=50101116 Munich Cowboys 2010 – eine Bilanz
  10. http://www.football-aktuell.de/cgi-bin/schedule.pl?rubrik=5010 GFL 2011
  11. http://www.football-history.de/ Football History
  12. http://www.football-aktuell.de/cgi-bin/aschedule.pl?rubrik=50101116&jahr=2008 Munich Cowboys 2008
  13. http://www.football-aktuell.de/cgi-bin/aschedule.pl?rubrik=50101116&jahr=2009 Munich Cowboys 2009
  14. http://www.football-aktuell.de/cgi-bin/aschedule.pl?rubrik=50101116&jahr=2010 Munich Cowboys 2010