Unicorn Town (2022) Movie Script
I was 5,000
miles away from home
and we were one play away
from making American
football history in Germany.
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Alright, let's back up
for a second here.
I need to first explain
how I ended up
in Schwbisch Hall.
So my name is Nick Alfieri.
I'm from a big football family.
I played college
football at Georgetown.
Alfieri knocked it loose.
After that,
I got into film school at USC,
which was basically a dream
come true for me.
So I moved to Los Angeles
but then a few months
into that first semester,
I really started to miss
playing football.
And coincidentally,
around the same time,
these football programs from
Europe started contacting me
with opportunities
to go play over there.
So I left.
Final moments at the
USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Now, the plan was
to go play football
and at the same time
make a documentary
about a team in a tiny town
in Germany called The Unicorns.
I mean, I--
I think it's safe to say
we're the number one
sport in town,
which probably is not true for
any football team in Germany.
The town
of Schwbisch Hall has
so much to do with The Unicorns.
Unicorns somewhere else,
I don't think would be,
as special without
the town of Schwbisch Hall.
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn!
The people here
are the reason
why The Unicorns are successful.
Because it's a small city,
everybody knows us.
When our home game
is with The Unicorn,
it's like a thing to go to meet
people, watch The Unicorns
and see what a great game
of American football is.
So I arrived
in Schwbisch Hall, Germany.
I was welcomed
by The Unicorns founder
and my new head coach, Sigi.
He seemed proud of his team
and of this town.
You won't find too many
people in town
that you go to and ask, "Hey,
do you know who The Unicorns?"
And they, "No. What's that?"
That-- That won't happen.
They're part of--
part of the city?
Now, this wasn't
some big NFL contract.
Schwbisch Hall is a small town
team with a small town budget.
The organization provided
a place to stay.
Access to a car, meals
and a small monthly stipend.
But I wasn't the only American,
there was a group of us.
And we all came
from different places,
but had similar stories.
Successful college careers,
some of us flirted with the pros
and our desire
to keep playing football
landed all of us in Germany.
But just being here
from where I'm from,
you don't really ever
hear about Germany.
I was kind of just like,
yo, is this shit real?
Like, The Unicorns?
Like what pops in your head when
you think of a Unicorn, man?
Like, I need to be
a bear or something.
Now we had to adapt
to the European experience,
living in a different country
with a different culture,
different food
and a different language.
That's like a mile from here
and I didn't even jump.
Sprechen sie Englisch?
Yeah.
Can I get a strawberry shake?
We talked about
that we're in the moment stuff,
and the last thing I'll leave
you all with is don't forget,
you are professionals
amongst amateurs.
That's an, uh, a very different
type of situation.
You are professional
football players
amongst amateurs
around you, alright?
So there is an extra
set of pressure.
There is more eyes on you
than everybody else.
Okay? That's just
the way it is, alright?
Um, and that doesn't go just
with the guys on our team,
but with fans,
with everybody, you know?
You guys are going to get
the most press clippings,
the most everything and you all
know what comes with that?
And I think it's important
for you all to know
just how we deal with our guys
because you know how it is here.
Guys have jobs, kids, wives,
all that kind of stuff,
coming from three hours away.
Uh, we tell our guys we want
to be at 70% of practices.
That's our goal.
So, um, yeah,
just understand
there's a different expectation
and set of rules that apply to
you guys over German players.
Okay? And that's just--
just the way it is, okay?
Everything was new
and overwhelming but exciting.
And then we were shown
the Ami house.
Tell me mama
where did things go wrong
Tell me mama,
Where did things go wrong
Tell me mama,
Where did things go wrong
About the Ami house,
the Ami house is awesome.
The Ami house
was not that awesome.
The Ami house, man, wow!
You want to talk about shacks?
That was a shack, man.
Like-- Like technically,
it was a house.
And then like, you'd have
thought we're in the woods, man.
Like, we were, just kind of
like, we were in the woods.
I'm sure it does.
It's just called sorting
because in Germany,
you put dark glass together
and clear glass together.
The one cool part
of the house was the lineup
of passport photos
from all the Americans
that had played for
The Unicorns in the past.
I guess if they could do it,
so could we.
And Smoke seemed cool.
Is that some of your stuff,
what we can throw away?
I mean,
because I want to put
the paper stuff away, that one.
Let's see, is any of
the stuff has my name on it?
That-- That's from you.
My name is Thomas Rauch
but everybody say to me,
Smoke in, uh, our team
because the Americans
cannot say Rauch.
Rauch means, in English, Smoke.
And, um, I'm over 30
so I don't want to say
the right age, what I am.
And I play for The Unicorns
since 2005, a long time.
So The Unicorns play in
the German Football League,
which is comprised of 16 teams,
eight in the North
and eight in the south.
The Unicorns, founded in 1983,
play in the GFL South.
And I'll let Sigi
tell you the rest.
So we still had an
American base here at that time
with about 800 American soldiers
and there was a German
American Friendship Club
that we approached
and said, "Can you help us
finding some people
who have played before,
who can coach maybe?"
And that was very
important early on.
Our first really
successful year was '95
when we,
uh, won the championship
in the Fourth League,
it went pretty much
straight up from '95 on.
18 years, you know,
no Southern team
had won the championship
and suddenly we were champions,
you know,
so that was pretty crazy.
So what I've gathered
is that the Unicorns used to be
this championship winning team
but in recent years,
the league has been changing.
Success is now coming from
teams in major German cities
with big sponsorship deals
leading to large budgets.
The Prime example of this
and the team, The Unicorns,
can't seem to get past
is New Yorker.
They have, uh, so much
financial power behind them
and a-- and a big city
and a big stadium,
it's kind of intimidating.
My biggest fear is that maybe
this is the make or break year
for us to either
get it done or not.
Now I was still
trying to fully wrap
my head around all of this
but what I did know is that
these people seem determined.
So I guess that's what
we're there to do.
Get The Unicorns
back on top of the GFL
with the German Bowl
Championship.
Hut!
The two teams, like I said,
that are going to be
the biggest competition for us
are the Frankfurt Universe
the Braunschweig Lions.
Frankfurt just came up
from the second league.
Play, play, play.
Go away! Go away! Go away!
And they basically
re-did their whole roster
with everybody
they had bought and got.
Go. Go, deeper.
They're coming out
with a lot of hype.
Alright, catch that.
Three. Go.
Left, left, left.
There you go.
And then whoever
gets the closest wins.
Take it easy on these guys.
This is their first time
in Europe.
Alright, uh, Dev, turn around,
Rudy is up first--
Alright. We got Croatia
Croatia!
So Rudy, he was a guy
I thought we would never get.
His talent level,
what we saw on film,
we knew he was
a great, great player,
but we felt he was
a guy almost too good
to get out here just because
of all the opportunities
he had going on in the States.
Before I came to Germany,
just in a state of,
like, an unknown, like,
right out of the NFL stuff
and I'm so close like,
I want to come
to Germany for a year
and then go back,
you know what I'm saying?
Like, hopefully
get another shot.
It's great.
It's really cool because
you cannot see their face
because nobody want to see
how ugly they are.
So that's why we make
picture like this.
The struggle is real.
Before I came to Germany,
I was on downward spiral,
had a lot of growing up to do,
wasn't playing football no more.
Terrible job, didn't want
to be involved with it.
Just looking at my life,
it's like,
Man, this is not
where I wanted to be.
It's not where-- It's not
what I see myself doing.
Once I finally made
the decision in my mind
that something needed
to change, uh,
I got the call from Neuman.
-Hey, Nick.
-Yeah?
-You want a "houte"?
-Fire-out beer.
Fire-out beer.
That's a fire-out beer.
-What beer?
-You know? After--
-After work.
-Yeah.
-We call it fire-out beer.
-Thank you.
Let's go.
Let's go.
The energy really
started to pick up
as we got closer
to the first game.
And The Unicorns
seemed to be
pretty popular around town.
-You're The Unicorn?
-Unicorns, yeah.
-Have a good day, dude.
-You too.
Next up, Devin Benton.
Everyone is hyped
for the first season game.
We head strong.
Left, left, left. Come on.
Here we go.
I'm gonna say hi to
The Unicorns, hey, hello.
-Hello.
I'm pushed,
I'm hyped because I know
what game day means.
When you get to the
line of scrimmage,
be like this.
Three. Go.
Here.
Three. Go.
-Alright, good.
-Sounds like you're going down.
...low and
as soon as they go by...
-First-- The first--
-As soon as they go by
-he should be wide open.
-I thought-- I thought you--
So when you decide to play
with a German quarterback,
I think one of
the first things you'll get
is people wondering
why you do that.
Everybody knows
that the quarterback
is by far the most important
position in football.
And a lot of teams,
the majority out here
is just going to go get the best
import quarterback they can
and play with him
and just put it on him.
Us, as a program,
we decided Marco's our guy.
He's came through the program.
Not only has he shown
that we can win with him,
but Marco's a guy,
we put a lot on his plate.
You bring in an American
because you think
he plays better than any German.
But we've been playing
at the top of Europe
for the last three years
with me playing at
the quarterback position.
There's always going
to be that little bit of doubt
until he finish it off
with a championship.
That's the challenge he faces.
That's the challenge
we face as a program.
But, you know,
we're really happy
and we're really
lucky to have him here.
You see?
-Made. He made.
-Yeah, he made.
Well, I cook for the whole team.
It's damn hard work but, hey,
you know, whatever
gives us the W afterwards.
Aa-hoo!
Is that turkey?
We got season opening,
Frankfurt gonna be in town.
It should be, uh,
an exciting one here.
to get
the season going, huh, Matias?
Yes, sir.
-Yeah.
-That's it.
So our first game of the year
and my first football
game in Germany
was against the hot
new team, Frankfurt.
They have a huge backing
from the old NFL Europe days
for the Frankfurt Galaxy.
So they still
have a ton of fans.
So everybody knew
they were going to be
a competitor right away.
They weren't a regular team
that had just come up
for the first day.
They were gonna try
and make a statement
from the very beginning,
the very first year
in the league.
Here we go!
I'm an old guy, so I wasn't
scared or nothing like that.
But the excitement,
of course, always hits you
before every football game.
Ladies and gentlemen.
We're fine, let's go. Let's go.
Please welcome,
The Schwbisch Hall Unicorns.
Right. Two...
Yeah!
For us, you know, we--
we jumped out early.
And they--
they came flying back.
Yeah, I'll tell
you what, man, that game,
it was a back and
forth battle, honestly.
And then when you have
two teams that talented,
I mean both teams are
going to make their plays.
Unicorns! Unicorns!
But in the long run,
that went well for us.
We were able to grind
out the W there, week one.
After a year off, it felt
great to play football again.
And I was impressed
with the level of competition.
Football in Germany
was better than I expected.
So good, in fact,
that this happened.
With the 180th pick
in the 2016 NFL draft,
the Minnesota Vikings select
Moritz Boehringer,
a wide receiver from Germany.
Let's go, Vikings.
My name is Moritz
and I'm playing for
Schwbisch Hall Unicorns.
My name is Moritz and I play
for Schwbisch Hall Unicorns.
My name is Moritz
and I play for Schwa--
Minnesota Vikings.
Moritz Boehringer played
for The Unicorns in 2015,
and in April of 2016, shortly
after the Frankfurt Game,
he was drafted into the NFL.
I mean, this was a guy
who hopefully,
you know, in a year
or two is producing.
I think, all of the GFL
and European football is
all hoping the same thing
because it shows
that there are guys
who are talented enough
to go over and play.
They're just going to
need a little time.
But then the refs like,
"Hey, uh,
you got to be careful,
that was a late hit."
And I was like,
"I was the one that got hit,
like, my teammate."
I mean, are you ki-- That's
probably why they throw a flag
because it was this,
it was this green, the green.
One of them is here today.
He just got in a-- He got
in a fight with Jordan there,
in our U16 game.
Yeah.
We started a junior team
pretty soon after
we started the senior team.
I mean, right now
I have to figure out
that we get good,
really good young kids,
fresh blood to
The Unicorns organization so
I hope I can help.
Good job. Good job.
Being, uh,
the number one sport here
helps us to get the best talent.
Do you like
coaching the youth?
Yeah, it's very cool,
I mean, because
a lot of them are really raw.
So you--
you can make something
out of them.
Uh, it used to be that,
okay, the really
talented athletes would play
soccer or basketball or track.
And I think we get a lot
that could be successful
in other sports
but choose to play football.
Let's go, offense. Let's go.
Go, man, go. Go, man, go.
The Unicorns is
successful because
you know, they put
a ton of time and effort
into their youth program.
2010, 11, 12 when they
started win German Bowls,
they're doing it with
pretty much all guys
from Schwbisch Hall.
You know, we don't have
three million
people in our city,
it's 40,000
so you're only going to
have 20, 30 kids.
So if you want to be good
in the future,
you have to make sure those 20,
30 are well-coached
and so when they eventually
get to the senior team,
you know,
they're going to be talented
and they could help them out.
As we got used to
this new life in Germany,
I got some insights from
a long time Unicorn player,
Bruno.
Shall we get a coffee first?
-Yes, absolutely.
-Yeah.
Kind of reassess
this game plan.
So in 2006, I actually
played with Jordan,
by the way, just to--
to wrap this back around,
he's now-- he's now coach.
Um, there's a lot of guys
that are flaggies,
like Marco,
I-- I coached Marco.
- That's hilarious.
-Um,
as a flaggie
when he was 13 years old.
It's not just about the game.
It's-- it's all the surrounding
things here.
Had I gone to another
organization,
um, I don't think
I'd be playing anymore.
Now you look cool.
-It's a contrast.
-Yeah.
-Black and white.
-Yeah, black and white.
-Black and white.
-Man, I gotta be right here.
-You be right there.
-For a real contrast.
And it did take a
while to get acclimated,
but I think by the time
we were heading down
to the game in Austria,
we had all settled in.
Now this is exactly
what I hoped
playing football in Europe
would be like.
Travelling to a beautiful city
in a different country.
Playing in a big stadium
surrounded by the Alps.
It felt like a whole world away
from a classroom in California.
Call it, we'll have bigger
personnel--
Go might-- make it strong.
That tells you everything.
When we went against Swarco,
obviously, we're up against,
you know, the number two
team in Europe.
We knew they were
going to be a great team.
On our stretches, make sure
we come in nice and flat
out of the gate on
our stretches around, alright?
Well, like, we came in to that
game like a-- on a high note
after the-- whole
season beginning.
Like we beat Frankfurt.
Ain't nobody will stop us.
The Schwbisch Hall Unicorns,
the two-time German champion.
The warriors are about
to enter the pitch.
Here they are,
The Swarco Raiders Tirol.
The game was a disaster.
Shelton oversees
the field, finds Zbakha.
Is it a touchdown? Indeed.
This could get out of hands
if The Unicorns don't score
this time around.
This was really unexpected.
All right.
First thing is this,
where we go from here?
We go from here for us.
we come together, do great.
We come together to be great.
Where we go from here?
Got a whole season to play,
German bowl to go after.
Where do we go from here? Okay?
The one and only
GFL 13 games to go.
Okay? That's it.
This-- This big six is over.
We didn't--
We didn't shine but guys,
we play hopefully till October.
Yeah, that's a long time.
Alright? Come on, bring it in.
-Ready Uni--
-Corns!
Okay!
The following week
we watched from home
as New Yorker
drove down to Austria
and dominated Swarco.
New Yorker looked
stronger than ever
and our goal of a German Bowl
Championship seems unlikely.
The next game,
I broke my collar bone.
Thank you.
Take the elevator?
Yeah, elevator. No stairs.
Adrenaline is wearing off,
and this actually hurts so bad.
That is my collarbone
sticking up.
And it's, uh,
indications to operating
because there are more pieces.
-It's dislocated, yes?
-Yeah.
I need surgery,
and now I'm starting
to question everything.
I figured The Unicorns
would send me home.
That's what teams in Europe do
when their American
imports get hurt.
Uh, I just had to get
out of the house.
I can't sit around all day
with this collar bone situation.
I need to get out and move
around, otherwise I'll go crazy.
From us,
as an organization standpoint,
we're in a tough,
tough situation
because that's a longer injury,
and we've got to make a decision
whether we're going
to send Nick home
and get somebody
over here who can play?
The easy decision,
just thank him for being here.
Make sure he's healthy,
and then send him home
and get a guy who can finish
this season healthy
and that we know
is going to be here.
Okay, um,
I just got off
the phone with Jordan
and he told me that The Unicorns
are not going to send me home,
they're going to keep me here,
in Schwbisch Hall,
which is actually amazing.
I thought that they would
for sure send me home
and get a new import, um,
but they said, uh,
they're going to keep me here
and for me to get healthy
and try and get ready
for the playoffs,
uh, which is
in a couple of months.
So I use my new time
away from the field
to find out everything I could
about the Schwbisch Hall
Unicorns.
Talking about the mentality
of Schwbisch Hall,
I'm-- I'm obviously biased
because I-- I was born
and raised here.
And so there's
a lot of local pride.
We're not like people from
Stuttgart who are Swabian,
you know, they
always think we are
because of the Schwabisch
in our name but we aren't.
And we're not like the people
from Nuremberg,
from Northern Bavaria
who are Franconian
because we're something
in between.
And that's a-- that's a little
bit of the mentality here
is that we are
something special.
Have you been
to the museum up there?
Yeah, Schurmann
and Tobi Loffler took me.
Uh, Schurmann and Tobi,
they took me.
To the Hallisch Frankisches
Museum?
-It's awesome.
-They actually have
Christian Rothe's jersey
and, uh,
my game plan and
-something else.
-In the museum?
In the museum from
our first German Bowl win.
Because the museum director
came to me and said,
"Can I get some stuff?
Because this is--
you wrote history."
My job is, uh,
being a high school teacher.
And then, uh,
with a full schedule,
I balance that with coaching
through experience, I guess.
So you maybe you
want to talk about
the-- the educational
system in the USA,
um, as-- as one possible topic.
We have one full-time employee.
That's my office coordinator,
Jordan Newman.
We don't even
have any part time,
so everybody else is volunteer.
Well, if I compare that--
The Unicorn situation to
teams like Frankfurt
and Braunschweig,
they have quite a few
full-time employees,
several full-time coaches
and then also, uh,
front office people
that are-- that work full time
and yeah, so we're at--
at a disadvantage there that,
you know, we have to make up
for it by other means.
We don't pay
our German players.
And I've got to go out
and recruit some of the best
German talent around.
Yet compete with other teams
who are telling them,
"I'll give you this amount
of money to come here."
And I've got to sell to them,
"Come here despite
not making the money."
Yeah, I had, uh,
a good offer from, uh,
Frankfurt before the season.
I was thinking about
it for a long time.
I'm not sure if we can--
we can keep it forever
or for-- for very long because,
I mean, into that, uh, teams
who do pay the majority
of their players
and eventually,
you know, that's a--
that's a recruiting
factor that--
that's gotta be hard.
Learning that
these German guys
are playing for
The Unicorns for free,
when a lot of them could go
make money at other teams
was really eye opening for me.
You know, like,
it's really hard to
stay up early, go to work,
go back from work,
go straight to youth practice,
after youth practice
at senior practice.
And then like Laura,
my girlfriend, say, "Hey,
do you-- do you remember me?"
So I got my surgery
and I returned to practice.
Well played. Well played.
So be shallow, curl,
and a shoot
coming out like this.
So you got that nice triangle.
After being around
the team less as a player
and more someone
with an outside perspective,
I started to notice some things.
Football with The Unicorns
was different.
Oh, yeah.
Are you alright?
Good luck. Thank you.
He is--
-Raph!
-Yeah, what's up, Matias?
I've gotten so used to
the American approach to it
being such a job in
high school and college
that seeing these guys play
with such an authentic passion
and joy was absolutely amazing.
Big team!
One, two, three, big team!
Now the Swarco game
was the Unicorns
worst loss in years,
a 34-0 beat down.
And as a football player,
you'd expect a dip in morale
after a game like that.
But the attitude of the team
remained optimistic,
energized and excited.
-Whoa, here we go.
-Stand to right of Smoke.
Stand to left of Smoke.
-You like my new haircut?
-Yeah, man. Looks good.
-I like you too.
Whoo!
Thank you.
Whoo!
My-- My main
thing is, guys, it'll be,
uh, after a week off, you know,
there'll be a lot of hoopla
around the game.
-Lots of people there.
-Lots of what?
-Whatever, I'll explain later.
-Hoopla.
-Hoopla!
Lots of people there.
-What's a hoopla?
-Uh, everybody?
If you're-- If you're on
the field, you have to focus.
Okay? We cannot have
any mental mistakes.
Yeah, you're there-- you play
football with your teammates.
You do the right stuff, okay?
Know what you have to do
and do it.
And then you're--
we're a good team.
-Alright, let's go, bring it in.
-I like that.
-Ready, Uni--
-Corns!
Go Unicorns!
Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!
-Are you ready?
-Aa-hoo!
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
You are? Oh, yeah.
-Are you ready?
-Aa-hoo! Aa-hoo!
-Who are we?
-The U.
The U. It's all about the U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
I got you!
Very good, man!
Three-One. Three-Jack.
Unicorn.
Here comes the Unicorns.
In US, you finish your game,
you have protein bar
and some Gatorade.
Over here,
you take off your pads,
you have a cigarette
and a beer.
-Cheers!
-Cheers!
Doodah doodah day
Doodah doodah day
Doodah doodah day
Mikey-Mike
Through the microphone
Doodah doodah day
While New Yorker was
dominating their schedule,
Rudy started getting
some attention from the NFL.
My agents
telling me this stuff like,
Saints looking at you still,
they're asking information,
like, you're looking good,
keep balling.
In the back of my mind,
you know,
of course,
that's still the goal,
you know, go to the league,
but, like, I'm still
living in the moment.
You know, I-- I'm focused
on the season and trying to win.
Meanwhile, I was trying
to get back on the field.
Yeah, it's very
tender right there.
-And it's sensitive?
-Oh, there's the worst of it.
-Yeah, that's the worst.
-Yeah.
At the back, yes.
you know,
that's just musculary thing.
These injuries
just take some time
-to heal, yeah? I can't...
-Yeah.
-Well, after this game, well--
-I think that's--
-Yeah.
-It just takes time.
Uh, just back from
the doctor again,
and we play--
we will probably play Frankfurt
in the GFL South title game.
And they are not sure
if I will be ready
for that or not.
In the GFL,
there's a natural pressure
on American imports to perform.
Now being injured and not being
able to contribute to the team,
especially when you're
one of the only paid players,
is an uncomfortable situation.
But The Unicorns
never made me feel bad.
Did you load yet?
-Hello, Nick.
-Hey.
-How's it going?
-What did the doctor say?
Uh, still a bit longer.
-Probably
-And you need to stop moving it?
Yeah, I got to
stop moving it.
-Hi guys.
Come on.
Moritz, you better
get out here for practice.
And one of the cool
things I learned
is that Sigi won't ever turn
anyone away from The Unicorns.
Hey, let me introduce you,
this is Daniel.
-From Spain.
-Hello.
-He's going to play for us.
-Hola, senor.
They want to be on the team,
he'll let them join.
Madrid.
Buck up.
Go Madrid!
-Unicorn in Spanish?
-Unicornio.
-Unicornio.
-Unicornio.
That's my Unicornio.
Unicornio on three.
Because it's a big family, so--
And everybody takes
care of everybody.
So I never, ever want to
play for, uh, other team
only the U.
Yeah, isn't it weird?
This is the first summer
that I haven't been home.
Yeah, it's still kind of broken.
I mean,
it feels better, but I'm not--
I'm not clear to play yet.
But actually,
we're going on a trip right now.
Uh, like, in five minutes,
I have the doctor's appointment.
-When we get back. Yeah.
- Really?
Prague, Czech Republic.
I know, isn't that cool?
-Hey, Nick?
-Yeah.
-Are you ready?
-Hey, I'm almost ready.
Alright, I've to go.
About to leave.
Tell everybody
I say hi, alright?
Okay.
See you, bro. Bye.
One of the first things
that Jordan told us
when we got to Germany was
that during our by-weekends,
The Unicorns wanted
us imports to travel
and experience Europe
outside of football.
Good?
The squad headed to Prague.
Made it to Budapest.
To the Cliffs of Moher.
I'll be silver, I'll be gold
Have my heart
But leave my soul
We're finally in Stockholm.
All that's done will be forgot
But not forgiven
It took some time
But now I know
The lesson was
Just letting go
And I feel fine
What do you guys wanna do?
-I'm gonna see the waterfall.
-Oh, yeah?
-Should we walk to it?
-Yeah.
Let's do it. You wanna walk
down to the waterfall?
If Rudy runs don't run, alright?
-know.
-I can't even see.
-We toasted that thing.
-Yeah, we did toast him.
And. Yeah, yeah.
The well-being
of the players is always
number one on my agenda.
I don't want to see
it as a business, you know?
Where you just bring in
people and say,
Hey, you know,
you guys play for us.
Uh, we want to get
as much production
out of you as possible,
and that's it.
But I would like
for these people to-- to
grow themselves
and help us grow.
You know what
I'm saying? We're here to
have this human experience.
You can't have that
without taking risk.
You can't have that without, uh,
getting on a flight
and coming to Germany
where you know
nobody from there,
where you're,
uh, you by yourself,
you leaving your parents,
you leaving your whole family
back at the crib,
you gonna be in a-- a place
that you never thought you'd be,
meeting people that you
never thought you would meet,
having relationships that
you never thought you'd have,
can't shy away from it.
I said years ago
when Frankfurt was
probably the third league,
and we said, well, you know,
we're-- we're trying
to make the best
of what we have here.
We don't have any outside guys,
and we're trying to go
do a good junior program.
But eventually the big cities
like Frankfurt, uh,
and Munich and Berlin, they
should all pass us, you know,
just because of
the infrastructure they have.
And I mean,
you see the Frankfurt now,
you know,
with relatively little ease,
uh, I mean, now they have
a lot of money behind them, too.
-Yeah.
-Not just-- Not just players.
-You know there is.
-But it's-- it's happening.
And now the question is, do we--
do we try and scratch and fight
with our homegrown talent and...
Yeah.
Okay, uh, just
got out of the doctor
and, uh, I'm cleared to play
this weekend.
Collar bone is
good enough to go.
And we play Frankfurt
for the South title.
Wow, let's go.
The Frankfurt rematch was big.
Winner of this game would have
top playoff seed in the South.
And the best path to play
New Yorker in the German Bowl.
You know, we felt confident.
We-- We had
finally found our groove.
We're rolling
and we knew they were too.
Uh, so it was just
one of those weekends
that, you know, you've just
been waiting for all year.
Scored the first two touchdowns
when we had a 14-zero lead,
we stunned their crowd.
I know one thing though
their first touchdown
that they had,
that house was on fire.
I mean, that stadium was burnt.
I mean, it was what
everybody was expecting.
I mean, it was two
dynamic explosive offenses.
You know, played the punches
then in the second half,
it kind of turned
into a defensive game.
Yeah, I go strong ahead?
When I first came
to Germany, I did not know
what I was getting myself into.
He's so improved, everybody.
So we can improve
at all levels of the game.
Alright? So great job.
Celebrate like hell
till Wednesday.
I thought maybe I'd get
to go over and enjoy
one last season of football
before I hung it all up.
But fate had
a different plan for me,
and at first glance,
breaking my collar bone,
three games into the season
was absolutely devastating.
But what it gave me
was the opportunity to gain
a new perspective on this team.
I spent three months
learning everything
I could about the Unicorns,
interviewing my teammates
and coaches
and people around
Schwbisch Hall.
And in that process,
my teammates became my brothers,
my coaches became my mentors,
and I fell in love
with the town.
-Nick.
-Cody.
I'm going to have to move,
I'm standing here for an hour.
We try the first couple one
-and then you give me a...
-We'll try, if you do a bad job
I'm going.
-See you.
-See you.
And it turns out the Ami
House was kind of awesome.
Cody's mad that I cooked
and it got really smoky.
We had to take all
the smoke detectors
out of the house
because of Nick.
The Unicorns kept me around
when they could
have easily swapped me
for a healthy new import,
and they treated me
well when I was down.
And that really gave me a sense
of love towards the program.
Now this team
shouldn't be successful,
yet somehow
it finds a way to be.
But ultimately,
we're facing Goliath.
And now we were
two playoff wins away
from our chance
on taking them on.
The best football team
on the continent,
led by Casey Therriault,
the most famous player
in Germany
and arguably
the best quarterback
that European football
has ever seen.
German football
and European football,
and obviously,
what we've done on a-- on a--
I guess on a continental
level here, it just feels like
we were-- we were
nobody when I got here.
And now it's like
the New York Alliance
is-- is the place--
is the place to be.
And-- And--
And the talk of the town
when it comes
to European football.
From that, our
D-line is much improved.
We're putting guys
in better spots,
-like, using them better.
-Yeah.
And right around August,
playoff starts
then all of a sudden
it's like things start clicking
and you're like, "Oh, shit,
here we come."
There was a whole
new level of intensity
heading into playoffs.
During the regular season,
we only play against teams
from the GFL South,
so now was our opportunity to
play against teams
from the North,
which is historically
a much stronger division.
Teams from the North look
down on teams from the South,
and now it's win or go home.
You have challenges
that you're going to face,
and you have challenges that
sometimes may seem overwhelming
or may seem too big or may seem
that you might never get it.
But as long as, you know,
you're relentless and
you just keep coming after it
and keep coming after it,
eventually that payoff
is going to be there.
We are all underdogs.
I'm undersized,
you're undersized.
You know, we got on this team
that was like, uh, underdogs.
If everything was easy,
we don't mind it, why?
Why are we here
if it won't even be necessary?
You know,
one of the great things
about this import group
is you can feel
that they were out
to go win a championship.
Have you ever
won a championship?
-No.
-No, man.
Never won a championship.
Never been a part of a team
that was close to
winning a championship.
Have you ever
won a championship?
Nope, nothing.
I want to be known
as-- as-- as-- as
winning the most German
Bowls consecutively.
Like, I want to be part
of those teams
that dominated
more than any other.
That was an emotional,
tough win on Saturday.
Way to go.
This is about us
as a football team,
playing at the highest level
and showing who we really are
and spring forward
us into the playoffs.
I want to be known as,
you know, the--
the-- the greatest five years
of all time.
Be aware of that, fellows,
and be on top of little things.
And you're ready to go.
First round of playoffs
against the Berlin Rebels.
We run the stadium, alright?
Come on, everyone.
-Who are we?
-The U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
Raining, it was dirty.
It was just a grind
to kind of get through.
This team is
notorious in Germany
for playing old school
and hard-hitting football.
You check the knife even
if they have lots of knives.
After struggling early on,
we were eventually able
to take control of the game.
But we did not
walk away unscathed.
One of the biggest things that--
that happened in the game
was the loss of Tyler Rutenbeck.
You know, we get through
that game, we win the game.
Happy to be moving on.
But there was still a dark cloud
that was hanging
over everything.
Good job, I'm proud of you
for getting through
a game like that,
with rain like that,
moving on to the second, uh,
uh, semifinals.
Rudy's out. Rudy's done.
Okay? So we got to
just make up for it.
Next man has got to
get up and we got to go.
Okay? We've got to go,
next man up.
Alright?
So let's go to work, okay?
Let's go to work this week,
we're in the semi finals,
fellas, it's gonna be
a good day.
Here we go.
Go!
Rudy broke his collarbone.
The exact same break that I had.
My first thought
was like, I'm done.
Like, no more. I can't play
the next playoff game.
Once I had time to, like,
think about it,
I thought about the NFL stuff.
It wasn't depression,
but it was like, fuck, man,
because I guess that
was my ultimate goal, man.
Just go play in a league.
And then I knew it was just
not going to happen.
With Rudy out,
we tried to scramble
and get an elite receiver
for the semi-final game.
We tried, zero message.
-No way.
-Yeah.
-Did he really? What did he say?
-Yeah.
Basically, he said, we're trying
to do as like a selling, like,
kind of Viking's saying,
you know,
our players are trying
to get extra work in,
you know, returning back,
playing a couple of games
and then he'll come back to us.
Blah, blah, blah.
And see if they would be...
But Moritz like, nah, I don't
want to ask or something.
We were unsuccessful.
We live this, you now?
We live The Unicorns,
so many of us do,
whether it's-- it's coaches,
players, fans, we live this.
Um, I work with, um,
a military base here.
Uh, I work as security there.
Making practice happen
outside of work.
And I got a daughter
now as well.
For me, the hardest thing
was definitely balancing
my time correctly to where
everybody gets
a little piece of Jojo,
I suppose, so...
Okay, behind us,
we see the Ilge.
The Ilge is the fan bar
of The Unicorns,
players and fans,
they meet up there
usually after the game,
discuss the last game
or the next game.
And get the news from
the Schwbisch Hall Unicorns.
-That is awesome.
-Would you like to draw?
-With chalk? That's cool.
-Yeah.
Let's say there is a big
number who love The Unicorns
who go-- who like to go
to the-- the games who...
Zefron, eh?
It's a big community.
Sure, it's good to meet you.
People like that,
this is grown up
in a small town
like Schwbisch Hall
with only 40,000 people
living here.
I can-- I mean, uh,
it's hard, it's really hard.
But I go,
if I have to make
the decision for that,
I go for
that one.
2012 because
it was really special.
We had a lot of--
I mean, uh, the team
was really great,
the people are really great.
So we stick together.
Had a lot of good memories.
Yeah, I mean, I go for that one.
-We'll get it, alright?
-Alright.
-Go.
-Nice.
Good job.
Another trick, though.
Getting the chance
to like, go up
against American players,
everything in practice
is awesome.
And I know they're supposed
to run through you,
like, almost every time.
But I think there's a point
and I think that's why
we bring Americans to Europe.
Like, it's not
for them to go out
and raid the league,
it's for them to practice
and compete against
all the German
and all the European guys.
So we get the chance
to like get better.
When you see stuff
like this around town,
-does that feel pretty good?
-Yeah.
-Yeah?
-That means we've arrived.
You've arrived
when you see that.
Did you ever think
33 years ago it's be like this?
No.
Uh, I was hoping, you know,
I've always been
part of the--
the dream or the idea
to
you know, be
part of the town culture.
I think we are now.
Go, go, go.
Here you go.
So one of the main
things I learned from Sigi is
you just don't make excuses.
Whatever your situation is,
whether it's in football
or in life,
you make the most out of it.
You do the absolute
very best you can.
And Sigi is somebody who just
absolutely will not tolerate
somebody making excuses
or basically feeling
sorry for himself.
Don't shy away
from the adversity,
you know what I'm saying?
Welcome it.
Check the--
Hey, left, left, left.
Awesome, awesome.
Because there's going to be
some glorious at the end of it,
you know what I'm saying?
Something amazing
that's going to come and all you
got to do is stick it through
and keep pressing forward.
The semi-final game
was against Dresden,
a big bad team
from the east of Germany.
I heard a lot of people say,
"Schwbisch Hall's
going to lose this game."
We got it, let's go. We got it.
The game was
a back and forth battle.
We were facing a team
that had a great offence.
Our offence was rolling
but we just couldn't stop them.
We had a fumble,
um, on the kickoff.
Kickoff
handled by Patrick Donahue.
Well, you could feel the--
guys starting to get nervous
-and getting tensed up.
-So it was like,
"Oh, oh. They can come
back and take the lead."
You know when you get
into those games, it could be--
They're gonna make their plays
or you're gonna make yours.
You know, just at the end of day
we're able to make a few more
than they were.
We have fucking won this, bitch!
Hey!
We hit the Berlin check.
Berlin, Berlin.
We'll be in Berlin.
We're going to...
-Berlin! Berlin!
Well, we've never won
white pants.
Go to go
with pride playing black.
When we lost...
So, well, on the negative side.
-However...
-Exactly. We got to--
-We gotta even out.
-Yup.
We have never lost
in white pants.
-In Berlin.
White it is.
Fine. Now, we're starting it.
Uh, how many guys--
they were asking
how many guys
do we want to bring?
I said my wish would be 50.
Like, on game day roster.
Because I don't want the bus
crowded, hotel room crowded.
The more people we're bringing
the more chaotic it gets.
More pissed off
some of our older players get,
because they don't have the, uh,
space that they
would like to have.
-I'm totally against it.
-Against what?
Against bringing to 50.
I want to bring everybody.
Yeah.
74 on my roster.
That we're not bringing...
And there it is,
right there.
That's the heart
of the Unicorns.
That's the culture
established by Sigi.
-Good job.
-Thanks.
But hey, thanks for--
being on the show.
It's a culture
that combines success
with treating people
the right way.
And I know if I played
for any other team,
I would have been sent home
when I got hurt.
We said, "Good."
What do you guys think
about the German bowl?
Are you excited?
-Win the German Bowl?
-Are we going to win?
-Yes.
-Yeah?
-Are you going to come?
-Yes.
-No,
-You go?
-We don't think-- time to come.
-Yeah, play.
We-- we look at-- watch TV.
-You're watching on TV?
-Yes.
When you will have big six...
I have a big six?
-Yes.
-And then we all--
And when you make
a big six, you, uh,
-um, make-- Steven--
-Point to--
For Steven?
-Okay, I'll do that.
-And--
-And Justin.
-And Justin.
I'll say all your names.
Alright guys, time for practice.
-Go.
-Let's go.
Him, back on the vertical,
right through.
-Here, down, down.
-Yeah.
You don't look fine now.
It's cold.
Walk through in a park.
The same park we had in 2012
when we accidentally
won the German Bowl.
Left, left, left.
Time to go!
Same hotel we had in 2012
when we accidentally
won the German Bowl.
All right, go.
That was good. I think
we could really get that far,
but we see this guy
turn it and run away...
To back away from it now.
This is two by two.
I'd be so locked in on run.
Take that run.
-Hey, go left, left, left!
We have to wait on guard,
pinch when we have to go off.
If I tell you it's cold,
it is cold, goddammit.
Yeah, okay,
this guy is--
He's got to give it.
Like, he can't throw this here.
I'm fine with winning
again accidentally.
All right, go!
We don't even have to be lucky.
I think we're good enough
to dominate the game.
You win the damn general.
Good luck.
-Have fun.
-My dear folks, we're the Uni...
-Corns!
Schwbisch Hall
is nearly 800 years old.
Back in the day, it was
known for producing salt.
Today, among other things,
it's known for
American football.
And I think that's pretty cool.
This town deserves
this championship.
The U, the U,
it's all about the U!
Ready, go!
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
It's Christian...
Wow!
- Wow!
Fear the Unicorns.
Offense. Listen to me.
Okay? Whatever reason,
it always takes us forward.
You know, get rolling
against Braunschweig,
for whatever reason.
Every time after that quarter
or so goes by,
we start realizing,
"Oh, shit. Yeah.
Okay, we can play
with anybody, right?"
Coach Tomlin said it,
"You deserve this.
Finish this shift
the right away!
Finish the shift the right away
and you do it with violence!
You do it with violence!
You do it with intimidation
for the next 40-- 44 minutes.
-You make it fair.
-Well damn played football.
And is this never been
that close to halftime?
It's actually it is a 00 game.
It's like--
Just gotta win the second half.
We go shut their asses off.
-Win the second half.
-Go.
Remember the first time--
the first time we need 31 points
or something to win.
Now we need, 1 point.
Chant.
-Ein, zwei, drei!
-Let's go!
Pass out.
Boy, it's complete.
First down, Lions.
No...
Touchdown!
David missed the chance.
Come on!
Go harsh!
Yeah, baby!
We want more, baby!
And at that points,
we had the momentum
and all you want to do is
get the ball back
to your offense,
and give him a chance
to go score and,
actually go win this game.
New Yorker ended up
running the ball on 3rd and 15.
And I missed the tackle,
and they gained 16 yards.
Missing the tackle on 3rd
and 15 was heartbreaking.
We had the momentum
and I truly believe
we would have won the game
if we stopped them then.
But I soon realized it
wasn't about a single play or
a game or even a season.
I entered into a world
I had no idea existed.
I got to make new friends,
travel to new places and
found out this game
I grew up on thrives
outside the United States.
In a place where the players
are good and the fans care.
I experienced an approach
to football
that I had never seen before,
and that approach translates
to life off the field.
And I think it's something
we'll all keep with us.
But it wasn't right.
That's not how the story
was supposed to end.
We were the underdogs,
the good guys,
and we were supposed to win.
So I went back to Schwbisch
Hall for a second year,
and so did Devin, and
so did Rudy, and so did Cody.
Everyone came back
to the Unicorns.
Jordan took the reigns
as head coach,
and Sigi was still everywhere.
Every practice, every game,
still guiding the program
he spent 33 years building.
We knew why we were there.
We worked harder.
-Come on. Come on.
- We worked smarter.
Like if we started rotations,
there's a built in apps.
And we always had them
in the back of our minds.
We went on to win every game
of the regular season.
14 and 0.
We won the quarterfinal,
15 and 0.
we won the semifinals,
16 and 0.
And one year after
our heart-breaking loss,
we found ourselves back in
Berlin, back at the German Bowl,
once again facing
the New Yorker Lions.
-Who are you?
-The U.
-Who are you?
-The U.
-Who are you?
-The U.
Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
And the game came down
to the last play.
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah!
Oh, my God!
And that's a moment
I'll never forget.
My friend Devin who lost his dad
leading up to the German Bowl
and almost didn't
return to Germany,
blocks the kick
to win us the game.
Pass me the tissue, please.
Are you okay?
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
All I was thinking about
was I made my Pa proud.
No, you know what, though?
I'm making myself proud too.
I can't believe, man!
Oh, boy!
Oh, yeah!
-We got it!
The things that happened
just led me back here.
And I'm just glad
I stuck it out, man.
Happiness is key,
it's the main thing, man.
And I'm happy so I feel like
with that foundation,
sky's the limit really, man.
Hello, guys!
We got it!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Oh, yeah.
High-five, man!
Hey!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Momma, I've got a feeling
that I'm onto something
Wings growing on my back
And the bliss that I feel
When I think back and I
Check myself In the mirror now
Wrinkles next to my eyes
Laughing without a doubt
I got a heart
I got a heart
I know you do
Talk about any stuff
That's good
Momma, I've got a feeling
The really when--
when I started it
I guess, like you said before,
as 18 year old kid,
I had no idea where--
where this would lead.
You know, it feels good
to-- to have built that
and look back at it.
This will always be Sigi's team.
It will always be
Sigi Gehrke's Unicorns.
Proud of you guys.
I love you all.
Yeah, love you too, Sigi.
No, I-- I love you all.
I see myself as
the next head coach, but,
you know, not necessarily
a replacement for him.
But one thing
I'll always try and do is
keep the direction
and the culture that he set here
because it's a culture
of success
and it's a culture of
really caring for people.
Siegfried Sigi Gehrke,
he's Mr. Unicorn.
Sigi is Unicorns, I mean,
I don't know like, Sigi
never quit for the Unicorns.
I put your wheelchair on
the field and go back and forth.
You know, I'll give
everything I have,
every amount of energy I have
um, to this program
and to continue,
uh, building on what,
uh, Sigi has done
and, um, you know,
take the-- the team
and to almost,
you could probably say,
the next generation of things.
miles away from home
and we were one play away
from making American
football history in Germany.
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Alright, let's back up
for a second here.
I need to first explain
how I ended up
in Schwbisch Hall.
So my name is Nick Alfieri.
I'm from a big football family.
I played college
football at Georgetown.
Alfieri knocked it loose.
After that,
I got into film school at USC,
which was basically a dream
come true for me.
So I moved to Los Angeles
but then a few months
into that first semester,
I really started to miss
playing football.
And coincidentally,
around the same time,
these football programs from
Europe started contacting me
with opportunities
to go play over there.
So I left.
Final moments at the
USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Now, the plan was
to go play football
and at the same time
make a documentary
about a team in a tiny town
in Germany called The Unicorns.
I mean, I--
I think it's safe to say
we're the number one
sport in town,
which probably is not true for
any football team in Germany.
The town
of Schwbisch Hall has
so much to do with The Unicorns.
Unicorns somewhere else,
I don't think would be,
as special without
the town of Schwbisch Hall.
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn!
The people here
are the reason
why The Unicorns are successful.
Because it's a small city,
everybody knows us.
When our home game
is with The Unicorn,
it's like a thing to go to meet
people, watch The Unicorns
and see what a great game
of American football is.
So I arrived
in Schwbisch Hall, Germany.
I was welcomed
by The Unicorns founder
and my new head coach, Sigi.
He seemed proud of his team
and of this town.
You won't find too many
people in town
that you go to and ask, "Hey,
do you know who The Unicorns?"
And they, "No. What's that?"
That-- That won't happen.
They're part of--
part of the city?
Now, this wasn't
some big NFL contract.
Schwbisch Hall is a small town
team with a small town budget.
The organization provided
a place to stay.
Access to a car, meals
and a small monthly stipend.
But I wasn't the only American,
there was a group of us.
And we all came
from different places,
but had similar stories.
Successful college careers,
some of us flirted with the pros
and our desire
to keep playing football
landed all of us in Germany.
But just being here
from where I'm from,
you don't really ever
hear about Germany.
I was kind of just like,
yo, is this shit real?
Like, The Unicorns?
Like what pops in your head when
you think of a Unicorn, man?
Like, I need to be
a bear or something.
Now we had to adapt
to the European experience,
living in a different country
with a different culture,
different food
and a different language.
That's like a mile from here
and I didn't even jump.
Sprechen sie Englisch?
Yeah.
Can I get a strawberry shake?
We talked about
that we're in the moment stuff,
and the last thing I'll leave
you all with is don't forget,
you are professionals
amongst amateurs.
That's an, uh, a very different
type of situation.
You are professional
football players
amongst amateurs
around you, alright?
So there is an extra
set of pressure.
There is more eyes on you
than everybody else.
Okay? That's just
the way it is, alright?
Um, and that doesn't go just
with the guys on our team,
but with fans,
with everybody, you know?
You guys are going to get
the most press clippings,
the most everything and you all
know what comes with that?
And I think it's important
for you all to know
just how we deal with our guys
because you know how it is here.
Guys have jobs, kids, wives,
all that kind of stuff,
coming from three hours away.
Uh, we tell our guys we want
to be at 70% of practices.
That's our goal.
So, um, yeah,
just understand
there's a different expectation
and set of rules that apply to
you guys over German players.
Okay? And that's just--
just the way it is, okay?
Everything was new
and overwhelming but exciting.
And then we were shown
the Ami house.
Tell me mama
where did things go wrong
Tell me mama,
Where did things go wrong
Tell me mama,
Where did things go wrong
About the Ami house,
the Ami house is awesome.
The Ami house
was not that awesome.
The Ami house, man, wow!
You want to talk about shacks?
That was a shack, man.
Like-- Like technically,
it was a house.
And then like, you'd have
thought we're in the woods, man.
Like, we were, just kind of
like, we were in the woods.
I'm sure it does.
It's just called sorting
because in Germany,
you put dark glass together
and clear glass together.
The one cool part
of the house was the lineup
of passport photos
from all the Americans
that had played for
The Unicorns in the past.
I guess if they could do it,
so could we.
And Smoke seemed cool.
Is that some of your stuff,
what we can throw away?
I mean,
because I want to put
the paper stuff away, that one.
Let's see, is any of
the stuff has my name on it?
That-- That's from you.
My name is Thomas Rauch
but everybody say to me,
Smoke in, uh, our team
because the Americans
cannot say Rauch.
Rauch means, in English, Smoke.
And, um, I'm over 30
so I don't want to say
the right age, what I am.
And I play for The Unicorns
since 2005, a long time.
So The Unicorns play in
the German Football League,
which is comprised of 16 teams,
eight in the North
and eight in the south.
The Unicorns, founded in 1983,
play in the GFL South.
And I'll let Sigi
tell you the rest.
So we still had an
American base here at that time
with about 800 American soldiers
and there was a German
American Friendship Club
that we approached
and said, "Can you help us
finding some people
who have played before,
who can coach maybe?"
And that was very
important early on.
Our first really
successful year was '95
when we,
uh, won the championship
in the Fourth League,
it went pretty much
straight up from '95 on.
18 years, you know,
no Southern team
had won the championship
and suddenly we were champions,
you know,
so that was pretty crazy.
So what I've gathered
is that the Unicorns used to be
this championship winning team
but in recent years,
the league has been changing.
Success is now coming from
teams in major German cities
with big sponsorship deals
leading to large budgets.
The Prime example of this
and the team, The Unicorns,
can't seem to get past
is New Yorker.
They have, uh, so much
financial power behind them
and a-- and a big city
and a big stadium,
it's kind of intimidating.
My biggest fear is that maybe
this is the make or break year
for us to either
get it done or not.
Now I was still
trying to fully wrap
my head around all of this
but what I did know is that
these people seem determined.
So I guess that's what
we're there to do.
Get The Unicorns
back on top of the GFL
with the German Bowl
Championship.
Hut!
The two teams, like I said,
that are going to be
the biggest competition for us
are the Frankfurt Universe
the Braunschweig Lions.
Frankfurt just came up
from the second league.
Play, play, play.
Go away! Go away! Go away!
And they basically
re-did their whole roster
with everybody
they had bought and got.
Go. Go, deeper.
They're coming out
with a lot of hype.
Alright, catch that.
Three. Go.
Left, left, left.
There you go.
And then whoever
gets the closest wins.
Take it easy on these guys.
This is their first time
in Europe.
Alright, uh, Dev, turn around,
Rudy is up first--
Alright. We got Croatia
Croatia!
So Rudy, he was a guy
I thought we would never get.
His talent level,
what we saw on film,
we knew he was
a great, great player,
but we felt he was
a guy almost too good
to get out here just because
of all the opportunities
he had going on in the States.
Before I came to Germany,
just in a state of,
like, an unknown, like,
right out of the NFL stuff
and I'm so close like,
I want to come
to Germany for a year
and then go back,
you know what I'm saying?
Like, hopefully
get another shot.
It's great.
It's really cool because
you cannot see their face
because nobody want to see
how ugly they are.
So that's why we make
picture like this.
The struggle is real.
Before I came to Germany,
I was on downward spiral,
had a lot of growing up to do,
wasn't playing football no more.
Terrible job, didn't want
to be involved with it.
Just looking at my life,
it's like,
Man, this is not
where I wanted to be.
It's not where-- It's not
what I see myself doing.
Once I finally made
the decision in my mind
that something needed
to change, uh,
I got the call from Neuman.
-Hey, Nick.
-Yeah?
-You want a "houte"?
-Fire-out beer.
Fire-out beer.
That's a fire-out beer.
-What beer?
-You know? After--
-After work.
-Yeah.
-We call it fire-out beer.
-Thank you.
Let's go.
Let's go.
The energy really
started to pick up
as we got closer
to the first game.
And The Unicorns
seemed to be
pretty popular around town.
-You're The Unicorn?
-Unicorns, yeah.
-Have a good day, dude.
-You too.
Next up, Devin Benton.
Everyone is hyped
for the first season game.
We head strong.
Left, left, left. Come on.
Here we go.
I'm gonna say hi to
The Unicorns, hey, hello.
-Hello.
I'm pushed,
I'm hyped because I know
what game day means.
When you get to the
line of scrimmage,
be like this.
Three. Go.
Here.
Three. Go.
-Alright, good.
-Sounds like you're going down.
...low and
as soon as they go by...
-First-- The first--
-As soon as they go by
-he should be wide open.
-I thought-- I thought you--
So when you decide to play
with a German quarterback,
I think one of
the first things you'll get
is people wondering
why you do that.
Everybody knows
that the quarterback
is by far the most important
position in football.
And a lot of teams,
the majority out here
is just going to go get the best
import quarterback they can
and play with him
and just put it on him.
Us, as a program,
we decided Marco's our guy.
He's came through the program.
Not only has he shown
that we can win with him,
but Marco's a guy,
we put a lot on his plate.
You bring in an American
because you think
he plays better than any German.
But we've been playing
at the top of Europe
for the last three years
with me playing at
the quarterback position.
There's always going
to be that little bit of doubt
until he finish it off
with a championship.
That's the challenge he faces.
That's the challenge
we face as a program.
But, you know,
we're really happy
and we're really
lucky to have him here.
You see?
-Made. He made.
-Yeah, he made.
Well, I cook for the whole team.
It's damn hard work but, hey,
you know, whatever
gives us the W afterwards.
Aa-hoo!
Is that turkey?
We got season opening,
Frankfurt gonna be in town.
It should be, uh,
an exciting one here.
to get
the season going, huh, Matias?
Yes, sir.
-Yeah.
-That's it.
So our first game of the year
and my first football
game in Germany
was against the hot
new team, Frankfurt.
They have a huge backing
from the old NFL Europe days
for the Frankfurt Galaxy.
So they still
have a ton of fans.
So everybody knew
they were going to be
a competitor right away.
They weren't a regular team
that had just come up
for the first day.
They were gonna try
and make a statement
from the very beginning,
the very first year
in the league.
Here we go!
I'm an old guy, so I wasn't
scared or nothing like that.
But the excitement,
of course, always hits you
before every football game.
Ladies and gentlemen.
We're fine, let's go. Let's go.
Please welcome,
The Schwbisch Hall Unicorns.
Right. Two...
Yeah!
For us, you know, we--
we jumped out early.
And they--
they came flying back.
Yeah, I'll tell
you what, man, that game,
it was a back and
forth battle, honestly.
And then when you have
two teams that talented,
I mean both teams are
going to make their plays.
Unicorns! Unicorns!
But in the long run,
that went well for us.
We were able to grind
out the W there, week one.
After a year off, it felt
great to play football again.
And I was impressed
with the level of competition.
Football in Germany
was better than I expected.
So good, in fact,
that this happened.
With the 180th pick
in the 2016 NFL draft,
the Minnesota Vikings select
Moritz Boehringer,
a wide receiver from Germany.
Let's go, Vikings.
My name is Moritz
and I'm playing for
Schwbisch Hall Unicorns.
My name is Moritz and I play
for Schwbisch Hall Unicorns.
My name is Moritz
and I play for Schwa--
Minnesota Vikings.
Moritz Boehringer played
for The Unicorns in 2015,
and in April of 2016, shortly
after the Frankfurt Game,
he was drafted into the NFL.
I mean, this was a guy
who hopefully,
you know, in a year
or two is producing.
I think, all of the GFL
and European football is
all hoping the same thing
because it shows
that there are guys
who are talented enough
to go over and play.
They're just going to
need a little time.
But then the refs like,
"Hey, uh,
you got to be careful,
that was a late hit."
And I was like,
"I was the one that got hit,
like, my teammate."
I mean, are you ki-- That's
probably why they throw a flag
because it was this,
it was this green, the green.
One of them is here today.
He just got in a-- He got
in a fight with Jordan there,
in our U16 game.
Yeah.
We started a junior team
pretty soon after
we started the senior team.
I mean, right now
I have to figure out
that we get good,
really good young kids,
fresh blood to
The Unicorns organization so
I hope I can help.
Good job. Good job.
Being, uh,
the number one sport here
helps us to get the best talent.
Do you like
coaching the youth?
Yeah, it's very cool,
I mean, because
a lot of them are really raw.
So you--
you can make something
out of them.
Uh, it used to be that,
okay, the really
talented athletes would play
soccer or basketball or track.
And I think we get a lot
that could be successful
in other sports
but choose to play football.
Let's go, offense. Let's go.
Go, man, go. Go, man, go.
The Unicorns is
successful because
you know, they put
a ton of time and effort
into their youth program.
2010, 11, 12 when they
started win German Bowls,
they're doing it with
pretty much all guys
from Schwbisch Hall.
You know, we don't have
three million
people in our city,
it's 40,000
so you're only going to
have 20, 30 kids.
So if you want to be good
in the future,
you have to make sure those 20,
30 are well-coached
and so when they eventually
get to the senior team,
you know,
they're going to be talented
and they could help them out.
As we got used to
this new life in Germany,
I got some insights from
a long time Unicorn player,
Bruno.
Shall we get a coffee first?
-Yes, absolutely.
-Yeah.
Kind of reassess
this game plan.
So in 2006, I actually
played with Jordan,
by the way, just to--
to wrap this back around,
he's now-- he's now coach.
Um, there's a lot of guys
that are flaggies,
like Marco,
I-- I coached Marco.
- That's hilarious.
-Um,
as a flaggie
when he was 13 years old.
It's not just about the game.
It's-- it's all the surrounding
things here.
Had I gone to another
organization,
um, I don't think
I'd be playing anymore.
Now you look cool.
-It's a contrast.
-Yeah.
-Black and white.
-Yeah, black and white.
-Black and white.
-Man, I gotta be right here.
-You be right there.
-For a real contrast.
And it did take a
while to get acclimated,
but I think by the time
we were heading down
to the game in Austria,
we had all settled in.
Now this is exactly
what I hoped
playing football in Europe
would be like.
Travelling to a beautiful city
in a different country.
Playing in a big stadium
surrounded by the Alps.
It felt like a whole world away
from a classroom in California.
Call it, we'll have bigger
personnel--
Go might-- make it strong.
That tells you everything.
When we went against Swarco,
obviously, we're up against,
you know, the number two
team in Europe.
We knew they were
going to be a great team.
On our stretches, make sure
we come in nice and flat
out of the gate on
our stretches around, alright?
Well, like, we came in to that
game like a-- on a high note
after the-- whole
season beginning.
Like we beat Frankfurt.
Ain't nobody will stop us.
The Schwbisch Hall Unicorns,
the two-time German champion.
The warriors are about
to enter the pitch.
Here they are,
The Swarco Raiders Tirol.
The game was a disaster.
Shelton oversees
the field, finds Zbakha.
Is it a touchdown? Indeed.
This could get out of hands
if The Unicorns don't score
this time around.
This was really unexpected.
All right.
First thing is this,
where we go from here?
We go from here for us.
we come together, do great.
We come together to be great.
Where we go from here?
Got a whole season to play,
German bowl to go after.
Where do we go from here? Okay?
The one and only
GFL 13 games to go.
Okay? That's it.
This-- This big six is over.
We didn't--
We didn't shine but guys,
we play hopefully till October.
Yeah, that's a long time.
Alright? Come on, bring it in.
-Ready Uni--
-Corns!
Okay!
The following week
we watched from home
as New Yorker
drove down to Austria
and dominated Swarco.
New Yorker looked
stronger than ever
and our goal of a German Bowl
Championship seems unlikely.
The next game,
I broke my collar bone.
Thank you.
Take the elevator?
Yeah, elevator. No stairs.
Adrenaline is wearing off,
and this actually hurts so bad.
That is my collarbone
sticking up.
And it's, uh,
indications to operating
because there are more pieces.
-It's dislocated, yes?
-Yeah.
I need surgery,
and now I'm starting
to question everything.
I figured The Unicorns
would send me home.
That's what teams in Europe do
when their American
imports get hurt.
Uh, I just had to get
out of the house.
I can't sit around all day
with this collar bone situation.
I need to get out and move
around, otherwise I'll go crazy.
From us,
as an organization standpoint,
we're in a tough,
tough situation
because that's a longer injury,
and we've got to make a decision
whether we're going
to send Nick home
and get somebody
over here who can play?
The easy decision,
just thank him for being here.
Make sure he's healthy,
and then send him home
and get a guy who can finish
this season healthy
and that we know
is going to be here.
Okay, um,
I just got off
the phone with Jordan
and he told me that The Unicorns
are not going to send me home,
they're going to keep me here,
in Schwbisch Hall,
which is actually amazing.
I thought that they would
for sure send me home
and get a new import, um,
but they said, uh,
they're going to keep me here
and for me to get healthy
and try and get ready
for the playoffs,
uh, which is
in a couple of months.
So I use my new time
away from the field
to find out everything I could
about the Schwbisch Hall
Unicorns.
Talking about the mentality
of Schwbisch Hall,
I'm-- I'm obviously biased
because I-- I was born
and raised here.
And so there's
a lot of local pride.
We're not like people from
Stuttgart who are Swabian,
you know, they
always think we are
because of the Schwabisch
in our name but we aren't.
And we're not like the people
from Nuremberg,
from Northern Bavaria
who are Franconian
because we're something
in between.
And that's a-- that's a little
bit of the mentality here
is that we are
something special.
Have you been
to the museum up there?
Yeah, Schurmann
and Tobi Loffler took me.
Uh, Schurmann and Tobi,
they took me.
To the Hallisch Frankisches
Museum?
-It's awesome.
-They actually have
Christian Rothe's jersey
and, uh,
my game plan and
-something else.
-In the museum?
In the museum from
our first German Bowl win.
Because the museum director
came to me and said,
"Can I get some stuff?
Because this is--
you wrote history."
My job is, uh,
being a high school teacher.
And then, uh,
with a full schedule,
I balance that with coaching
through experience, I guess.
So you maybe you
want to talk about
the-- the educational
system in the USA,
um, as-- as one possible topic.
We have one full-time employee.
That's my office coordinator,
Jordan Newman.
We don't even
have any part time,
so everybody else is volunteer.
Well, if I compare that--
The Unicorn situation to
teams like Frankfurt
and Braunschweig,
they have quite a few
full-time employees,
several full-time coaches
and then also, uh,
front office people
that are-- that work full time
and yeah, so we're at--
at a disadvantage there that,
you know, we have to make up
for it by other means.
We don't pay
our German players.
And I've got to go out
and recruit some of the best
German talent around.
Yet compete with other teams
who are telling them,
"I'll give you this amount
of money to come here."
And I've got to sell to them,
"Come here despite
not making the money."
Yeah, I had, uh,
a good offer from, uh,
Frankfurt before the season.
I was thinking about
it for a long time.
I'm not sure if we can--
we can keep it forever
or for-- for very long because,
I mean, into that, uh, teams
who do pay the majority
of their players
and eventually,
you know, that's a--
that's a recruiting
factor that--
that's gotta be hard.
Learning that
these German guys
are playing for
The Unicorns for free,
when a lot of them could go
make money at other teams
was really eye opening for me.
You know, like,
it's really hard to
stay up early, go to work,
go back from work,
go straight to youth practice,
after youth practice
at senior practice.
And then like Laura,
my girlfriend, say, "Hey,
do you-- do you remember me?"
So I got my surgery
and I returned to practice.
Well played. Well played.
So be shallow, curl,
and a shoot
coming out like this.
So you got that nice triangle.
After being around
the team less as a player
and more someone
with an outside perspective,
I started to notice some things.
Football with The Unicorns
was different.
Oh, yeah.
Are you alright?
Good luck. Thank you.
He is--
-Raph!
-Yeah, what's up, Matias?
I've gotten so used to
the American approach to it
being such a job in
high school and college
that seeing these guys play
with such an authentic passion
and joy was absolutely amazing.
Big team!
One, two, three, big team!
Now the Swarco game
was the Unicorns
worst loss in years,
a 34-0 beat down.
And as a football player,
you'd expect a dip in morale
after a game like that.
But the attitude of the team
remained optimistic,
energized and excited.
-Whoa, here we go.
-Stand to right of Smoke.
Stand to left of Smoke.
-You like my new haircut?
-Yeah, man. Looks good.
-I like you too.
Whoo!
Thank you.
Whoo!
My-- My main
thing is, guys, it'll be,
uh, after a week off, you know,
there'll be a lot of hoopla
around the game.
-Lots of people there.
-Lots of what?
-Whatever, I'll explain later.
-Hoopla.
-Hoopla!
Lots of people there.
-What's a hoopla?
-Uh, everybody?
If you're-- If you're on
the field, you have to focus.
Okay? We cannot have
any mental mistakes.
Yeah, you're there-- you play
football with your teammates.
You do the right stuff, okay?
Know what you have to do
and do it.
And then you're--
we're a good team.
-Alright, let's go, bring it in.
-I like that.
-Ready, Uni--
-Corns!
Go Unicorns!
Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!
-Are you ready?
-Aa-hoo!
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
You are? Oh, yeah.
-Are you ready?
-Aa-hoo! Aa-hoo!
-Who are we?
-The U.
The U. It's all about the U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
I got you!
Very good, man!
Three-One. Three-Jack.
Unicorn.
Here comes the Unicorns.
In US, you finish your game,
you have protein bar
and some Gatorade.
Over here,
you take off your pads,
you have a cigarette
and a beer.
-Cheers!
-Cheers!
Doodah doodah day
Doodah doodah day
Doodah doodah day
Mikey-Mike
Through the microphone
Doodah doodah day
While New Yorker was
dominating their schedule,
Rudy started getting
some attention from the NFL.
My agents
telling me this stuff like,
Saints looking at you still,
they're asking information,
like, you're looking good,
keep balling.
In the back of my mind,
you know,
of course,
that's still the goal,
you know, go to the league,
but, like, I'm still
living in the moment.
You know, I-- I'm focused
on the season and trying to win.
Meanwhile, I was trying
to get back on the field.
Yeah, it's very
tender right there.
-And it's sensitive?
-Oh, there's the worst of it.
-Yeah, that's the worst.
-Yeah.
At the back, yes.
you know,
that's just musculary thing.
These injuries
just take some time
-to heal, yeah? I can't...
-Yeah.
-Well, after this game, well--
-I think that's--
-Yeah.
-It just takes time.
Uh, just back from
the doctor again,
and we play--
we will probably play Frankfurt
in the GFL South title game.
And they are not sure
if I will be ready
for that or not.
In the GFL,
there's a natural pressure
on American imports to perform.
Now being injured and not being
able to contribute to the team,
especially when you're
one of the only paid players,
is an uncomfortable situation.
But The Unicorns
never made me feel bad.
Did you load yet?
-Hello, Nick.
-Hey.
-How's it going?
-What did the doctor say?
Uh, still a bit longer.
-Probably
-And you need to stop moving it?
Yeah, I got to
stop moving it.
-Hi guys.
Come on.
Moritz, you better
get out here for practice.
And one of the cool
things I learned
is that Sigi won't ever turn
anyone away from The Unicorns.
Hey, let me introduce you,
this is Daniel.
-From Spain.
-Hello.
-He's going to play for us.
-Hola, senor.
They want to be on the team,
he'll let them join.
Madrid.
Buck up.
Go Madrid!
-Unicorn in Spanish?
-Unicornio.
-Unicornio.
-Unicornio.
That's my Unicornio.
Unicornio on three.
Because it's a big family, so--
And everybody takes
care of everybody.
So I never, ever want to
play for, uh, other team
only the U.
Yeah, isn't it weird?
This is the first summer
that I haven't been home.
Yeah, it's still kind of broken.
I mean,
it feels better, but I'm not--
I'm not clear to play yet.
But actually,
we're going on a trip right now.
Uh, like, in five minutes,
I have the doctor's appointment.
-When we get back. Yeah.
- Really?
Prague, Czech Republic.
I know, isn't that cool?
-Hey, Nick?
-Yeah.
-Are you ready?
-Hey, I'm almost ready.
Alright, I've to go.
About to leave.
Tell everybody
I say hi, alright?
Okay.
See you, bro. Bye.
One of the first things
that Jordan told us
when we got to Germany was
that during our by-weekends,
The Unicorns wanted
us imports to travel
and experience Europe
outside of football.
Good?
The squad headed to Prague.
Made it to Budapest.
To the Cliffs of Moher.
I'll be silver, I'll be gold
Have my heart
But leave my soul
We're finally in Stockholm.
All that's done will be forgot
But not forgiven
It took some time
But now I know
The lesson was
Just letting go
And I feel fine
What do you guys wanna do?
-I'm gonna see the waterfall.
-Oh, yeah?
-Should we walk to it?
-Yeah.
Let's do it. You wanna walk
down to the waterfall?
If Rudy runs don't run, alright?
-know.
-I can't even see.
-We toasted that thing.
-Yeah, we did toast him.
And. Yeah, yeah.
The well-being
of the players is always
number one on my agenda.
I don't want to see
it as a business, you know?
Where you just bring in
people and say,
Hey, you know,
you guys play for us.
Uh, we want to get
as much production
out of you as possible,
and that's it.
But I would like
for these people to-- to
grow themselves
and help us grow.
You know what
I'm saying? We're here to
have this human experience.
You can't have that
without taking risk.
You can't have that without, uh,
getting on a flight
and coming to Germany
where you know
nobody from there,
where you're,
uh, you by yourself,
you leaving your parents,
you leaving your whole family
back at the crib,
you gonna be in a-- a place
that you never thought you'd be,
meeting people that you
never thought you would meet,
having relationships that
you never thought you'd have,
can't shy away from it.
I said years ago
when Frankfurt was
probably the third league,
and we said, well, you know,
we're-- we're trying
to make the best
of what we have here.
We don't have any outside guys,
and we're trying to go
do a good junior program.
But eventually the big cities
like Frankfurt, uh,
and Munich and Berlin, they
should all pass us, you know,
just because of
the infrastructure they have.
And I mean,
you see the Frankfurt now,
you know,
with relatively little ease,
uh, I mean, now they have
a lot of money behind them, too.
-Yeah.
-Not just-- Not just players.
-You know there is.
-But it's-- it's happening.
And now the question is, do we--
do we try and scratch and fight
with our homegrown talent and...
Yeah.
Okay, uh, just
got out of the doctor
and, uh, I'm cleared to play
this weekend.
Collar bone is
good enough to go.
And we play Frankfurt
for the South title.
Wow, let's go.
The Frankfurt rematch was big.
Winner of this game would have
top playoff seed in the South.
And the best path to play
New Yorker in the German Bowl.
You know, we felt confident.
We-- We had
finally found our groove.
We're rolling
and we knew they were too.
Uh, so it was just
one of those weekends
that, you know, you've just
been waiting for all year.
Scored the first two touchdowns
when we had a 14-zero lead,
we stunned their crowd.
I know one thing though
their first touchdown
that they had,
that house was on fire.
I mean, that stadium was burnt.
I mean, it was what
everybody was expecting.
I mean, it was two
dynamic explosive offenses.
You know, played the punches
then in the second half,
it kind of turned
into a defensive game.
Yeah, I go strong ahead?
When I first came
to Germany, I did not know
what I was getting myself into.
He's so improved, everybody.
So we can improve
at all levels of the game.
Alright? So great job.
Celebrate like hell
till Wednesday.
I thought maybe I'd get
to go over and enjoy
one last season of football
before I hung it all up.
But fate had
a different plan for me,
and at first glance,
breaking my collar bone,
three games into the season
was absolutely devastating.
But what it gave me
was the opportunity to gain
a new perspective on this team.
I spent three months
learning everything
I could about the Unicorns,
interviewing my teammates
and coaches
and people around
Schwbisch Hall.
And in that process,
my teammates became my brothers,
my coaches became my mentors,
and I fell in love
with the town.
-Nick.
-Cody.
I'm going to have to move,
I'm standing here for an hour.
We try the first couple one
-and then you give me a...
-We'll try, if you do a bad job
I'm going.
-See you.
-See you.
And it turns out the Ami
House was kind of awesome.
Cody's mad that I cooked
and it got really smoky.
We had to take all
the smoke detectors
out of the house
because of Nick.
The Unicorns kept me around
when they could
have easily swapped me
for a healthy new import,
and they treated me
well when I was down.
And that really gave me a sense
of love towards the program.
Now this team
shouldn't be successful,
yet somehow
it finds a way to be.
But ultimately,
we're facing Goliath.
And now we were
two playoff wins away
from our chance
on taking them on.
The best football team
on the continent,
led by Casey Therriault,
the most famous player
in Germany
and arguably
the best quarterback
that European football
has ever seen.
German football
and European football,
and obviously,
what we've done on a-- on a--
I guess on a continental
level here, it just feels like
we were-- we were
nobody when I got here.
And now it's like
the New York Alliance
is-- is the place--
is the place to be.
And-- And--
And the talk of the town
when it comes
to European football.
From that, our
D-line is much improved.
We're putting guys
in better spots,
-like, using them better.
-Yeah.
And right around August,
playoff starts
then all of a sudden
it's like things start clicking
and you're like, "Oh, shit,
here we come."
There was a whole
new level of intensity
heading into playoffs.
During the regular season,
we only play against teams
from the GFL South,
so now was our opportunity to
play against teams
from the North,
which is historically
a much stronger division.
Teams from the North look
down on teams from the South,
and now it's win or go home.
You have challenges
that you're going to face,
and you have challenges that
sometimes may seem overwhelming
or may seem too big or may seem
that you might never get it.
But as long as, you know,
you're relentless and
you just keep coming after it
and keep coming after it,
eventually that payoff
is going to be there.
We are all underdogs.
I'm undersized,
you're undersized.
You know, we got on this team
that was like, uh, underdogs.
If everything was easy,
we don't mind it, why?
Why are we here
if it won't even be necessary?
You know,
one of the great things
about this import group
is you can feel
that they were out
to go win a championship.
Have you ever
won a championship?
-No.
-No, man.
Never won a championship.
Never been a part of a team
that was close to
winning a championship.
Have you ever
won a championship?
Nope, nothing.
I want to be known
as-- as-- as-- as
winning the most German
Bowls consecutively.
Like, I want to be part
of those teams
that dominated
more than any other.
That was an emotional,
tough win on Saturday.
Way to go.
This is about us
as a football team,
playing at the highest level
and showing who we really are
and spring forward
us into the playoffs.
I want to be known as,
you know, the--
the-- the greatest five years
of all time.
Be aware of that, fellows,
and be on top of little things.
And you're ready to go.
First round of playoffs
against the Berlin Rebels.
We run the stadium, alright?
Come on, everyone.
-Who are we?
-The U.
The U. The U.
It's all about the U.
Raining, it was dirty.
It was just a grind
to kind of get through.
This team is
notorious in Germany
for playing old school
and hard-hitting football.
You check the knife even
if they have lots of knives.
After struggling early on,
we were eventually able
to take control of the game.
But we did not
walk away unscathed.
One of the biggest things that--
that happened in the game
was the loss of Tyler Rutenbeck.
You know, we get through
that game, we win the game.
Happy to be moving on.
But there was still a dark cloud
that was hanging
over everything.
Good job, I'm proud of you
for getting through
a game like that,
with rain like that,
moving on to the second, uh,
uh, semifinals.
Rudy's out. Rudy's done.
Okay? So we got to
just make up for it.
Next man has got to
get up and we got to go.
Okay? We've got to go,
next man up.
Alright?
So let's go to work, okay?
Let's go to work this week,
we're in the semi finals,
fellas, it's gonna be
a good day.
Here we go.
Go!
Rudy broke his collarbone.
The exact same break that I had.
My first thought
was like, I'm done.
Like, no more. I can't play
the next playoff game.
Once I had time to, like,
think about it,
I thought about the NFL stuff.
It wasn't depression,
but it was like, fuck, man,
because I guess that
was my ultimate goal, man.
Just go play in a league.
And then I knew it was just
not going to happen.
With Rudy out,
we tried to scramble
and get an elite receiver
for the semi-final game.
We tried, zero message.
-No way.
-Yeah.
-Did he really? What did he say?
-Yeah.
Basically, he said, we're trying
to do as like a selling, like,
kind of Viking's saying,
you know,
our players are trying
to get extra work in,
you know, returning back,
playing a couple of games
and then he'll come back to us.
Blah, blah, blah.
And see if they would be...
But Moritz like, nah, I don't
want to ask or something.
We were unsuccessful.
We live this, you now?
We live The Unicorns,
so many of us do,
whether it's-- it's coaches,
players, fans, we live this.
Um, I work with, um,
a military base here.
Uh, I work as security there.
Making practice happen
outside of work.
And I got a daughter
now as well.
For me, the hardest thing
was definitely balancing
my time correctly to where
everybody gets
a little piece of Jojo,
I suppose, so...
Okay, behind us,
we see the Ilge.
The Ilge is the fan bar
of The Unicorns,
players and fans,
they meet up there
usually after the game,
discuss the last game
or the next game.
And get the news from
the Schwbisch Hall Unicorns.
-That is awesome.
-Would you like to draw?
-With chalk? That's cool.
-Yeah.
Let's say there is a big
number who love The Unicorns
who go-- who like to go
to the-- the games who...
Zefron, eh?
It's a big community.
Sure, it's good to meet you.
People like that,
this is grown up
in a small town
like Schwbisch Hall
with only 40,000 people
living here.
I can-- I mean, uh,
it's hard, it's really hard.
But I go,
if I have to make
the decision for that,
I go for
that one.
2012 because
it was really special.
We had a lot of--
I mean, uh, the team
was really great,
the people are really great.
So we stick together.
Had a lot of good memories.
Yeah, I mean, I go for that one.
-We'll get it, alright?
-Alright.
-Go.
-Nice.
Good job.
Another trick, though.
Getting the chance
to like, go up
against American players,
everything in practice
is awesome.
And I know they're supposed
to run through you,
like, almost every time.
But I think there's a point
and I think that's why
we bring Americans to Europe.
Like, it's not
for them to go out
and raid the league,
it's for them to practice
and compete against
all the German
and all the European guys.
So we get the chance
to like get better.
When you see stuff
like this around town,
-does that feel pretty good?
-Yeah.
-Yeah?
-That means we've arrived.
You've arrived
when you see that.
Did you ever think
33 years ago it's be like this?
No.
Uh, I was hoping, you know,
I've always been
part of the--
the dream or the idea
to
you know, be
part of the town culture.
I think we are now.
Go, go, go.
Here you go.
So one of the main
things I learned from Sigi is
you just don't make excuses.
Whatever your situation is,
whether it's in football
or in life,
you make the most out of it.
You do the absolute
very best you can.
And Sigi is somebody who just
absolutely will not tolerate
somebody making excuses
or basically feeling
sorry for himself.
Don't shy away
from the adversity,
you know what I'm saying?
Welcome it.
Check the--
Hey, left, left, left.
Awesome, awesome.
Because there's going to be
some glorious at the end of it,
you know what I'm saying?
Something amazing
that's going to come and all you
got to do is stick it through
and keep pressing forward.
The semi-final game
was against Dresden,
a big bad team
from the east of Germany.
I heard a lot of people say,
"Schwbisch Hall's
going to lose this game."
We got it, let's go. We got it.
The game was
a back and forth battle.
We were facing a team
that had a great offence.
Our offence was rolling
but we just couldn't stop them.
We had a fumble,
um, on the kickoff.
Kickoff
handled by Patrick Donahue.
Well, you could feel the--
guys starting to get nervous
-and getting tensed up.
-So it was like,
"Oh, oh. They can come
back and take the lead."
You know when you get
into those games, it could be--
They're gonna make their plays
or you're gonna make yours.
You know, just at the end of day
we're able to make a few more
than they were.
We have fucking won this, bitch!
Hey!
We hit the Berlin check.
Berlin, Berlin.
We'll be in Berlin.
We're going to...
-Berlin! Berlin!
Well, we've never won
white pants.
Go to go
with pride playing black.
When we lost...
So, well, on the negative side.
-However...
-Exactly. We got to--
-We gotta even out.
-Yup.
We have never lost
in white pants.
-In Berlin.
White it is.
Fine. Now, we're starting it.
Uh, how many guys--
they were asking
how many guys
do we want to bring?
I said my wish would be 50.
Like, on game day roster.
Because I don't want the bus
crowded, hotel room crowded.
The more people we're bringing
the more chaotic it gets.
More pissed off
some of our older players get,
because they don't have the, uh,
space that they
would like to have.
-I'm totally against it.
-Against what?
Against bringing to 50.
I want to bring everybody.
Yeah.
74 on my roster.
That we're not bringing...
And there it is,
right there.
That's the heart
of the Unicorns.
That's the culture
established by Sigi.
-Good job.
-Thanks.
But hey, thanks for--
being on the show.
It's a culture
that combines success
with treating people
the right way.
And I know if I played
for any other team,
I would have been sent home
when I got hurt.
We said, "Good."
What do you guys think
about the German bowl?
Are you excited?
-Win the German Bowl?
-Are we going to win?
-Yes.
-Yeah?
-Are you going to come?
-Yes.
-No,
-You go?
-We don't think-- time to come.
-Yeah, play.
We-- we look at-- watch TV.
-You're watching on TV?
-Yes.
When you will have big six...
I have a big six?
-Yes.
-And then we all--
And when you make
a big six, you, uh,
-um, make-- Steven--
-Point to--
For Steven?
-Okay, I'll do that.
-And--
-And Justin.
-And Justin.
I'll say all your names.
Alright guys, time for practice.
-Go.
-Let's go.
Him, back on the vertical,
right through.
-Here, down, down.
-Yeah.
You don't look fine now.
It's cold.
Walk through in a park.
The same park we had in 2012
when we accidentally
won the German Bowl.
Left, left, left.
Time to go!
Same hotel we had in 2012
when we accidentally
won the German Bowl.
All right, go.
That was good. I think
we could really get that far,
but we see this guy
turn it and run away...
To back away from it now.
This is two by two.
I'd be so locked in on run.
Take that run.
-Hey, go left, left, left!
We have to wait on guard,
pinch when we have to go off.
If I tell you it's cold,
it is cold, goddammit.
Yeah, okay,
this guy is--
He's got to give it.
Like, he can't throw this here.
I'm fine with winning
again accidentally.
All right, go!
We don't even have to be lucky.
I think we're good enough
to dominate the game.
You win the damn general.
Good luck.
-Have fun.
-My dear folks, we're the Uni...
-Corns!
Schwbisch Hall
is nearly 800 years old.
Back in the day, it was
known for producing salt.
Today, among other things,
it's known for
American football.
And I think that's pretty cool.
This town deserves
this championship.
The U, the U,
it's all about the U!
Ready, go!
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
It's Christian...
Wow!
- Wow!
Fear the Unicorns.
Offense. Listen to me.
Okay? Whatever reason,
it always takes us forward.
You know, get rolling
against Braunschweig,
for whatever reason.
Every time after that quarter
or so goes by,
we start realizing,
"Oh, shit. Yeah.
Okay, we can play
with anybody, right?"
Coach Tomlin said it,
"You deserve this.
Finish this shift
the right away!
Finish the shift the right away
and you do it with violence!
You do it with violence!
You do it with intimidation
for the next 40-- 44 minutes.
-You make it fair.
-Well damn played football.
And is this never been
that close to halftime?
It's actually it is a 00 game.
It's like--
Just gotta win the second half.
We go shut their asses off.
-Win the second half.
-Go.
Remember the first time--
the first time we need 31 points
or something to win.
Now we need, 1 point.
Chant.
-Ein, zwei, drei!
-Let's go!
Pass out.
Boy, it's complete.
First down, Lions.
No...
Touchdown!
David missed the chance.
Come on!
Go harsh!
Yeah, baby!
We want more, baby!
And at that points,
we had the momentum
and all you want to do is
get the ball back
to your offense,
and give him a chance
to go score and,
actually go win this game.
New Yorker ended up
running the ball on 3rd and 15.
And I missed the tackle,
and they gained 16 yards.
Missing the tackle on 3rd
and 15 was heartbreaking.
We had the momentum
and I truly believe
we would have won the game
if we stopped them then.
But I soon realized it
wasn't about a single play or
a game or even a season.
I entered into a world
I had no idea existed.
I got to make new friends,
travel to new places and
found out this game
I grew up on thrives
outside the United States.
In a place where the players
are good and the fans care.
I experienced an approach
to football
that I had never seen before,
and that approach translates
to life off the field.
And I think it's something
we'll all keep with us.
But it wasn't right.
That's not how the story
was supposed to end.
We were the underdogs,
the good guys,
and we were supposed to win.
So I went back to Schwbisch
Hall for a second year,
and so did Devin, and
so did Rudy, and so did Cody.
Everyone came back
to the Unicorns.
Jordan took the reigns
as head coach,
and Sigi was still everywhere.
Every practice, every game,
still guiding the program
he spent 33 years building.
We knew why we were there.
We worked harder.
-Come on. Come on.
- We worked smarter.
Like if we started rotations,
there's a built in apps.
And we always had them
in the back of our minds.
We went on to win every game
of the regular season.
14 and 0.
We won the quarterfinal,
15 and 0.
we won the semifinals,
16 and 0.
And one year after
our heart-breaking loss,
we found ourselves back in
Berlin, back at the German Bowl,
once again facing
the New Yorker Lions.
-Who are you?
-The U.
-Who are you?
-The U.
-Who are you?
-The U.
Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
And the game came down
to the last play.
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah!
Oh, my God!
And that's a moment
I'll never forget.
My friend Devin who lost his dad
leading up to the German Bowl
and almost didn't
return to Germany,
blocks the kick
to win us the game.
Pass me the tissue, please.
Are you okay?
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
All I was thinking about
was I made my Pa proud.
No, you know what, though?
I'm making myself proud too.
I can't believe, man!
Oh, boy!
Oh, yeah!
-We got it!
The things that happened
just led me back here.
And I'm just glad
I stuck it out, man.
Happiness is key,
it's the main thing, man.
And I'm happy so I feel like
with that foundation,
sky's the limit really, man.
Hello, guys!
We got it!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Oh, yeah.
High-five, man!
Hey!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Unicorn! Unicorn!
Momma, I've got a feeling
that I'm onto something
Wings growing on my back
And the bliss that I feel
When I think back and I
Check myself In the mirror now
Wrinkles next to my eyes
Laughing without a doubt
I got a heart
I got a heart
I know you do
Talk about any stuff
That's good
Momma, I've got a feeling
The really when--
when I started it
I guess, like you said before,
as 18 year old kid,
I had no idea where--
where this would lead.
You know, it feels good
to-- to have built that
and look back at it.
This will always be Sigi's team.
It will always be
Sigi Gehrke's Unicorns.
Proud of you guys.
I love you all.
Yeah, love you too, Sigi.
No, I-- I love you all.
I see myself as
the next head coach, but,
you know, not necessarily
a replacement for him.
But one thing
I'll always try and do is
keep the direction
and the culture that he set here
because it's a culture
of success
and it's a culture of
really caring for people.
Siegfried Sigi Gehrke,
he's Mr. Unicorn.
Sigi is Unicorns, I mean,
I don't know like, Sigi
never quit for the Unicorns.
I put your wheelchair on
the field and go back and forth.
You know, I'll give
everything I have,
every amount of energy I have
um, to this program
and to continue,
uh, building on what,
uh, Sigi has done
and, um, you know,
take the-- the team
and to almost,
you could probably say,
the next generation of things.