Frankfurt Universe facts for kids
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| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| League | German Football League 2 |
| Based in | Frankfurt |
| Stadium | Frankfurter Volksbank Stadion (Capacity 12,542) |
| Colors | Purple and Orange |
| Owner | AFC Universe Frankfurt e.V. |
| Head coach | Brian Caler |
| Championships | EFL Bowl: 2016 |
| Division titles | GFL2 South: 2015 |
| Cheerleaders | Frankfurt Universe Cheerleaders |
| Mascot | Franky |
| Website | frankfurt-universe.de |
| Uniforms | |
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The Frankfurt Universe is an American football team from Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. They are part of a sports club called AFC Universe Frankfurt. The team plays in the German Football League 2, which is a top league for American football in Germany.
The club started in 2007. By 2011, they had moved up to the German Football League 2. In 2015, the team changed its name to "Frankfurt Galaxy" for a short time. They then won promotion to the top league, the German Football League Süd (South). In 2016, they changed their name back to Frankfurt Universe.
Contents
Team History
How the Team Started
The Frankfurt Universe team began in 2007. It was created by fans of an older team called Frankfurt Galaxy. That team, which was part of NFL Europa, had stopped playing. The fans wanted to use the Galaxy name for their new team. However, they couldn't because the National Football League (NFL) owned the rights to that name.
Climbing the Leagues
In 2008, the Universe joined the Landesliga Hessen, which was the fifth level of football. They finished second in that league and moved up to the Oberliga in 2009. In the Oberliga, they had a perfect season, winning all their games. This helped them move up again to the third-level Regionalliga Mitte. They played there in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, they finished second and earned another promotion.
From 2012 onwards, the Universe played in the southern division of the German Football League 2. This was the second-highest league in Germany. In their first two years, they finished second behind the Allgäu Comets. In 2014, they came in third place.
Name Changes and Big Wins
In late 2014, the club announced they had bought the rights to the Galaxy name. They planned to have their main team play under the Galaxy name. They also moved to a new home stadium, the Frankfurter Volksbank Stadion. This stadium is also used by the football (soccer) team FSV Frankfurt. Even with the name change, the team was still listed as Frankfurt Universe in the official 2015 league tables.
In 2015, the team had an amazing season in the GFL2 South. They won every single game! They scored almost 400 more points than their opponents. This perfect season helped them get promoted to the top-tier GFL. This happened after another team, the Franken Knights, decided not to play in the promotion games.
In April 2016, Samsung became a major sponsor for the Frankfurt Universe. In their first game of the 2016 season, Frankfurt lost to the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. The Unicorns were the defending champions of the GFL South.
Team Achievements
The Frankfurt Universe has won several awards and titles:
- German Bowl
- Runners-up: 2018 (This means they finished second)
- Eurobowl
- Runners-up: (2) 2017, 2018
- EFL Bowl
- Champions: 2016 (This means they won the championship!)
- BIG6 European Football League
- Participations: (2) 2017, 2018
- German Football League – Southern Division
- Runners-up: (4) 2016–2019
- League membership: (6) 2016–2022
- German Football League 2 – Southern Division
- Champions: 2015
- Runners-up: 2012, 2013
German Bowl Games
Here are the times the club has played in the German Bowl, which is the championship game in Germany:
| Bowl | Date | Champions | Runners-Up | Score | Location | Attendance |
| XL | October 13, 2018 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | Frankfurt Universe | 21–19 | Berlin | 15,213 |
- The team listed in bold won the game.
Eurobowl Games
The club has also played in the Eurobowl, a European championship game:
| Bowl | Date | Champions | Runners-Up | Score | Location | Attendance |
| XXXI | June 10, 2017 | New Yorker Lions | Frankfurt Universe | 55–14 | Frankfurt | 7,693 |
| XXXII | June 9, 2018 | New Yorker Lions | Frankfurt Universe | 20–19 | Frankfurt | 3,122 |
- The team listed in bold won the game.
Recent Seasons Overview
Here's a look at how the Frankfurt Universe has performed in recent seasons:
| Year | Division | Finish | Points | Pct. | Games | W | D | L | PF | PA | Postseason |
| 2012 | GFL2 (South) | 2nd | 19–9 | 0.679 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 284 | 226 | — |
| 2013 | 2nd | 19–9 | 0.679 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 358 | 249 | — | |
| 2014 | 3rd | 16–12 | 0.571 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 289 | 222 | — | |
| 2015 | 1st | 28–0 | 1.000 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 601 | 204 | — | |
| 2016 | GFL (South) | 2nd | 24–4 | 0.857 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 546 | 173 | Lost QF: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (3–10) |
| 2017 | 2nd | 24–4 | 0.857 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 588 | 125 | Won QF: Dresden Monarchs (26–16) Lost SF: New Yorker Lions (21–23) | |
| 2018 | 2nd | 24–4 | 0.857 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 504 | 143 | Won QF: Berlin Rebels (6–5) Won SF: New Yorker Lions (20–17) Lost GB: Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (19–21) | |
| 2019 | 2nd | 22–6 | 0.786 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 478 | 252 | Won QF: Hildesheim Invaders (28–7) Lost SF: New Yorker Lions (18–36) | |
| 2020 | No season was played because of the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||
| 2021 | 7th | 4–16 | 0.200 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 117 | 496 | — | |
| 2022 | 8th | 0–20 | 0.000 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 124 | 556 | Lost RR: Ingolstadt Dukes (withdrawal) | |
| 2023 | GFL2 (South) | 6th | 8–12 | 0.400 | 10 | 4 | – | 6 | 227 | 313 | — |
- RR = Relegation round (games to decide if a team stays in a league or moves down)
- QF = Quarter finals (the round before the semi-finals)
- SF = Semi finals (the round before the championship game)
- GB = German Bowl (the championship game)
See also
In Spanish: Frankfurt Universe para niños
