Super Bowl Sunday, or Monday for viewers in the CET zone, saw more than just the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory and Usher’s performance, the only Czech American-Football team in the European League of Football (ELF) announced a rebrand.
The Prague Lions, who competed in the ELF for the first time last season, held a Super Bowl party at Dva Kohouti in Karlin. The event was a turning point after a rough year for the Prague Lions. It was a time of a lot of change within the organization, but there is a lot to be excited about. One of the team’s spokespeople presented their new logo, uniforms and unveiled the new club values.
“It’s just being run much more professionally now, and I don’t know what it was like in the past so I have no standard to talk about, I just know what I see now looks like a class organization,” said a Prague Lions coach.
Fans, players, coaches, and even the owners and investors attended the event to share a beer, watch the biggest game of the NFL season, play super bowl Bingo, and boo whenever the broadcast froze.
After a tough inaugural ELF season in which the Prague Lions failed to win a game, and, because of this, it was necessary to change the culture surrounding the Prague Lions. There was a lot going on behind the scenes, including the loss of the lease for their stadium.
“The team broke up about the middle of the season last year,” said a Prague Lions coach, “The coach had some problems with the ownership financially and everybody gave up.”
The Prague Lions have been playing since 1991, making them the oldest American Football team in Prague. They have won the Czech League 6 times since then, and they are only behind the Prague Black Panthers, who now play in the Austrian League, in terms of titles.
New owners have come in, a new coach, and perhaps most importantly for them, new investors.
“I am not an investor yet, right now I’m just a guy drinking a beer at a Super Bowl party, but chances are I’m gonna be,” said a friend of the coaches.
The Prague Lions will have an uphill battle this season against teams in more established American Football markets, like Germany and Barcelona, but the players and coaches are optimistic about the future of the team.
“This year we hope to surprise some teams, we are gonna get some wins for sure,” said the Prague Lions coach.
