The league successfully added five new teams, set new record for attendance throughout the year and crowned a deserving new champion in the top division. The lower division was competetive as well, with two teams earning a chance to move into PLFA I for the 2010 season.
While attention will focus on whether the AZS Silesia Miners can defend their 2009 championship to become the first back-to-back Polish Bowl winners, the main story of this season is likely to be the establishment of American football on the Polish sporting landscape as the sport continues to build on the astronomical growth it experienced in the country the previous two seasons. As the number of teams in Poland steadies, growth and innovation will come in other areas. Greater sponsorship should help teams attract larger crowds this year, and roster sizes continue to grow. The most notable changes could come on the Internet, as teams refine live broadcasts of games.
PLFA commissioner Jędrzej Stęszewski believes that the 2010 season will be the most successful so far – sport-wise and organization-wise. According to Stęszewski, in the 2010 season there will be more than 1100 players registered in the league, and new teams are continuing to be established. According to the commissioner, the forthcoming season “should be the most competetive season yet, from top to bottom”.
While it remains to be seen whether the new teams in PLFA I, the Zagłębie Steelers Interpromex (PLFA II champions in 2009) and the Sioux Krakow Tigers, will fare better than last year`s top division debutante, which went without a win, PLFA II is sure to have more close matchups as the five new teams from last year will benefit from having a year of game experience. PLFA is likely to see a few more foreign players added to the rosters and the level of talent, both homegrown and imported, continues to rise.
Each team in PLFA I will play eight games this year, with the top four finishers advancing to the playoffs. Due to a new scheduling format, this season figures to be much more intense than previous ones. Each team plays games on consecutive weekends at least three times, with the regular season lasting a bit less than three months. This ensures that excitement will build quickly for a scorching Polish Bowl V, which will be played on July 17.
Alekxander Zarganis
PLFA I 2010 season schedule: http://pzfa.pl/?go=start&news=1215
Photos: Polish Bowl IV 2009 AZS Silesia Miners vs. The Crew Wrocław
Author: Marcin Fijałkowski