Brunner’s Humble Speech Highlights a Gathering of Standouts
Observations & Opinions / Playoff Week One
Harold Abrahams – Senior Correspondent for TSS
On Tuesday evening, March 25, the alpine gem that is Innsbruck, Austria hosted the 153rd Champions Night, opening up the Town Hall to welcome the finest athletes to celebrate the sport they play and to receive an appreciation from supporters, fellow players of Wiesespiel, and media members such as your humble correspondent. Appropriately, the capital of the Tyrol was the scene of this tribute to the men who have done the most to advance their teams’ effort to seize the Tyrol Cup.
What strikes an observer first, perhaps, when he mingles among these celebrants, is that Leonhard Brunner and Hugo Thurner, wearing tuxedos and standing alongside their girlfriends and wives, team coaches, supporters and officials of Innsbruck, are massive men. Watching them do battle on a Meadow misleads us: they are equally powerful, tall and fast, so we forget that they dwarf almost everyone else. Who could possibly tackle Mule Brunner? Hugo Thurner, at times. At other times, no one. Not you, and certainly not me.
In fact, the inability to bring Brunner to the turf of various Meadows where he appeared this past season was the theme of the night, as Brunner was the individual who accepted the highest honors in this night of recognition. The mighty Forward’s several walks to the podium to receive Awards were no surprise; the young man’s charming, humble words displayed a perspective that assures those who love Wiesespiel that its best players are also its most promising spokesmen.
Innsbruck’s Mayor, Arn Brandt, wore a look of glee as he began the evening – only 17 minutes late – as athletes happily milled about, signed autographs and posed for countless photos with fans. Brandt spoke of his lifelong love of the Downhillers and his dream that he would be Mayor when the Champions Night returned to Innsbruck, as it must every 9th year as the gala rotates among the towns of the Original Eight teams. Brandt can be forgiven for leaving out of his remarks that Innsbruck fell into the Wheat League after a poor year in the Alpine.
Brandt gave way to Klagenfurt Gate Allie Wurter whose reading of the Georg’s Pub Charter – which the first knot of Lindwyrms wrote to declare themselves the first team founded in the sport – was emotional, such is the man’s love of his town, his team, and his sport. We listen to this document read each season, and many rise and recite the words along with whichever Wyrm is chosen to read it.
And then the Awards began, with no fanfare and with a succession of speeches whose self-effacing content, humorous anecdotes, surprising revelations and insider stories made for fascinating listening and also contrasted these athletes with the bluster and self-congratulation that spoils the flavor of most other major world sports.
Hearing his name called for the Menger Medal, Bern Coach Luke Bossard smiled shyly as he reached the dais. His Armed Bears have a roster teeming with talented players, and Bossard’s brief comments passed off his team’s impressive 16-2-0 record to those men: “The Good God, he has given me the best place to watch the best team: from the Bears’ sideline, I get to watch Jonas, Felix, Otto, Ris, Mule, and the other lads play with power and precision. My task is to not clutter up what they are eager to do so well.” He seemed awed to grasp his first Cow Bell and, though abashed, he did give the Bell enough of a shake to clang it, as tradition demands. With a happy grin, he retreated to one of the tables occupied by the Bern contingent.
Past Tor Medal winner Marcello Rinaldi and fellow Gate Franki Mollino appeared together to accept the Cow Bell for Cortina, whose Ringmauer Medal was well-earned by a defense that yielded only 190 points. Rinaldi stepped back and listened with pleasure to Mollino’s speech, in which he detailed their stand in, of all things, an early-season match against Brenta. A game whose outcome was not relevant to the title race, but one which filled Mollino with pride as the Riflers stifled their Italian rivals on possession after possession. With a friendly wave to those foes, he nodded and said, “We hate losing to the Burci.” Even the Bargemen laughed at Mollino’s parting remark.
Ozi Mannheim, the electric Schliessmann for Zurich, won a (reportedly) very tight vote for the Thaler Medal, and, in the first of countless endearing moments from the night, asked Bingo Allerspach, the second-place finisher in this category, to join him at the podium. The Füssen Forward did so, though he passed on the invitation to add some comments. Both the precocious talent and sense of camaraderie of these young men – 19 and 18 years old – point to the health of the AL going forward, and to ferocious battles to be waged on Meadows all over central Europe.
The Waldmüller Medal went to Hugo Thurner for the second time as his peers recognized the fair play of the powerful Edelweiss Schliessmann. His easy manner played into this choice, but so did, surely, the two times this season that Thurner called himself out of bounds when the Referee, too far away to make that decision, did not stop play; one of those moments of integrity cost Thurner a skot, as he had shrugged off a Triskelion Gate and could have carried on, unimpeded, for four points that Salzburg needed in a 6—1 loss in the final match of their season.
One of the more robust ovations of the evening awaited the popular Bern Gate Jonas Moser, whose first Kernan Medal for Citizenship allowed him to take the podium for a brief but heartfelt speech, which was dedicated to promoting the Bears Buddies (officially, the Bern Kumpel) program, which he started two years ago. “Buddies” seeks to recruit young fans, provide a comprehensive experience for those youngsters and their families as they attend an Armed Bears game (including a chance to blow one of the Alpenhorns famously linked to this team), and ensure that this team – in an increasingly urban setting, doesn’t lose its ties to the land and the agrarian origins of Wiesespiel. Some of the children who have attended games were in attendance, making for a sweet moment in the Hall.
The awarding of the Klammer Medal is never suspenseful, of course: anyone who follows the Tyrol League checks weekly to see those scoring statistics. But while Leonhard Brunner earned the award on the field, the names represented in the table of scoring leaders bristles with talent such as the AL has not boasted for twenty years: Brunner, Lackner, Tissier, Irmiger, Mannheim, Allerspach comprise a formidable crew. Paul Lackner’s highest scoring total of 111, compiled during his torrid 2021-2022 year, was ultimately not in danger, but the best Center in the world may have to fret just a bit about his grip on the Klammer and Purtscheller Medals. He applauded the Mule with gusto, but surely the Field Mouse is plotting a rip-roaring assault on those lost awards.
Brunner, meanwhile, refused in his acceptance remarks to name himself, his achievement, or his excitement at holding that precious first Cow Bell. He spoke of learning how to play Wiesespiel properly by modeling his training, attitude and attention to detail of his established teammates, and then he said that he saw what was required of him by studying – and admiring – the play of Paul Lackner, “the greatest player,” he said with a nod, “in the AL.” This earned him a standing ovation, which earned him a blush as he claimed his Klammer and returned to the Bern contingent.
Felix Moser joined the procession of Armed Bears standouts when his name was announced for the Tor Medal, but he seemed gobsmacked that he had out-pointed Marcello Rinaldi, who tied second with Thurner in his strong defense of the award for Finest Defenseman. Moser joked that he dare not try to follow his own brother’s eloquent and moving earlier comments and was back in his seat within 45 seconds.
The Henrik Grexxam Award is often a source of surprise choices: the varying demands of the Schliessmann Award make room for men of different skills. Grexxam himself was a mercurial talent, said to be able to lift yearling cattle (no … not possible), leap into the hay loft of his family farm (surely not!), and run backward as fast as his teammates could forward. These are hyperbolic claims that rival those delightful American tall tales of Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan, but, as a life-long observer of the Meadow Game, I have seen extraordinary feats performed by these athletes. No player was more of a revelation this season than Willi Muhr, a worthy inheritor of a Medal named for the legendary Grexxam, and his mad, weaving run through the Cortina Riflers defense – the stoutest unit in the Tryol League – was mesmerizing and not surpassed by anything I witnessed this year. Muhr looks like the future of this demanding position.
For decades, it has been understood that the player who wins the Klammer Medal steps aside and does not also expect the Kogler Medal for Best Farmhand (or Forward); of course, decades have passed since a non-Forward was the leading scoring, so the question was, with Brunner removed from consideration, would the Award go to Henri Tissier, or a dark horse; after all, Nicolas Irmiger’s Vienna Composers team finished 6 points clear of Grenoble in the Tyrol League, and the two men each scored 98 points.
But, indeed, when Tissier’s name rang out, “La Comete” accepted with some Gallic enthusiasm. The Frenchman cannot sit still: he is all energy, bundled up and hemmed in by his dinner jacket, ready to display that breath-taking speed that causes such trouble for any opponent he faces. If the men and women charged with choosing the winners of these Awards had not elected Paul Lackner for his fourth Steinwender Medal (remember, he is 23!), Mule Brunner’s tribute to his rival would have caused some embarrassment. But, no one in the Hall, including Irmiger, who came second, thought any name other than Lackner’s would be announced. What a tribute to this man’s genius that on a night on which he claimed the Steinwender and finished second in three other categories (!), there was a collective sense among those gathered – who know this game well – that we had better get ready for a Lackner campaign in the coming year that sees the man at his greatest. He did what one must do when he receives the Cow Bell – he rang it – but it was subdued. Hmmm. What will the famed #10 jersey Edelweiss show us in the future?
But the night was, after all, Mule Brunner’s. He rang the Purtscheller Cow Bell with pride and a laugh, as he was, deservedly, named the Best Player in the AL: he was top scorer in the AL on a team that romped to a 16-2-0 record and a win by 11 points in the League standings.
In an interview I conducted with Allie Wurter last year, the Klagenfurt hero said that Lackner was the greatest player he had seen in 20 years. Wurter said that “Like Wayne Gretzky, the greatest ice hockey player ever, Lackner sees what is going to happen rather than reacting to what is happening. He is always ‘there’ 3 seconds before anyone else is moving. And he’s a kid. It’s uncanny.”
Yet … Brunner seized those Medals from Lackner, and he is younger, taller and heavier than Lackner, and the Flowers finished only two points clear of relegation to the Alpine League. The 2024-2025 season satisfied its supporters in every way, yet it also introduced countless questions which are going to be asked. Will Lackner reclaim those ‘lost’ Medals …? Will Bern’s might and Brunner’s power establish him as the standard by which others are measured? Will Muhr, Irmiger, Allerspach or someone else propel his team past the Armed Bears next year?
I have watched this fascinating story unfold its surprising chapters for too many years to try to predict where this plot will lead, and what its characters will do. Who will make his way to the podium in March 2026? As this season ends, with the Championships to be determined over the next two Saturdays, there is no telling.
2024 – 2025 CHAMPIONS NIGHT – MEDALS and ORDER of PRESENTATION:
1] Menger Medal – Award for Best Coach
Winner: LUKE BOSSARD, BERN ARMED BEARS – FIRST AWARD
Runner-Up: Artur Hoffman, Vienna Composers
2] Ringmauer Medal – Team Yielding Fewest Points
Winner: CORTINA RIFLERS
Runner-Up: Vienna Composers
3] Thaler Medal – Best Young Player (Under 20)
Winner: OZI MANNHEIM, SCHLIESSMANN, Zurich – FIRST AWARD
Runner-Up: Bingo Allerspach, Forward, Füssen
4] Waldmüller Medal – Award for Finest Sportsman
Winner: HUGO THURNER, SCHLIESSMANN, Salzburg – SECOND AWARD
Runner-Up: Pierrick Yves, Gate, Grenoble
5] Kernan Medal – Award for Citizenship
Winner: JONAS MOSER, GATE, Bern – FIRST AWARD
Runner-Up: Paul Lackner, Center, Salzburg
6] Klammer Medal – Leading Scorer in the Tyrol League
Winner: LEONHARD “MULE” BRUNNER, CENTER, Bern – FIRST AWARD
Runner-Up: Paul Lackner, Center, Salzburg
7] Tor Medal – Best Gate (Defenseman)
Winner: FELIX MOSER, GATE, Bern – SECOND AWARD
Runner-Up: TIE
Hugo Thurner, Gate, Salzburg
Marcello Rinaldi, Gate, Cortina
8] Grexxam Medal – Best Schliessmann (Lock / Wing)
Winner: WILLI MUHR, SCHLIESSMANN, VIENNA – FIRST AWARD
Runner-Up: Otto Von Steiger, Lock, Bern
9] Kogler Medal – Best Farmhand (Forward)
Winner: HENRI TISSIER, FORWARD, Grenoble – SECOND AWARD
Runner-Up: Francesco Russo, Forward, Cortina
10] Steinwender Medal – Best Center
Winner: PAUL LACKNER, CENTER, Salzburg – FOURTH AWARD
Runner-Up: Nicolas Irmiger, Center, Vienna
11] Purtscheller Medal – Best Player
Winner: LEONHARD “MULE” BRUNNER, FORWARD, Bern – FIRST AWARD
Runner-Up: Paul Lackner, Center, Salzburg
Klammer Medal Race – Final Individual Scoring Leaders:
1] Leonhard “Mule” Brunner, Bern 105 Points
2] Paul Lackner (Der Feldmaus), Salzburg 102 Points
3] Henri Tissier (“La Comete”), Grenoble 98 Points
3] Nicolas Irmiger, Vienna 98 Points