Observations & Opinions / Playoff Week One
Harold Abrahams – Senior Correspondent for TSS
Dawn broke at 5:55 in Vienna, Austria on Saturday, March 22. If you were not in that elegant capital city then, you’ll have to trust this correspondent that the sun did indeed offer a dim glow of light behind banks of grey clouds, a heavy sky that portended rain and sleet. And by the time – 2:00 p.m. – that 13,000 fans had gathered for the Bell that signaled the opening of the Composers’ clash against the visiting Grenoble Gantiers in the 2/3 playoff match, cold rain pelted the supporters, the field, the referee and the 20 men who faced off on Vienna’s muddy Meadow. The weather suggested that this match should be played to the heavy tones of Mozart’s Requiem.
But the contest itself, a gem that ended with a 17—15 Composers win in Extra Time, rejected that lugubrious piece and moved at a pace and with a verve that deserved the bounce and joy of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. When the two sets of combatants, jerseys darkened with heavy rain and stained with black soil, left the Meadow, the thousands of rapt fans were just as drenched, cold and proud of their efforts.
Fighting for the opportunity to play the Bern Armed Bears for the 2025 Tyrol Cup, both teams had reasons to expect a victory. Vienna’s defense was the runner-up this past week for the Ringmauer Medal, magnificent Center Nicolas Irmiger came second (but to Paul Lackner!) in the Steinwender, and Willi Muhr’s astounding play earned him the Grexxam. And Eurig Frode, playing the vital Middle Gate position for all 93 minutes, was – according to Irmiger and Muhr, the best player on the Meadow for the Composers. The Gantiers had a great Champions Night, as well, with their talisman, Henri Tissier, winning his second Kogler Medal while fellow Forward Masson Brunet would feature as the most explosive athlete on many teams that don’t have “La Comete.” Handshakes all around before Stefano Giovanni, the Italian Referee, called for formations: in those greetings, though, were savvy assessments of opponents. And then the Bell.
The heavy, wet field did nothing to slow these men; though their regulation black cleats disappeared into the soup, the speed and violence of the game stunned even veteran watchers of this grand sport. Muhr dragged the Glovemakers’ excellent Gate Pierrick Yves across the line for a skot and a 4—0 lead, and the Frenchmen answered in under three minutes with Gabriel Dubois coming forward to push in for the tie.
We delighted paying customers were treated to tie after tie after tie. 4-all became 7—7 at the interval. That deadlock became a hard-fought 8—8. Tissier had not scored; Irmiger had not scored. Tissier finally did what every Composer player and fan dreaded, generating one of his weaving runs that renders even sound defenses helpless. 12—8. Four minutes remaining. Muhr, Irmiger, Didi Leiner: these men know their work. Vienna finished 6 points clear of Grenoble in the regular season, and they showed no panic. Irmiger tied the game with perhaps half a minute left in the 43. 12—12. Viennese hearts stopped, then resumed. The final Bell sounded.
The Extra Time was a fair measurement of these teams: Vienna was marginally superior over the course of 18 matches, and they were likewise a shade sharper and stronger in the deciding ten minute stanza. A tightly-angled kick by Irmiger put a final point up in the Composers’ 17—15 win.
For that – for Frode’s broken left pinky finger, the blood splotched on Muhr’s shorts (he didn’t know whose it was), for the pounds of mud caked into the players’ boots, hair and jerseys – Vienna earned only the chance to face Bern, which dominated the season and dominated Champions Night.
The Composers will rest, heal, plan, and practice this week. They’ll board a train on Thursday night and practice on Bern’s pristine Meadow on Friday. They’ll eat dinner, sleep, arise, and face the madhouse of the Bern fans and their Charmed Bears, the music of the Alpenhorns, and the might of Leonhard Brunner, the guile of Otto Von Steiger, and the experience of the Moser Brothers. Most of the Medals for this season are on the mantels of the Bears and Composers’ players. These teams should be here.
A few sporting situations can match the pause before the Bell sounds to start the battle for the Tyrol Cup. An FA Cup Final, sprinters settled into the blocks before an Olympic 100M Dash, a final racer staring down the hair-raising pitch of the Lauberhorn come to mind. Vienna will fight for all they are worth for their 6th Tyrol Cup; Bern will match that desperation in pursuit of their 12th.
What will the managers, captains and players prepare for their opponents? What player will cement his status as an AL luminary? Remember the legend of Franz Frick, the little-used Schliessmann for Vaduz who started in the 1900 Final after four Diplomats were injured in their 2/3 upset of Salzburg. Frick, shocked into a wide-eyed delirium at his own success, scored 15 points as the men from Liechtenstein won their only Tyrol Cup in an 18—16 duel. Who might surprise everyone – including himself – with a performance that decides the contest?
I cannot wait for March 29. I also hope it never seems to come any closer. Thus begins one of my favorite weeks of the athletic calendar.