Non-Americans are learning the game in Europe and dreaming of making it to the NFL.
By Associated Press
Published June 14, 2003
GLASGOW, Scotland - Americans aren't the only ones who dream about playing in the NFL.
Germany's Bastian Lano, a 6-foot-6, 292-pound defensive tackle with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe, has the same idea.
"I want to go to an NFL camp and be seen," said Lano, whose team plays the Frankfurt Galaxy in today's World Bowl. "I make so many mistakes now, and still I stand out. That leads me to believe I can make it there."
About a sixth of the players in the six-team league aren't Americans. Lano took up the sport after watching the Super Bowl on TV in 1991, when the Giants beat the Bills.
The 26-year-old Lano, who finished tied for fourth in the league in sacks with 6.5, has asked former NFL player Brian Baldinger to help him find an agent.
"Instinctively, he needs some input, because he'll see some blocking assignments he's never seen before," said Baldinger, a television analyst. "But he really wants to compete. If you put him in the right position, he can."
Other non-Americans are looking for chances, too.
Frankfurt's French receiver, Marc Soumah, and German teammate Daniel Benetka, are expected to attend NFL training camps next month.
"I used to watch NFL games in France," said Soumah, 28. "I didn't think I'd ever have a chance to play there. If people would have told me that, I would have been mad at them for making fun of me."
This season Soumah caught 19 passes, and his 15.2-yard average was seventh best in the league.
Benetka grew up in Germany but went to Idaho on a track and field scholarship - as a discus thrower. He was spotted by someone from the football team and was used as a backup defensive tackle in his final year.
Benetka went to Colts training camp in 2001 but didn't make the team, and he was one of the last cuts last year with the Patriots.
"I'm totally confident this year," said the 6-foot-4, 295-pounder. "I might have an edge on other guys going to their first camp. I know what it takes now to make it."
