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GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany - J.T. O'Sullivan of the Frankfurt Galaxy wants to follow in Jake Delhomme's footsteps at the World Bowl.
The Carolina Panthers quarterback was allocated from the New Orleans Saints when he guided the Galaxy to the NFL Europe championship in 1999.
But O'Sullivan admits he might struggle when his team faces the favored Berlin Thunder today. His father died 10 days ago from cancer.
"There's no denying the fact it's part of what I'm going through at the moment," said O'Sullivan, the league's second-rated passer.
With O'Sullivan home because of his father, the Thunder routed the Galaxy 41-0 in the regular-season finale Sunday. But even with O'Sullivan, the Galaxy failed on a late drive two weeks earlier and lost to Berlin 31-27.
Though the Galaxy appears to be the underdog, Thunder coach Rick Lantz sees the two regular-season games and the World Bowl as a best-of-three series between two dominant teams.
"And the first two games don't count," Lantz said. "We know we can beat them, they hope they can beat us. But if they win, they get the ring."
The Thunder could be the best team in NFL Europe history, thanks to Rohan Davey. The league MVP is enjoying the best year of any quarterback who has played in NFL Europe, with a 105.6 passer rating and 19 touchdowns in 10 games. And that group includes Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson, Delhomme and Kurt Warner - starters in the last three Super Bowls.
"Honestly, they were by far the dominant team this year," O'Sullivan said. "Obviously if they play as good as last week, we could be in for it."