Philipp Bilgeri from Ratingen is a successful quarterback player in American football. Photo: private
Ratingen. On Sunday, the “Junior Bowl XLI” in American football between the Düsseldorf Panthers and the Berlin Adler took place in Düsseldorf. A young quarterback from Ratingen was part of the team.
American football is becoming more and more popular in Germany. What the TV station Sat1 was able to successively present to an ever wider audience with “Ran NFL” has been continued by RTL since this season. The first broadcasts of the NFL games of the so-called pre-season were already running.
American football also takes place as a sport away from the screen, at a local level and with athletes from the Mettmann district. One of them: Philipp Bilgeri from Ratingen. The 17-year-old was on the pitch on Sunday in the Düsseldorf Panthers’ Junior Bowl XLI against the Berlin Adler. The team from Düsseldorf won the game for the crown in the U19 youth division in front of their home crowd with 30:26. The team had fought back after being 7:26 behind at half time. The Panthers also emerged victorious from the new edition of the final game from last year.
As quarterback, captain and one of the strategic heads of an American football team, Bilgeri is a key contributor to success. The 17-year-old from Ratingen has been playing American football with the Düsseldorf team since September 9, 2016. “Philipp plays in one of the most demanding positions in American football,” explains his father Marcus proudly. It is still a so-called freshman, i.e. an U19 player between the ages of about 16.5 and 17.5 years. His career would therefore continue as a “junior” and then as a “senior” with the Düsseldorf team.
For his father it is clear: Philipp Bilgeri still has the best time ahead of him.
Incidentally, before he switched to football at the age of ten, Bilgeri played football successfully in Ratingen. When the 17-year-old is not on the pitch, he takes care of his schooling. Bilgeri is currently aiming for the Abitur, he will probably graduate next year at the Carl-Friedrich-von-Weizsäcker-Gymnasium.
And then? A career jump could be on the agenda, but that cannot be said with certainty. A look at Bilgeri’s teammates suggests what would be possible in principle: Father Marcus Bilgeri is pleased that some of them have already received offers from US colleges. “Those players on the team who are already on full scholarships at Division 1 collegiate teams are mostly in the seniors group,” he explains. Philipp is concentrating on his Abitur first. In the coming year he will take part in various “tryout camps” at US colleges – “to gain visibility and attention,” says Marcus Bilgeri. The goal of his offspring: “He wants to realize his dream: to play American football in the USA”.
However, it is difficult to say how far one has come. “As a German, it’s almost impossible to make a career as a quarterback in the USA,” explains Marcus Bilgeri. All German quarterbacks have been retrained to other positions over time, meaning they play as wide receivers or tight ends in the United States. Nevertheless: “Nothing is impossible”, says father Bilgeri.
And there are role models with German roots – including young ones – in the National Football League: Defensive tackle David Bada from Munich is one of them – he made it into the NFL squad of the Washington Commanders. The St. Brown brothers are German-Americans – Equanimeous plays with the Chicago Bears, Amon-Ra with the Detroit Lions. Sebastian Vollmer from Kaarst is almost a German football legend, the offensive tackle twice won the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots and as a teammate of Tom Brady.
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2023-08-28 15:34:10
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