This Bank Holiday Monday, May 28, the Guinness Premiership Champions welcome American Football to Welford Road as the Leicester Panthers take on the Loughborough Aces in a fixture designed to raise much-needed funds for Matt's Trust. And if you thought rugby was a complicated game, then you may be in for a surprise on Monday afternoon.
"There will be about 60 players involved on each team," says Dave Hagger, one of the organisers of the Matt Hampson Bowl. "Loughborough are bringing their current team and some guests that used to play for them in years gone by, so the changing rooms could be a bit crowded come matchday!
"We used to have an American coach and an American quarterback come over every other year and they'd bring their own playbook with them. You've got guys who've played in 1985 and guys who've played in 1993/94 and all the terminology and the language is completely different. You have to call the formation, the play, the pass-blocking scheme for the line, and the routes for the receivers to run. One of our combinations is something like, 'Z motion, right jacks, east, 8 96, F flat'. That tells them everything.
Hagger, who plays tight end and receiver is also the offensive co-ordinator, meaning he will have a lot on his plate throughout the match
"We'll have a sheet with all the plays on and they'll be numbered up and coded and the quarterbacks will have a cheat sheet on their arm. In the NFL, it's all done by microphone - the coach will say a play and it goes direct to the quarterback's helmet. We have to do it the old-fashioned way where we send the plays in through the wide-receivers and the running backs. I've utilised a couple of our old play books, some of my own ideas, put them all together and its looking alright."
The match kicks-off at 3pm, with tickets just £5 and 14s and under getting in free.
Tickets can be purchased in person from the Welford Road ticket office or by calling 08701 28 34 30.
For more information, check out http://www.leicesterpanthers.co.uk/
