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April 13th, 2007, 01:24 AM
Travis Lulay Diary
http://images.nfl.com/photos/img10123187.jpg
April 12, 2007
http://www.nfleurope.com/teams/story/BER/10123182
Starting quarterback Travis Lulay and the Berlin Thunder have now spent an entire week in the city of Berlin. Now that they have settled into their new home, the preparations have shifted to their first game, against the Rhein Fire on Saturday. Every week, Travis will share his on Europe, the season, and his experiences.
Well, here we are in Berlin. We've now been here a whole week. It's been very interesting so far, to say the least. Communication is obviously a big thing. Whenever I go somewhere, I try to go with either Rich Musinski or Oliver Flemming, who know plenty about the city. Or, we'll bring big Samuel Gutekunst, our right tackle, to work as a translator for us. But, it's getting better. We're learning a few German words here and there.
Travis Lulay is getting used to life in the German capital. (City-Press)
The travel to Berlin was very difficult. We had a five hour bus ride, from Tampa to Miami. Before we flew to Frankfurt, we had a long layover, followed by the nine hour flight. One more layover, then a delay to our connecting flight to Berlin—it was the next day by the time we got to Berlin. That jet lag was no joke! It takes a couple of days to get over that.
The climate is another thing. We had been in Tampa for a month, and it was beautiful down there. It was shorts and flip flops weather there. Then, you get over here, and it's cold and rainy. I'm wearing sleeves and hand warmers at practice. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but not any worse than you would have expected.
The city is a really cool place. We've really only seen the tip of the iceberg. I really look forward to seeing the rest of the city.
Of course, I miss a few things from home already. Family is the biggest thing. Being away from family and friends is difficult, but fortunately, we're in a high-tech world, and we've got the Internet. We can still communicate pretty easily. Just being able to communicate is the biggest thing for me. If something comes up where I didn't know where to go, or if I had a question, a lot of times, I can't get that answered right away. That makes things a little more difficult.
But, hey, we get good food. I went to an English movie the other day. So, you can get a lot of those same things that make you feel at home. Obviously, it would be nice to sleep in your own bed or go to the local church. It's all part of the experience.
As far as the team itself, I really do like our team's attitude. I don't think we have any bad apples that can drag the team down. It really is important for us to come together in such a short amount of time. I think that we have that kind of team in the making, on both sides of the ball. Everyone gets along pretty well.
That's one of the biggest things: trying to become a team in such a short amount of time. You work toward that, and the quicker you can become a team, the better the team will be, and the better everyone's experience on the team will be on top of that. I've taken that approach, and guys I talked to have encouraged me to take that approach.
Earlier this week, I was named a captain, as voted on by my teammates. That was a pretty big honor. It does mean a lot to me.
Coming over here, I'd like to say you don't know what to expect. You're in a new country, you're competing for a job—you don't even know if you're going to see the field. You don't know what is going to happen when you get to the new country. Now, I'm in one of the biggest cities in the world, doing interviews with the biggest newspaper in Germany, and getting ready to start a game against the Rhein Fire in Düsseldorf next weekend. It's all pretty big stuff.
But, when you think about it, this is a career move. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm getting another chance, having been allocated here by the Seattle Seahawks. Not only that, but I'm getting married this summer. All of these pretty good things are happening in my life right now. I've just got to keep focused and keep the faith.
As far as me holding up, I think so far, the balance has been good. We have just enough downtime at night. In the evenings, I can catch up with the other parts of my life. The rest of the day is devoted to football, and that's what I'm here to do. That's why God has put me in this place.
While I'm very excited to run onto that field and show what I can do, to tell the truth, I try to keep those thoughts to a minimum. In the past, I have gotten so excited to the point where it hindered my play. It really is amazing, though. I don't want to downplay it. This is my first professional football game that I will actually play in. With Seattle, it was exciting and I learned a ton, but I never actually played in any of the pre-season games.
It's been a long time since I've been in the game as the starter, and been the captain of the team. It's extremely exciting. It's like you're a little kid again, out there and just having fun. You have to take that approach every day, and understand not everybody gets to play this game, and you are. I know that I'm a pretty lucky guy. Those emotions will definitely come out on Saturday.
http://images.nfl.com/photos/img10123187.jpg
April 12, 2007
http://www.nfleurope.com/teams/story/BER/10123182
Starting quarterback Travis Lulay and the Berlin Thunder have now spent an entire week in the city of Berlin. Now that they have settled into their new home, the preparations have shifted to their first game, against the Rhein Fire on Saturday. Every week, Travis will share his on Europe, the season, and his experiences.
Well, here we are in Berlin. We've now been here a whole week. It's been very interesting so far, to say the least. Communication is obviously a big thing. Whenever I go somewhere, I try to go with either Rich Musinski or Oliver Flemming, who know plenty about the city. Or, we'll bring big Samuel Gutekunst, our right tackle, to work as a translator for us. But, it's getting better. We're learning a few German words here and there.
Travis Lulay is getting used to life in the German capital. (City-Press)
The travel to Berlin was very difficult. We had a five hour bus ride, from Tampa to Miami. Before we flew to Frankfurt, we had a long layover, followed by the nine hour flight. One more layover, then a delay to our connecting flight to Berlin—it was the next day by the time we got to Berlin. That jet lag was no joke! It takes a couple of days to get over that.
The climate is another thing. We had been in Tampa for a month, and it was beautiful down there. It was shorts and flip flops weather there. Then, you get over here, and it's cold and rainy. I'm wearing sleeves and hand warmers at practice. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but not any worse than you would have expected.
The city is a really cool place. We've really only seen the tip of the iceberg. I really look forward to seeing the rest of the city.
Of course, I miss a few things from home already. Family is the biggest thing. Being away from family and friends is difficult, but fortunately, we're in a high-tech world, and we've got the Internet. We can still communicate pretty easily. Just being able to communicate is the biggest thing for me. If something comes up where I didn't know where to go, or if I had a question, a lot of times, I can't get that answered right away. That makes things a little more difficult.
But, hey, we get good food. I went to an English movie the other day. So, you can get a lot of those same things that make you feel at home. Obviously, it would be nice to sleep in your own bed or go to the local church. It's all part of the experience.
As far as the team itself, I really do like our team's attitude. I don't think we have any bad apples that can drag the team down. It really is important for us to come together in such a short amount of time. I think that we have that kind of team in the making, on both sides of the ball. Everyone gets along pretty well.
That's one of the biggest things: trying to become a team in such a short amount of time. You work toward that, and the quicker you can become a team, the better the team will be, and the better everyone's experience on the team will be on top of that. I've taken that approach, and guys I talked to have encouraged me to take that approach.
Earlier this week, I was named a captain, as voted on by my teammates. That was a pretty big honor. It does mean a lot to me.
Coming over here, I'd like to say you don't know what to expect. You're in a new country, you're competing for a job—you don't even know if you're going to see the field. You don't know what is going to happen when you get to the new country. Now, I'm in one of the biggest cities in the world, doing interviews with the biggest newspaper in Germany, and getting ready to start a game against the Rhein Fire in Düsseldorf next weekend. It's all pretty big stuff.
But, when you think about it, this is a career move. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm getting another chance, having been allocated here by the Seattle Seahawks. Not only that, but I'm getting married this summer. All of these pretty good things are happening in my life right now. I've just got to keep focused and keep the faith.
As far as me holding up, I think so far, the balance has been good. We have just enough downtime at night. In the evenings, I can catch up with the other parts of my life. The rest of the day is devoted to football, and that's what I'm here to do. That's why God has put me in this place.
While I'm very excited to run onto that field and show what I can do, to tell the truth, I try to keep those thoughts to a minimum. In the past, I have gotten so excited to the point where it hindered my play. It really is amazing, though. I don't want to downplay it. This is my first professional football game that I will actually play in. With Seattle, it was exciting and I learned a ton, but I never actually played in any of the pre-season games.
It's been a long time since I've been in the game as the starter, and been the captain of the team. It's extremely exciting. It's like you're a little kid again, out there and just having fun. You have to take that approach every day, and understand not everybody gets to play this game, and you are. I know that I'm a pretty lucky guy. Those emotions will definitely come out on Saturday.