Recebemos o reconhecimento da Terra Pátria de nosso esporte!

Uma notícia fantástica chegou neste momento ao conhecimento do PFN! Pela primeira vez desde a criação da LPFA, somos reconhecidos pela terra que criou nosso glorioso esporte!

E não foi pouco! O Sampa Bowl 2008 conseguiu uma reportagem especial realizada pelo periódico esportivo mais respeitado no mundo, a revista Sports Illustraded!

Segue abaixo o link direto da reportagem: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football

Tendo em vista o grande volume de reportagens produzidas pela revista, as matérias não ficam por longo tempo disponíveis no site, portanto segue abaixo a íntegra do texto!

Sports Illustrated
November 11, 2008

Bullets vs. Spartans in the Sampa Bowl

This Sunday at 4pm, in the Estádio Ícaro de Castro Melo, near the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo, the Silver Bullets Team will take on the São Paulo Spartans for the Liga Paulista de Futebol Americano de Tackle e Flag (LPFA) flag football championship, also known as the “Sampa Bowl”. The league consists of 20 teams divided into 2 conferences, with a regular season of 8 games and a single-elimination post season tournament for the 6 best teams in each conference.

The Silver Bullets battled through two tough games in the post season against last year’s champs, the Vipers, and perhaps the best-organized team in the league, the Steamrollers (backed by soccer powerhouse, the Corinthians) to get to represent the Conferência Estadual (State Conference) in the final. The Spartans had an easier path up till the conference final last weekend, where they upset the champ’s from 2007, the Locos (backed by another soccer favorite, the Palmeiras), to advance to the championship, representing the Conferência Paulista. The Silver Bullets are a 60/40 favorite to win, but as anyone who has followed the season knows, anything can happen on any given Sunday.

The Silver Bullets Team is a traditional team having played in the league for 5 years, and having lost in the final in 2004 and 2005. Team leaders who have been with the team for several years include owner Alez Soares, defensive coordinator Alexandro (Mestre Yoda) Espricio, WR/S Eduardo (Duda) Barbosa, G/TE Helbert (Kiko) Costa, CB James Prestes and DE Cleber (Hellboy) do Ó. As the league expanded, the Silver Bullets evolved and improved, focusing its efforts on recruiting, and attracting key additions in the last two years. Last year, the team enlisted the efforts of two Americans, an ex-tennis professional, Shay Coker, and an expat businessman, Kevin (Kevo) May, who made an immediate impact on the team at WR/S and QB, but not enough so to take them past the wildcard round, where they were upset by the physically dominant Storm.

In the offseason, the Bullets played in the American Society Abacaxi Bowl, where they lost in the final in a heated battle to PACA (a local American school), 36-30. Their participation netted them superstar recruits, WR Nate Somerville, a leading contender for this year’s league MVP, TE/CB Rich Rafterman, who played for the New York City flag football championship team, which won the final among the three city league champs in NY Giants stadium some years ago, and C David Ivy, whose snaps are the envy of the league and who contributes to the Bullets’ dominant OL, which gave up only one sack in the regular season.

The Bullets also recruited well locally, bringing in offensive coordinator, Vinicius (Jaga) Espricio, Colombian-born, Venezuelan-bred TE David Hanssen, G Roberto (Bob) Lima, oversized DE Daniel (Obelix) Viera, Pro Bowl MLB, Eder Sguerri, and newcomers at OLB, Ricardo Michelone Aquesta and Rafael (Jones) Perioli. Finally, the Bullets have improved the depth of their reserves, with offensive talents, including OL Vitor (Vitão) Innocencio, receivers Fernando Domiciano, Gui Guimarães and Paulo de Tarso, and RB Felipe Reis, and defensive staples, such as DEs Vitor Sarvas and Pedro Marinho, and LBs André Galinskas and Luciano (Luci) Lima.

The São Paulo Spartans are a newcomer to the league, having combined players from at least three teams to participate in last year’s preliminary tournament, a requirement for all new aspiring teams to join the league. They advanced to the regular season, won a playoff spot and lost in the conference championship to the Locos. This year, they find themselves preparing for battle for the league championship.

Not since the days that Dallas Cowboy legends QB Troy Aikman, WR Michael Irvin and RB Emmitt Smith dominated the gridiron, have we seen the likes of the Spartans’ heroic triumvirate, QB/LB Roberto (Peninha) Spinelli, WR/LB Rodrigo (Turbo) Melati and RB/CB Bruno (Nitro) Melati. Impressively, these warriors suit up on both sides of the field, where they have demonstrated Pro Bowl capacity on both offense and defense.

On offense, the Spartans complement Peninha and the Melati twins with a Pro Bowl-caliber OL, TE Renato (Profeta), and WR Igor Suhet. On defense, the Spartans wage war adding dominant DEs Walter and Matheus Peter, along with secondary standouts CB Fernando and FS Rafael (Venom) dos Santos to the battalion. DT Wagner and LB Fabio, among others, provide reinforcement to an already scrappy, determined defensive squad.

Daniel Miura, previously a player with both the six-time champion Sharks as well as the Bullets’ defense, plots strategy and tactics as the head coach for the Bullets, and is the principal architect of the United Nations development approach, which has paid off well for the Buckeyes. Peninha works in close with tandem with his father, Bob Spinelli, to maximize and optimize the scarce Spartan resources, drawing on the intelligence and speed of its players, combined with unparalleled trickery in their playbook.

Sports Illustrated recently sat down with Bullets’ team owner, Alez Soares, to get his perspective on the big game:

SI: Alez, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us. How does it feel to be back in the championship game?

Alez: The book is on the table.

SI: Umm, yes, I see, but back to the question, how does it feel to be back in the championship game?

Alez: The book is on the table.

SI: I think we may need a translator here. One sec… Ok, Alez, How does it feel to be back in the championship game?

Alez: I am very happy. We didn’t get to the final the past two years, and this year we enter the final undefeated. Who wouldn’t be happy?

SI: What has gotten the Bullets back to this point?

Alez: Last year we had some problems with some members of the team and did not finish the year well, so we decided to restructure the team, including naming Daniel Miura, who helped with the restructuring, as head coach. We brought in new players, organized them into the offense and defense, renamed captains and recruited new international players, which we believe makes a big difference in the sport today.

SI: Some say the Bullets have a tendency to choke in the championship game. What are the chances of that happening again on Sunday?

Alez: Well, each game is different. We trained hard to get here and, for that reason, I think the chances are minimal that will happen again.

SI: What do you see as the key strengths and weaknesses of each team?

Alez: I don’t know this year’s Spartans well, but they have arrived. They got to the Sampa Bowl, and they will come fully prepared to take on the Silver Bullets. They have an excellent offense with their QB Peninha and the Melati twins, but they have a limited number of players, which requires them to play on both offense and defense. The Bullets have one of the best passing games seen in recent years, bolstered by a line which provides absolute protection for our QB and offensive captain, Kevin May, and our defense trains hard and pushes itself to contain our opponent team.

SI: Last year, during the regular season, the Bullets played the Spartans in the final game of the regular season. You were up by 2 TDs, but then the Spartans rallied back and went ahead 3 TDs to 2, with less than a minute to go. The Bullets managed to escape with a one-point win after scoring a TD and a 1-point conversion with seconds left on the clock. What do you expect in the rematch?

Alez: I hope this year will be different. This year the teams are different. Our offense is very confident, and our defense is the most aggressive I know of.

SI: What do you tell your team before this game to get them ready?

Alez: We have to focus on the game. Even though we may be favorites, we have to maintain respect for our adversary, as they got to the final game too.

SI: You were a Pro Bowl RB last year. What are the chances you get game time on Sunday?

Alez: This year was complicated for me. I strained my neck, which left me out for several practices and games. I lost my game rhythm, and with our air attack “exploding” every game, we opted not to run the ball. However, the pain in my neck finally went away a couple of weeks ago, and who knows? Maybe I will come in for a drive or two in this final game.

SI: One last question, why do they call you “Tiozinho” (literally, “Little Uncle”)?

Alez: (Laughs…) good question. The nickname “Tiozinho” has a long history. I have play flag since 2002 and when I got involved in the game, I was one of the oldest players. I was 27 and the rest of the group was between 15 and 17, on average. As a result, they called me “Tiozinho Alez”. Today, however, the situation is different. The Bullets are the team with the largest number of players between the ages of 27 and 45. Perhaps this is a big difference for our players. Many years of experience… (laughs).

SI: Thanks for your time. Good luck on Sunday!

The outlook for Sunday’s game is cloudy with a chance of rain. The Silver Bullets hope to unleash their prolific air attack to put up a lot of points on the scoreboard, and count with an aggressive rush and blitz to cause problems for the Spartans’ offense. The Spartans, in turn, rely on a balanced offense with its split-out WR/RB set, speedy skill players and a deep bag of tricks. The Spartan defense will rely on speed and perseverance to try to unsettle the Bullets offense.

Both teams look forward to sending at least 10 players each to the Pro Bowl, and both count with league MVP candidates. The Silver Bullets have maintained respect for themselves, the game and their adversary as the core tenet of their team philosophy. The Spartans have counted on the same fierce, independent, never-say-die attitude which sustained the legendary Spartans of ancient Greece. In short, both teams have no short supply of potential game heroes and a powerful team ethos which has sustained them both in time of battle.

Will this be the last glorious stand for the Spartans this year, the year when the Buckeyes finally shake their Bills-like tendency to lose in the final? Or will history repeat itself and render the Spartans victorious in an upset battle amongst titans?

Sports Illustrated wagers that this year’s Sampa Bowl will be one to remember!