Fanki, how long have you been playing football, what were your stations?
DF: “I’ve been playing football for 9 years, so since I was 20 years old.
I first played three seasons with the Styrian Bears in Division 2, then from 2015 six seasons with the Graz Giants in the AFL and now, at the beginning of the 2022 season, I’m switching to the Swarco Raiders Tirol in the ELF (European League of Football).
What makes American football so special for you?
DF: “The really special thing about this sport is that EVERYONE can play, or rather everyone can find a position at the beginning that they fit into as they are.
It doesn’t matter whether you are short, tall, thin, fat, fast, slow – you will find a position for everyone to start in. And then when you hone the tools that everyone got, pretty much anyone can play football, and that’s really cool!
And I’m a big fan of team sports – that’s why I really like this sport. Football is one of the greatest team sports in the world, you can’t do anything without a team.”
What position do you play and what do you like about it?
DF: “Since my 3rd or 4th training session with the Bears, I’ve always been on the O-Line, that’s when the Bears recognized my potential. I’ve tried pretty much every position on the O-Line with the Giants, from left tackle to right tackle, including a bit of center last year.
One of the things I love about my position is that you have to protect others, whether it’s the running back, the quarterback, or other teammates on offense. For me, that was always the coolest thing about this position: standing up for others, protecting others and giving everything so that the team can be successful!”
Why are you leaving the Giants?
DF: “There is a sporting reason for me: I want to see if I can play in a higher league and see what my chances are there.
And if I give everything, I’m convinced that I can also play well in the ELF.”
Why do you join the Swarco Raiders and not the (easier to reach) Vienna Vikings?
DF: “I always had more sympathy for the Raiders than for the Vikings. We’ve had a lot of games against the Raiders that have been good for me.
And the location also plays a big role: I personally think Innsbruck is much nicer than Vienna. There are beautiful mountains, it’s a beautiful, smaller city, and as a Grazer I can deal with that much better. Vienna is just too big and too turbulent for me – that’s not mine.”
Will you move to Innsbruck permanently, or will you commute?
DF: “No, I won’t move out, I’ll commute. I can’t do 100% home office and at this point I don’t want to quit my job and look for something new – it combines reasonably well.
But it’s a lot of work: the Graz-Innsbruck/Innsbruck-Graz route twice a week is certainly exhausting when it’s added to work, training and game days, but if you want it 100%, that won’t be a problem either be.”
What do you expect from the ELF?
DF: “I expect a lot of competition in every game. There are a lot of good teams in the ELF that are almost at the same level, where you really have to go “all out” every game.
The playing time is a bit longer: you play four quarters of 15 minutes each (not 12 minutes like in the AFL), which is a quarter longer than in the AFL in terms of time. That is also a big challenge, but I am very happy to prepare myself for it.”
Do you continue to play in the national team?
DF: “Yes, definitely! The ELF schedule is designed so that there is no play on an August weekend when the national team camp is taking place, which means I can attend that camp.
And when the ELF season is over with the final in Klagenfurt on September 25th, I will have enough time for the national team games in autumn.”
Is a return to the Giants conceivable for you?
DF: “My personal goal is to always play in the highest league that I can. It remains to be seen how long I can play in the ELF before my body tells me that’s it for me, but you can never say when that will be.
Basically, I always consider returning to Graz.”
Will you be at the AFL games?
DF: “Of course, as far as the ELF schedule allows, I will be there for the AFL games. The home games in April should definitely work out, and I’m really looking forward to that. From then on it will unfortunately be difficult because of ELF and national team dates.”
Is there anything else you would like to say to your teammates and the Giants fans?
DF: “The club have now lost a few of their tools to the ELF in the off-season, including me, but that doesn’t mean much for the club because they have a lot of other tools.
If these get honed well in the coming months I see a lot of good things for the upcoming AFL season!
I see a lot of good things for every single player, for the team, the coaches, the staff, the helpers, the board, for the whole organization!
I hope that everything works well with Corona and that unlimited spectators can come to every home game and enjoy the games in the stadium!
I see a big year for the Giants.”
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