Along with the Budapest Wolves, the ASVÖ Gladiators, what was their official name at the time, joined the league in 2007, as a team many thought would seriously contend for the league championship, or at the very least be a tough opponent for every team in the league. To a point, that proved to be true — they made it to the semifinals, they weren’t blown out in any game, but at the same time, for the year, they only beat then last placed team of the North, the Silverhawks, and then last placed team oh the South, the Wild Boars.

In the end, the season was over with a 28-3 loss in Belgrade, against a team that was the first one to point out it might not really be the Gladiators’ year. The Vukovi beat them in dramatic fashion in Austria early in the 2007 season, and both teams had been on a different path all year last season — a path the Gladiators did not take this time.

“We reached the playoff last year and lost in Belgrade clearly. To make the next step, the goal at the beginning of the season was to reach the final this year. Now, we have reached that goal and we are looking forward to get more. We know, that we are not so good as Vukovi, but we will try our best to beat them”, says team president and starting defensive lineman Paul Edelsbrunner.

After staying winless against all of the playoff teams last year — they fell twice to the Wolves, twice to the Vukovi and once to the Dukes — it was a much different story this time around. Not playing the game in Belgrade cost them one loss, but in reality, they are still undefeated on the field even though in one particular game they were the underdog.

“We are stronger than last year for sure, especially compared to the end of the season. But other teams were not so strong, like Budapest. We lost five games in a row before, and this year we won two times clearly. They are definitely weaker.”

The game was in Budapest, and it could be said the Gladiators didn’t show up to win. Instead, they went to Budapest like they usually go to away games, with around 20 or so available players, because the conference crown was nearly secured, even with a possible loss. Yet, the final score was 14-7 for the Gladiators. Does it mean it’s their year this time around?

“We knew before the season that we will be stronger. The team made a great work to get better this year. After the game against Budapest we were clear about our chances to reach the final.”

Playing at home, after it’s become clear that every road win will be hard won is a huge thing for them. With almost the entire team, it’s one of the best chances of winning the trophy they will have unless it gets played in Austria some other year again, which could mean there’s some pressure on them as well.

“No, we reached our goal; we made the way to the final. It’s great for us to have the final in Austria and we want to thank all people who are working on it. But, where should the goal be for 2009, when we win this year? Like I said before, we’ll try to beat them, but it will be hard.”