When looking back at the 2007 season, it’s hard to overlook the progress the teams in the league have shown, especially in aspects that are probably the hardest to get a hand of by new teams. Like, for instance, passing the ball. Part of it was new teams and their quarterbacks, Bernhard Kamber and Vasyl Yordan, joining the league. Part of it was improvement by players themselves, like it was with Čaba Juhas, but certainly a big part of the credit goes to Belgrade’s Briton Burge, the first American football player in Serbia to come from America.

“Basically, the first time I was in Serbia was in 2004 and I enjoyed it and came again in 2006. Decided to spend some time, learn the language. Met Saša [Belgrade’s Head Coach Aleksandar Hadži-Pavlović], we talked about football and he told me he was getting into coaching, so I started helping out.”

For SELAF standards, Belgrade already had a competent quarterback in 2006 Offensive Player of the Year, Andrej Tasić. But looking at the two, the difference is clear – while Tasić was the league’s biggest running threat up until his injury, with Burge running the offense the days of 38% of completed passes are long gone. Not that it’s hard to understand why – though he says he hadn’t played in six years since high school, the number of years he had played is still greater than any of his teammates has.

“Saša convinced me to play, it took him a couple of games; I had it in the back of my head. I wasn’t in shape, just threw the ball a little in practice. Didn’t take too much convincing, because I wanted to play.“

Fortunately for the team, it wasn’t exactly a problematic decision. Some say it was even Tasić’s idea in the first place, and his play as a receiver was far from bad. According to Burge, he’s one of the best in the league.

”The team’s improved a lot. Having Saša brought the team to a new level. There’s still a lot more potential. The level of play is pretty good, but again, a lot more potential left as the sport gets more popular … Tasa [Andrej Tasić] is a great athlete, done a tremendous amount for the sport; great to have him as a receiver.”

In three and a half games, plus the semifinal, Burge completed 43 passes for 895 yards, 10 touchdowns and just one interception. The one interception was against their next and last opponent of the year, the Budapest Wolves. Overall, it was far from his worst performance – it was arguably the best, with 318 yards passing and 104 yards rushing. Along with his 224 yard, 3 touchdown game against the Gladiators in the semifinal, it’s clear he played big in big games.

That is an important fact for a team that lost two out of three final games in its history. Only one problem remains, a knee he injured against the Gladiators, but he says he’ll play.

“Knee’s still a little tender, but I will play. I’m really excited for the game and if we play to our full potential I expect to win. Budapest is a really good team, but if we play well we’ll have a good shot.”