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The Indianapolis Colts are traveling overseas to play the New England Patriots, only this time it will be in Frankfurt, Germany. For one player, it will be a homecoming.
Starting left tackle Bernhard Raimann was born in Steinbrunn, Austria, which is a bordering country to Germany. It also happens to be about 470 miles away and depending on the method of travel, the distance from Raimann’s hometown to Frankfurt is around eight hours either by car or train, or a 90-minute flight.
This will be the second straight week that the city of Frankfurt will be hosting an NFL game. To say that Raimann is excited would be a bit of an understatement. He’s already purchased 18 tickets for family and friends. Only of them have ever seen him play in the NFL — his father.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Raimann told reporters this week. “When they first announced (this trip), I was over-the-moon excited about the game. A couple of family members, my grandma, might’ve never traveled over to the U.S. It’s a long flight once you get older, so for her to be able to come to a game, it’s an unbelievable chance for everybody from my family.”
Bernhard Raimann an example of living NFL dream
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For Raimann, this is an incredible opportunity. Not just because he’ll be able to play in front of his family and friends but because he’ll also be an example for those growing up there and dreaming of playing in the NFL.
“I actually have the ticket at home in my mom’s house. It was huge then and it was super exciting for me,” Raimann said. “I’d started playing football and being able to see the NFL live meant that much to me. Now, I have friends over there (and) family members that went to London games these past couple (of) years. A couple went to the Germany game last week and they all said it was an awesome experience.
“That just gets me even more fired up to go over there and putting on a good performance just because I remember back then when I was a kid and I saw those guys play in London, how much it meant to me.’’
Raimann is just one of six players from Austria to play in the NFL. Toni Fritsch was on the 1972 Dallas Cowboys that one the Super Bowl and he’s the only one to win a championship. Raimann is not the first Austrian-born player to play for the Colts. Toni Linhart was a placekicker for the Baltimore Colts from 1974-1979 and a two-time Pro Bowler.
For Raimann, it’s just his second season but he could be the Colts’ blind spot protector for the foreseeable future. According to Pro Football Focus, he ranks eighth among tackles with an 80.3 overall grade. In his seven starts this season he’s only been credited with giving up two sacks and being called for one penalty. The represents quite the improvement from his rookie season where he allowed seven sacks and was called for nine penalties.
It’s no coincidence that his improved level of play has also helped the Colts’ offense rank in the top five. They’re also the only team in the NFL to have scored at least 20 points in every game this season. However, this week they’ll be focusing on beating New England to get back to .500.