The Intercontinental Gridiron Cup

"Gridiron Cup" is available
exclusively on Amazon

In another alternate universe, there is a version of Earth where "gridiron" is the true world sport controlled by that world's version of the International Federation of American Football, and "fútbol" is the number two sport that doesn't hold the same worldwide interest or passion as that of the oblong ball variety.  In this world, the gridiron game means as much to the rest of the world, as it does to the American South, and the Soviets have made it their mission to dominate not only the world, but also America's favorite sport.  

Fortunately, there is a way to travel to such a world, and that is through author Keegan Dresow's underground sports classic, in which it is a combination of the Cold War and the accidental genius of NFL Commissioner Bert Bell that push the all-American sport to the forefront of the frozen conflict and uneasy peace between the USSR and USA.  For anyone who loves sports fiction, his book is a must read, and caught in between the Superpowers in this 60 minute sports conflict, is the rest of the world in a competition for the world's biggest prize in sport, the "Gridiron Cup."  

The sport of this fiction is one in which America holds an early lead in 1948, but by 1982, the rest of the world, including Japan, have all caught up, and as a result make the gridiron game a truly global event. Much like soccer version, the eyes of the world focus themselves every four years, and over time the nations of the world slowly develop their own Olympic level efforts to build out and develop a grass roots or national effort to grow the game and develop its players in a manner reminiscent of how the Warsaw Pact and Western nations developed their own methods of training athletes for the Olympiads.  

Which plot point brings me back to reality to talk about the need for a true world "Intercontinental Gridiron Cup, without either America or Canada.  I am sure people that many people who run across this and will, like every opinion on the Internet, rip it apart and mock it. Which is OK with me, because I am just "spit balling" and am notoriously guilty for doing the same in the past to others.  Of course I realize the IFAF does conduct a tournament, but its one that is not catching the world's attention like say The World Baseball classic. At best it is a curiosity played in mostly empty stadiums and shown on obscure cable channels and placed on YouTube for replay posterity.  Besides, if the NFL doesn't really buy into it, then it will remain at best simply wishful thinking and this essay will remain food for thought. 

Yet, the fact that flag football is making leaps and bounds in popularity and becoming an Olympic sport in 2028 gives one hope the tackle version of the game will start to become more popular besides just the NFL variety.  With both Japan and Mexico having championship flag football teams in recent years, one can only hope the ELF, LFA and X-League will someday go from niche sports to those that cause newly minted fans to spend their autumn Sundays in front of the television enjoying the day the way it is meant to be, watching the gridiron game.

I firmly believe, as do many others here in Japan, the LFA, X -League, the ELF (whose stock is on the rise), and other European and international leagues need to take steps to create their own "Intercontinental Gridiron Cup" (hopefully NFL sponsored), similar to that of the UEFA Europa League, in which the top teams in each of the leagues meet to determine who the real champion of international gridiron is (excluding America and Canada). Such a tournament would I hope (and I know hope is not a plan) bring more media exposure to the sport outside of what scant attention is given for instance in Japan, where, aside from a scandal or the Super Bowl and American pop stars, no one knows much if anything about gridiron football. 

While not rising to the level of the World Baseball Classic or World Cup of soccer, an International Gridiron Cup would mean that we would finally be able to see if the Fujitsu Frontiers of Japan's X-League, are truly the best in the world outside of English and French speaking North America, who, until proven otherwise, as noted by Inside Sport Japan, are to me, the mythical Intercontinental Gridiron Cup champions based on the fact that they have not lost a game in literally years. It is a subjective claim of course, but until the LFA and ELF champions meet the X-League champion, years long records of being undefeated in professional play is hard to dispute or prove otherwise.

With all that said, let me return to the subject of Keegan Dresow, whom I interviewed shortly after I arrived here in Japan in one of my first shows of 2023 on the From the 55 Yardline Podcast.  If you love the international gridiron game like I do, I am sure you will enjoy not only his great book, but also my talk with him. The tale he weaves is a great vision of an alternate universe where gridiron football is not America's, but rather, belongs to the world.... ~ Greg

In his book, “Gridiron Cup, 1982,” Keegan Dresow asks two important questions… What if Bert Bell had been successful in getting war torn Europe to embrace the spectacle of gridiron football? And, what if Joseph Stalin had decided the Soviet Union would learn the sport and use it to wage a proxy war against the west on the gridiron. For fans of the TV show, “For All Mankind,” in which the question of what if the Soviets had landed on the moon first is explored, readers will not be disappointed.  “Gridiron Cup, 1982,” is available exclusively on Amazon Kindle.  His book imagines a world where it is gridiron football and not soccer football that is the most dominate team sport on the planet, and expertly weaves facts with fiction to present a look at a sports world that gridiron football fans can only dream about.

Keegan Dresow previously served as the head coach of the Avedøre Monarchs, in Denmark, and is the author of “Offensive Football Systems,” which is also available on Amazon.  Presently, Keegan, a 2010 graduate from the UC Davis School of Law, is an attorney and is also a 2006 graduate of Pomona College, where he played four years of gridiron football for the Sagehens. His website is TotalAmericanFootball.com.