The Vienna Vikings meet Rhein Fire in the 2024 Championship. On a first impression, the two franchises have definitely their dominance in common.

The Vikings went through the season unchallenged. They did not suffer a single defeat along the way. And that despite the fact that their bye weeks only came late in the regular season. 

Rhein Fire also dominated their opponents so far. Quarterback Jadrian Clark plays well, running back Glen Toonga outshines everyone with over 1500 rushing yards and 30 rushing touchdowns. Rhein Fire finished the regular season with a record of 11:1.

Different franchise culture

However, Vikings head coach Calaycay sees some differences between the two franchises. In a media roundtable, he said: "I guess we as Vikings organization are pretty special. Because we have so much history with the guys. I mean, I am with Exavier [Edwards, editor's note] for three years, I am with Luis Horvath since he is nine years old. I am with Alex Milanovic since he is 12 years old. I have coached a lot of these guys in the national team."

He continues: "I have the national team head coach as my offensive coordinator. I think the culture difference is very different. We are an old franchise in the sense that the Vikings in Austria have been around for a while. Me as a head coach brings a lot of Vikings culture with me."

The experienced coach explains: "I have a lot of Austrian coaches here, they got former NFL coaches there. Different ways of getting to games and build franchises. Both can work."

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"What about us?" - Vikings ready for the final clash 

Before the game, cornerback Exavier Edwards showed his opponents respect: "They are a good team, but we are too. Everyone keeps asking, 'what about the Fire? What about the Fire? ' And I am like, 'what about us?' I am ready to play balls Sunday."

Vikings Quarterback Ben Holmes also sees the strengths of Rhein Fires: "They are a good team, otherwise they wouldn't be in the final. They are consistent, you have to respect that. They got good players in every position. It helps if you have two American safeties as ball hawks."

But Holmes isn't scared: "We are a pretty damn good team too. I think it's gonna be a good football game." 

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Despite the differences, both teams should have one thing in common again for Sunday's match: Their excitement.