Have you ever heard of Barcelona Dragons? Probably not, unless you’re a big fan of American football and the short-lived NFL Europe (first known as the World League of American Football), a league that served as a minor developmental league for the National Football League between 1989 and 2007. Only one team from Spain was in this league (most were from Germany, plus one from England, one from Scotland and one from the Netherlands), Barcelona Dragonswho played at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuic.
The club was founded in 1991 but only lasted 12 years, and coached by NFL legend Jack Bicknell, they were very successful, winning one “World Bowl” in 1997, and reaching four others. The club was briefly owned by FC Barcelona as FC Barcelona Dragons, but a lack of support from the fans meant that the team struggled financially and disappeared in 2003.
But one person who remembers them is Gordon Bellamy, the EA Sports veteran who recently spoke with our own David Caballero at San Diego Comic Con Málaga. As we talked about how he helped shape the Madden games (and their influence on FIFA/EA Sports FC), he enthusiastically shared that he was the first person to get the team into the Madden games.
“I just figured something out and I’m in Spain for the first time. I was also the first to put the Barcelona Dragons into Madden“, he said, laughing, to the visible confusion of the audience.”I’m just going to say it. It was me. I used to love European football“.
You can watch the pleasant moment at the end of the interview below.
