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The background
The Copenhagen Towers can trace our history back to Monday, August 20th 1990. On this date a group of enthusiastic football players and loyal backers from the defunct Copenhagen Vikings founded what was to become the biggest powerhouse that Danish American football has seen to date.
The proud Copenhagen Vikings '89 squad that formed a solid base for the Copenhagen Towers. The odds were tough, but through dedication and hard work the team rose and became an established part of the Danish American football community. Gentofte Stadium became our home field from the early days and remains so to this date. In 2005 the Copenhagen Towers could celebrate our 15th anniversary – a period symbolized by success on the field, exciting football, talented players and a persistent front office. A period that has seen Towers jerseys cover many big hearts. Throughout the years the Towers have given a lot of boys and men a taste of the spectacle that is TOWERS FOOTBALL. The years have seen plenty of ups and a few downs. But the Copenhagen Towers all know that as time goes by, games are played and seasons come to an end, the future lies ahead filled with hopes, opportunities and challenges. We choose to play this game not because it is easy but because it is hard! 1992
The Towers quickly developed a taste for victory and thus went undefeated in the 1992 season, a season capped with a win in the Mermaid Bowl – the national championship. That season also saw the Copenhagen Towers make a name for ourselves on the international scene. The Russian Czars left Gentofte Stadium with a defeat, suffered at the hands of a powerful Towers team. The same fate was bestowed upon the British Bulldogs just a month later. The Towers enjoyed significant exposure in the national media during that first championship season. Both nationwide TV stations as well as the written media covered the Mermaid Bowl.
The undefeated Danish champions of '92 who also had great international success. 1993
The year came and went on a high note. The Towers won the Mermaid Bowl for the second consecutive year, while taking second place in the Scandinavian Cup. An enthusiastic crowd of 5.000 spectators watched the Towers beat the Odense Swans in the Mermaid Bowl. Danish DR-TV broadcast an hour-long highlight program from the game. 1994
This season the Towers once again played several international games. A game at the Luxembourg Lions had the Towers awestruck. The stadium was packed with a wild home crowd, there was loud music and everything else that you could expect from a high profile football game. However, all of this could not distract the Towers, who played a solid football game and came away with the win. The next opponent was the Oscar Dinos – reigning Austrian champions – at home in Gentofte. The game was tough, entertaining and sweet as the Towers once again carved a notch in the victory post. Thus poised and collected the Towers were prepared to meet the renowned Munich Cowboys. Regrettably, the ‘Boys were also prepared for the Towers. We collected the first defeat of the season. Lightning may not strike twice in the same place, but the Towers do – and then some. For the third year running the Copenhagen Towers could raise the championship trophy above our heads after the Mermaid Bowl. 1995
The year proved to be every bit as successful on the local arena as the previous years. The Towers beat the Aarhus Tigers in an entertaining and well played game to claim an unprecedented fourth consecutive Mermaid Bowl victory. Internationally, the Towers saw only limited action. The talent and will were both present, but a financial drought forced the team to refrain from competing in the European tournament. However, the Towers did were invited to play an exhibition game against the Düsseldorf Panthers in a game that celebrated the return of the World League of American Football – now the NFL Europe – to this continent.
Copenhagen Towers '95 who brought the championship trophy to Gentofte for the fourth consecutive time. 1996
All good things must come to an end and so did the unbeaten streak of 4 national championships. The Towers had to settle for second best in the Danish National League as we lost to the Roskilde Kings in the Mermaid Bowl. That season also produced one of the most exciting games ever played on Danish soil. The Towers visited the Aarhus Tigers during the regular season and fell behind by more than three touchdowns, only to come back and tie the game shortly before time ran out. This game had the home crowd of 3.200 on their feet for most of the second half. The Towers played two international games that year, but they were essentially irrelevant, as we did not have the financial means to compete abroad. 1997
It was not a good year for the Copenhagen Towers. We suffered through a winless season after having said goodbye to many players. Age, families and injuries had taken their toll on the team. A solid core of players played admirably in the face of severe adversity, but came up short. For the first time in team history did the Copenhagen Towers not finish at the top of the league. The general concensus among players and staff alike was that a season in Division 1 was necessary in order to give the team a chance to regroup and prepare new players for football at the high level that we were determined to return to. Unfortunately only one other team entered the tournament in Division 1, so both teams elected to drop to Division 2, which then consisted of 12 teams. 1998
The Towers quickly regained our winning ways as we went through the season without a single loss and beat the Frederiksund Oaks in the Elming Bowl in the summer of 1999. 1999
The fall of 1999 witnessed the return of the Copenhagen Towers to the National League. The season opened with a heartbreaking loss in a game that proved to the football community that the Towers were once again ready to compete. Before the winter break we had won our first game in our return to the elite level of Danish American football. 2000
The senior team was coached by American coach Troy Adelman. The team began 3-3 and eventually missed the play-offs. 2001
The senior team finished the season 4-7 under coach Kenneth Corneliussen who had taken over from Troy Adelman in late 2000. The junior team finished 3-7. 2002
The senior team finished 3-7 which meant having to play a qualification game against the Århus Tigers from Division 1. In the newly formed Junior National League the Towers U19 squad finished 2-3. The U16 team finished 6-2. 2003
The senior team finished 2-8 and had to play the Triangle Razorbacks in the NL qualification game. The Towers won the game and thus the right to stay in the NL in 2004. In the Junior National League the U19 squad finished 2-6. The U16 team went undefeated in a 8-0 season in which the team scored 302 points while allowing only 34. For the first time the Towers fielded three youth teams after launching a boys U13 tackle program. The U13 team lost their first three games and then eventually won their fourth game to finish the season 1-3. 2004
In 2004 the Towers fielded to senior teams – one in the National League and one in Division 2. The secondary team was meant for both rookies and older players who might want to slow down the pace and practice schedules. The NL team finished with a 2-9 record by beating the Oaks and Swans, while the Division 2 team played 10 games en route to a 0-10 record. The NL team needed to play a qualification game for the 2005 NL season against the Odense Swans. The Towers won the game and thus managed to stay at the top level in the coming season. The U19 squad – playing in the Junior National League – had a 2-5 record. The U16 squad was successful and finished with a 7-1 record. The U13 squad played eight games and won half to finish the season with a 4-4 record. 2005
In the club's 15-year anniversary season the senior team managed only a 1-8 season, which again forced the Towers into a National League qualification game that was eventually lost to the Esbjerg Hurricanes. The sole win came on August 19th – one day before the actual 15-year anniversary – when the Kronborg Knights were defeated in a thrilling 20-19 decision. The U19 squad finished the season 5-3. The U16 squad finished the season 3-3. The U13 squad finished the season 1-2, including a wild 58-80 loss to the Frederikssund Oaks. 2006
The Towers senior team finished the season with a 5-5 record (undefeated in the fall half of the season) which secured a third place in Division 1. As only the top two teams qualified directly to play the 2007 season in the National League the Towers prepared for another Division 1 season. The team was coached by Peter Nicolajsen. The U19 squad finished 8-0, but lost the semifinal to the Kronborg Knights. The team was coached by Coach Carsten 'ICE' Jensen assisted by Carsten Schmidt. The U16 team under Peter Nicolajsen finished with a 4-2 record and a semifinal loss to the Søllerød Gold Diggers. The U13 team under Kasper Künzel finished tied for first with a 5-1 record, but lost the Pee Wee Bowl to the Frederikssund Oaks. 2007
The 2007 season brought the Towers two Danish championships from the U13 and U16 squads. The U13 team was a perfect 13-0 under coaches Carsten Toft and Jørgen Sørensen. The U16 team changed head coach during the season with Anders Halkier taking over from Peter Nicolajsen, when Nicolajsen left to take up college studies in Canada during the summer break. The team finished 6-4 in the regular season before advancing to the Future Bowl in which the Towers beat the Avedøre Monarchs 20-12. The U19 team went 6-1 in the regular Junior National League season, before dropping a heartbreaking game to the Århus Tigers in the semifinal by the score of 0-6. The team was coached by Coach Carsten 'ICE' Jensen assisted by Carsten Schmidt. The senior team was coached by Anders Rasmussen, initially assisted by Peter Nicolajsen and Peter Herbild, but later by DC Mats Eriksson. The team was elevated from Division 1 to the National League when the Roskilde Kings dropped out of the National League shortly before the season began. The Towers finished with a 4-6 record, which was not enough to secure a play-off spot, but on the other hand good enough to keep the Towers safe from Division 1 qualification games.
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