# 2001 Berlin Thunder season

The 2001 Berlin Thunder season was the third season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Peter Vaas in his second year, and played its home games at Jahn-Sportpark in Berlin, Germany. They finished the regular season in second place with a record of six wins and four losses. In World Bowl IX, Berlin defeated the Barcelona Dragons 24–17. The victory marked the franchise's first World Bowl championship.

## Offseason
### Free agent draft

2001 Berlin Thunder NFLEL free agent draft selections :
| Draft order | Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College |
| Round | Choice | Overall | Player name | Position | College |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Lamanzer Williams | DE | Minnesota |
| 2 | 1 | 7 | Scott Pospisil | DL | Iowa |
| 3 | 6 | 18 | Jay Hill | CB | Utah |
| 4 | 1 | 19 | Joe Wesley | LB | Louisiana State |
| 5 | 6 | 30 | Jason Mills | T | Tulsa |
| 6 | 1 | 31 | Allen Mogridge | G | North Carolina |
| 7 | 6 | 42 | Robert Barzilauskas | DT | Valdosta State |
| 8 | 1 | 43 | Jamie Oats | CB | South Carolina State |
| 9 | 6 | 54 | Corey Taylor | RB | Georgetown College |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | Game site | Attendance |
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Final score | Team record | Game site | Attendance |
| 1 | Saturday, April 21 | 6:00 p.m. | Barcelona Dragons | L 14–21 | 0–1 | Jahn-Sportpark | 8,213 |
| 2 | Saturday, April 28 | 7:00 p.m. | at Frankfurt Galaxy | W 28–20 | 1–1 | Waldstadion | 27,928 |
| 3 | Sunday, May 6 | 3:00 p.m. | at Scottish Claymores | L 21–28 | 1–2 | Hampden Park | 10,419 |
| 4 | Saturday, May 12 | 6:00 p.m. | Rhein Fire | W 23–17 | 2–2 | Jahn-Sportpark | 9,148 |
| 5 | Saturday, May 19 | 6:00 p.m. | Frankfurt Galaxy | W 34–25 | 3–2 | Jahn-Sportpark | 9,559 |
| 6 | Saturday, May 26 | 5:00 p.m. | at Barcelona Dragons | L 35–55 | 3–3 | Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc | 9,661 |
| 7 | Saturday, June 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Scottish Claymores | W 27–19 | 4–3 | Jahn-Sportpark | 8,917 |
| 8 | Sunday, June 10 | 7:00 p.m. | at Rhein Fire | L 13–16 | 4–4 | Rheinstadion | 30,701 |
| 9 | Saturday, June 16 | 6:00 p.m. | Amsterdam Admirals | W 41–10 | 5–4 | Jahn-Sportpark | 10,478 |
| 10 | Sunday, June 24 | 6:00 p.m. | at Amsterdam Admirals | W 34–28 | 6–4 | Amsterdam ArenA | 13,812 |
| World Bowl IX ||||||||
| 11 | Saturday, June 30 | 6:00 p.m. | Barcelona Dragons | W 24–17 | 7–4 | Amsterdam ArenA | 32,116 |

## Standings

NFL Europe League :
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Home | Road | STK |
| Barcelona Dragons | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 252 | 191 | 5–0 | 3–2 | L1 |
| Berlin Thunder | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 270 | 239 | 4–1 | 2–3 | W2 |
| Rhein Fire | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 174 | 179 | 4–1 | 1–4 | L1 |
| Scottish Claymores | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 168 | 188 | 4–1 | 0–5 | W1 |
| Amsterdam Admirals | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 194 | 226 | 4–1 | 0–5 | L3 |
| Frankfurt Galaxy | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 199 | 234 | 3–2 | 0–5 | W1 |

## Game summaries
### Week 1: vs Barcelona Dragons

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Barcelona | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Berlin | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, Berlin, Germany
* Date: Saturday, April 21
* Game time: 6:05 p.m. CEST
* Game attendance: 8,213
* Referee: Walt Anderson

### World Bowl IX

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Berlin | 4 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
| Barcelona | 3 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 17 |
at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Date: Saturday, June 30
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CEST
* Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C)
* Game attendance: 32,116
* Referee: Terry McAulay
* TV announcers (FOX): Curt Menefee and Brian Baldinger