Senior Football Player Represents U.S. in Milan

5/5/2017

In April, Patrick Kramer ’17 represented the United States on the American Football Worldwide U.S.A. Elite high school team. Together with high school football players from across the country, Kramer traveled to Milan where he spent a week touring historical sites before competing in an international game against the National 19U Team of Italy.

Kramer arrived in Rome on Easter Sunday and met his teammates from high schools in Los Angeles, Idaho, Oklahoma, Colorado and Brooklyn, to name a few. Over the course of the week, the group served as ambassadors abroad for American football, a sport that is gaining momentum in the European market. “It was awesome being ambassadors for the game we love by playing in another country, a country that is trying to build their own American football teams and clubs,” Kramer shares.

In between practices and team meetings, Kramer had the opportunity to visit a number of iconic monuments and historical sites, including the Pantheon, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. The group also made stops in Tuscany, Siena, Florence and Lake Como.

“My favorite part of the trip, besides the game, was touring all of the ancient Roman sites—especially the Vatican,” Kramer says. “It was awesome to see how that area shaped Western civilization and was the birthplace of Roman Catholicism.”

The whirlwind week culminated in the game against the Italian National U19 host team, which ended in a 40–0 victory for the U.S. Despite the landslide score, the teams shared a mutual respect. As a gesture of good sportsmanship, the face-off began with the national anthems of both the U.S. and Italy. “It was a special moment,” Kramer recalls.

Afterward, players from the U.S. met those from the Italian team. One conversation in particular sticks with Kramer. “A player told us that the world still looks to America as the land of opportunity and that we should not take it for granted,” he shares. “I didn’t expect that as a conversation after a football game, but it really struck me.”

It was an experience of a lifetime for Kramer, who left Italy with new friendships and a broader perspective.

“I was able to see the game of football through a different lens,” he reflects.

Kramer will continue playing football at Denison University in the fall.

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