In the world of sports, Germany is regarded as a powerhouse in the “other” version of football – soccer. Most teams in Germany’s Bundesliga, the country’s major league of football, have followings that could rival those of the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Yankees in the US. But the American football has a long standing foothold in the country. U.S. soldiers brought it to Germany during their occupation following World War II, and a tour of a college football team from Texas, helped the game take root. The tour helped popularize the game, and a year later, the country’s first football organization was formed. In 1979, enthusiasts founded the German Football League. American football’s success worldwide is proof that sports, transcends all nations and race. It is a venue where everyone who has the passion for a particular game can go out and compete with other people. And football isn’t the only game which is popular to both fans and athletes alike. One particular game that has also been accepted worldwide is poker. An all time favorite with card players, the game also traces its roots from the USA. The game’s sudden rise has also seen the birth of online poker sites like http://de.partypoker.com/. Partypoker offers the best online poker experience, and they also provide many tournaments for online players. Poker is a skill game and Partypoker also provides game tutorials for those who have just started to take a liking to the game. They will teach you the basics of the game before you start to master the different strategies needed to win. Similar to the game of poker, the acceptance of people worldwide to American football is slowly but surely gaining ground. This is evident by the formation of the GFL, arguably the world’s top football league outside of North America.

The Seattle Seahawks for example, also has a foreign – born player on their team at the moment. Patrick Chukwurah, is a Nigerian national, who currently plays as a defensive end for the Seahawks in the NFL. He made his professional debut in 2001 with the Minnesota Vikings. But Seattle isn’t new when it comes to foreigners playing for the city’s top teams. Detlef Schrempf, a retired basketball player from Leverkusen, Germany spent most of his career playing for the Seattle Supersonics. He reached the NBA Finals in 1996, and played in two All Star games during his time with the Sonics. He is considered to be the first true German superstar in the NBA, paving the way for compatriots like Dirk Nowitzki to have successful careers at the professional level.

The three interceptions were a career high in a game for Rivers and he has now thrown a NFL-worst 14 for the season. About the only saving grace for San Diego head coach Norv Turner is that he is supposedly a good offensive and QB coach but that is looking less to be the case as the Chargers are playing rotten football and Rivers is a big part of the problem. In their game at Kansas City prior to the Packer loss, Rivers fumbled a snap from center as the Chargers were set up for a short range game winning field goal attempt. The inexplicable botch was emblematic of the season.

Part of Rivers problem is that the surrounding cast has gotten far worse than when the Chargers peaked with a 14-2 season in 2006 under then coach Marty Schottenheimer, who was fired after a fluke playoff loss to New England in which the Chargers fumbled away a game clinching interception. General Manager A.J. Smith hated Schottenheimer, who was a strong and independent leader and thinker and hired Turner as his compliant puppet after Turner was fired for being a big loser in head gigs with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders.

Smith has been in a horrible slump as perhaps there is karma with the falling out with Schottenheimer. Smith has had woeful drafts in recent years that have not produced an impact player.

A major example of Smith’s poor management has been at the running back position where there are no solid players to take the heat off of Rivers. With production having fallen off to record levels of ineptitude, Rivers has faced the pressure of having to carry most of the offensive burden which goes a long way towards explaining his recent slump with interceptions and why the Chargers may be doomed to miss the playoffs.