Tulsa World: Okie enjoying football career in Sweden

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Okie enjoying football career in Sweden

McCoy

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 6/9/2008 2:08 AM
Last Modified: 6/9/2008 3:57 AM

Question: What do Sperry and Inola have in common with Tyreso, Sweden?

Answer: Football. And G.C. McCoy.

McCoy grew up in Sperry with an uncommon passion for football. He played for Inola as a high school senior. Now, after four years as a starter at Ottawa (Kan.) University and a year in arena football, McCoy's home is a suburb of Stockholm on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

"At first, I was completely in culture shock," McCoy said.

He's been in Tyreso for seven weeks, learning the culture and the language and playing and teaching the game.

"I have a great life here," he said. "I just work out, coach and play football games on Saturday, then go out and meet women on the weekend in Stockholm."

As a linebacker at Sperry and Inola, McCoy made the Tulsa World All-Metro teams. Sperry made the playoffs three straight years, then his family moved to Inola and "I kind of got lost in the mix ... as far as recruiting."

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker found more accolades at the NAIA school in Ottawa, Kan., earning All-American recognition in 2005.

But that wasn't enough football for McCoy. In 2006, McCoy, 24, participated in a scouting combine in Dallas, secured an agent and got a gig playing indoor football for the Billings Outlaws in Billings, Mont.

He then spent a year working in construction in Tulsa, hanging drywall, laying tile and installing plumbing. But he kept training, too, and eventually found more football opportunities.

This spring, McCoy signed with another indoor team, the New Mexico Wildcats, in Rio Rancho, N.M. After just one game, though, McCoy's agent called and told him about an opportunity to return to the outdoor game.

In Sweden.

"I read up about it," he said in April, the day before shipping out. "I've wanted to go travel Europe anyway. Now I'm going to get to do it on somebody else's dime."

McCoy plays linebacker and fullback for the Tyreso Royal Crowns (a reference to the Scandinavian nation's monarchy, not the soft drink), one of seven teams in the Swedish American Football Federation. Soccer is king, but football is catching on.

"They start 'em out young like Jenks or Union," McCoy said. "They start 'em in pee wees and bring 'em up, so when they get to the upper leagues, they'll be prepared. It's all a system. They know the system from the time they're little."

Tyreso (pop. 41,000) is located on a peninsula in far eastern Sweden. The town is 10 miles east of Stockholm (1.95 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area).

There are about 50 players per team, but no more than two Americans — one on offense, one on defense. So far, McCoy, Tyreso's only Yankee, plays both ways. He arrived in late April (the Crowns are 1-4; McCoy scored the game-winning TD in the victory), and the league takes a break in July. The season runs through September.

The team pays for his apartment (his roommates, Alex Nielson and Victor Lejon, are Swedes) and virtually everything else.

"The only thing that I have to pay for is my personal entertainment," he said. "They covered my bus pass until October; I get two free meals (a day) from a local restaurant in town, Curres Corner; a grocery store attendant brings two bags of groceries by each week to stock up the fridge. They hooked me up with a cell phone and minutes, Internet and a free apartment."

Good thing, too. The cost of living is high in Sweden. A liter of petrol goes for 14 kronas. Translated, that's a gallon of gas for $8.69. Almost everyone takes public transportation.

McCoy is also an assistant coach for the local high school team. He compared the SAFF talent to that in the NCAA's Division I-AA and said some members of the high school team could compete for playing time at Oklahoma's best high schools.

"Most of the people here are talented with their feet, obviously from soccer," he said, "but a lot of them play ice hockey and have great eye-hand coordination."

So far, McCoy is adjusting to Scandinavian life. He's become a regular in the Centrum (a mall where he tried to buy football cleats but found only soccer shoes) and is even enjoying some measure of celebrity.

"The little kids eat it up and love to hang out with me on the field when I run before practice," he said. "I have tried to jump in with them in their pickup soccer games. I am terrible at soccer.

"The coolest thing after the game is that the teams line up in straight lines facing each other parallel to the 50-yard line. The visiting team captain then steps out and thanks the other team for a good game and competition. The home team does the same in return, and everybody claps and the lines come together and shake hands and tell everybody, 'Good game.' Very neat and interesting."

John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com

About Sweden

Population: 9.2 million

Government: Constitutional monarchy (King Karl XVI Gustav)/Parliamentary democracy

Currency: Kronas (6 to $1)

Capital: Stockholm

Stockholm summer climate: 55-77 degrees

Geographic neighbors: Norway (west), Finland (east), Poland, Germany (south of Baltic Sea), Denmark (southwest)

Sweden Time: 8 hours ahead of Oklahoma

Cost of living

*Gallon of milk: $5.42

Loaf of bread: $3.39

One beer: $7.62

Soft drink: $2.54

Lunch: $8.50

Dinner: $21.62

*Gallon of gas: $8.69

*metric conversion

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

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