The Barcelona Dragons were among the three European teams when the NFL started the World League of American Football in the spring of 1990. The NFL had such hopes for European growth that it lured away Mike Lynn from the Vikings to take over the league for its second season in 1991.
OK, maybe it was the heat he was taking for the Herschel Walker trade disaster that caused Lynn to bail out as Vikings CEO and replace himself with Roger Headrick, but Remarkable Mike did share big dreams with Commissioner Paul Tagliabue for building a football market in Europe.
Didn't quite work.
The WLAF ceased in 1997, and a development league called NFL Europe lasted through 2006. The NFL has since settled for occasional games in Europe and frequent rumors that a franchise someday will be located in London.
And perhaps in Barcelona, enough of a presence in Europe's leading versions of American football through the decades that when talking with Jackson Erdmann recently, I was able to ask:
"Does Barcelona still call itself the Dragons?''
The answer was "Yes,'' and then Erdmann talked about his finest moment as a rookie quarterback for the Vienna Vikings, 8-0 in the 12-team European League of American Football (ELAF), with four regular-season games and playoffs remaining.
"Closest game we've had was in the sixth week, at Barcelona,'' Erdmann said. "We were down 20-8 going into the fourth quarter and scored three touchdowns.''