Barney Hope, President of American Football Club
President of American Football Club, Barney Hope, caught up with us to tell us how proud they are to have been part of the sports community here at UCL
I got into American Football over lockdown
I was living with some American friends and every Sunday night we would get a massive bowl of popcorn and have a good laugh watching the games.
It took me a while to understand all the rules, but once I did, I was hooked. When I came to UCL, I wanted to try and new sport as I'd been playing football all my life, so I decided to join the UCL Emperors. It was the best decision I made in my time at university.
It was a really proud moment for me to be elected captain of the team
I have built great relationships with my teammates and have been able to get involved with the running of the club and hopefully leave my mark. This season was our most successful in our history and I'm so proud to be part of the team that achieved that.
My proudest moment was probably beating Imperial
We had marked that game on our calendars from the start of the year. They had just been relegated to our division and everyone seemed to think that it would be an easy task for them to go straight back up. Beating them handsomely on their home turf and the performance of the team that day was my highlight!
The build-up had been quite tense, with lots of talk back and forth between players of the two teams as to who would emerge victorious. We have lots of players who play with Imperial players in Adult Ball leagues over the summer, so there were lots of bragging rights at stake.
Thankfully, on the day our team showed up and everyone played their hearts out. The atmosphere on the bus on the way back to the Bloomsbury Theatre was the best I’d seen it in my three years at the club.
Joining the team was definitely the best part of my time at UCL
I lived for two years with a friend I met on the team, the socials have been great, and I have made some friends for life that I probably wouldn't have met otherwise. It's been a great way to get away from the stresses of university work and have some fun with people that have become more than teammates to me.
The most important part of my role is to keep the team motivated
I am so proud of this team, the committee, and the coaches for their effort and commitment throughout the year. My successor has already been decided, and I am sure that he will take the club to even greater heights next year on the foundations we have been able to lay in this past one.
