As the first red-white-red player who is not at home in the special position of the kicker, Raimann was on the field in the dramatic 20:20 after the Indianapolis Colts overtime at the Houston Texans at the start of the season. With that, Raimann ended a 35-year dry spell, before him three Austrian kickers were active in the US professional league.
“It was really exciting, my heart was racing a little bit,” said Raimann after the game in the APA interview, relieved: “I’ve dreamed about it for years and that it’s finally a reality, I don’t believe it myself. I tried not let down the ten other guys. By and large, I did that too.”
Raimann, who started as a substitute on the left tackle position in the Colts offensive, didn’t have to wait long for his first assignment. In the first quarter, the 24-year-old was sent onto the field twice in front of 69,415 fans at Houston’s atmospheric NRG Stadium to provide an additional blocker to clear the way for star running back Jonathan Taylor. On his second play, the rookie, who was the first Austrian ever to be selected in the third round of the draft in April, makes a strong block.
At the beginning of the second half of the game, Raimann was already in the first formation, the 2.01 m tall and 138 kg heavy athlete didn’t allow himself any mistakes. Shortly thereafter, he was again replaced by Pryor. However, the clearly favored Colts around quarterback Matt Ryan, who afforded an interception and a fumble, had massive problems in the offensive game for a long time. With a chase after being 3:20 behind, the Colts saved themselves in overtime, where Indianapolis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship kicked the field goal for a possible victory. This ended the Colts in the division duel of the AFC South but at least the bankruptcy series of eight defeats in eight years.
Before Raimann, the former national soccer player Toni Fritsch had won the Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys in the US professional league in 1972, although he did not play in the final game. Raimund “Ray” Wersching was successful with the San Francisco 49ers in 1982 and 1985. In 1987, the emigrant son from Mondsee also played the last NFL game by an Austrian. Third in the group was Toni Linhart. Born in Styria, he played with the Baltimore Colts, who moved to Indianapolis in 1984.
Source: Nachrichten
