2005 was the 13th of 15 seasons for the World League of American Football, and the eighth as NFL Europe. It was another competitive season for NFL Europe, as all six teams won between 3 and 7 games. The Berlin Thunder would lead the way at 7-3, finishing one game better than the Amsterdam Admirals (6-4) and the Cologne Centurions (6-4). The top two teams qualify for the World Bowl. Unfortunately for the Cologne Centurions, they would be knocked out by tie-breakers, and Berlin and Amsterdam would meet in World Bowl XIII, the championship game for NFL Europe. World Bowl XIII was played at the LTU arena in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 11, 2005. 35,134 fans were in attendance for the game. After many years of suffering, the Admirals won their very first World Bowl title by stripping the defending champion Thunder of their title, by a final score of 27-21. The Admirals drew first blood on their opening possession as Admirals QB Kurt Kittner lead his team on a 9-play, 68-yard drive and capped it off with a 22-yard TD pass to WR Ruvell Martin. It would turn out to be the only score of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Admirals would quickly add to their lead. They used their first full possession of the period on just one play, but it would be swift and painful, as Amsterdam took advantage of a fumble recovery to take control at Berlin's 12-yard line. Afterwards, Kittner threw a 12-yard TD pass to TE Mike Gomez. On their next possession, the Admirals continued to pour it on, as his Admirals stopped a 4th down conversion from the Thunder and took over with good field position (Berlin's 27-yard line). Despite the good position, the Thunder defense finally stiffened and the Admirals had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by kicker Chris Snyder. The Berlin Thunder would finally be able to get on the board near the end of the half, as Thunder QB Dave Ragone led his team on a 4-play, 51-yard drive and capped it off with a 10-yard pass to WR Aaron Boone. Despite the impressive resurgence, the first half belonged to Amsterdam as they lead 17-7 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Admirals continued to show how much they want Berlin's crown by striking on their opening drive. Kittner lead his team on a 4-play, 80-yard drive that ended with RB Jonathan Smith running 18 well-earned yards for a TD. Trailing 24-7 going into the fourth quarter, the Thunder needed a lot of points in a hurry, if they wanted to defend their title. Continuing a drive that begin in the final seconds of the third quarter, Ragone led his team on a 5-play, 80-yard drive that concluded with a 10-yard TD pass to RB Little John Flowers. However, the Admirals continued to put the game further out of reach, as they responded with a 28-yard field goal by Snyder. Ragone and his Thunder would respond with a 10-play, 78-yard drive and get a TD with Ragone himself running in on a 10-yard QB sneak. With another long drive the Berlin Thunder set themselves up near the redzone again, where the Admirals forced the Berlin Thunder to 4th down with 5 seconds to spare. That final play ended with Norman LeJeune writing history for the Amsterdam Admirals when he batted away a Dave Ragone pass intended for WR Redd. The Admirals managed to pull off an upset by taking down the defending champions and win their very first World Bowl title. Taking home MVP honors was Admirals QB Kurt Kittner, who went 15 of 28 for 239 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.