INDIANAPOLIS – Mason Brunner wrapped up his collegiate football career at Butler in November and quickly signed a professional football contract with the Las Rozas Black Demons in January to continue his playing career in Spain. Brunner recently took some time to communicate with the BU athletic department about his first year in the Spanish league (Federación Española de Fútbol Americano).
 
Player: Mason Brunner
Position: Inside Linebacker / Long Snapper
Team: Las Rozas Black Demons
League: FEFA (Federación Española de Fútbol Americano)
 
Describe your first year as a member of the Las Rozas Black Demons. Is a FEFA season similar to an NCAA season?
 
The regular season featured 10 total games, including the national championship. FEFA uses the same rules as the NCAA, but one major difference was that a lot of the fields that we played on were only 80 yards, instead of the traditional 100 yards in length.
 
Where did you live while playing for the Black Demons? Were you able to travel during the season?
 
I lived in a city called Las Matas, which is located near Madrid. During my time in Spain, I was able to visit Madrid, Mallorca (an island in the Mediterranean Sea) and a Fuengirola (a city on the southern coast of Spain).
 
Were there communication challenges while playing football in Spain? Did you have any American teammates?
 
I was one of three Americans on the roster. The team actually signed us all up for Spanish classes in an effort to expand our prior knowledge. I took four years of Spanish in high school, so that helped a lot. The class was held in downtown Madrid, which was great because we were able to explore the city after class.
 
What was your favorite food that you discovered while playing in Spain?
 
A very popular Spanish dish that I fell in love with during my time there was a dish called paella. It is a rice based dish made with fish, chicken, calamari, peppers and more.
 
Tell us about your favorite on-field moment from this past season, and your favorite from your time at Butler.
 
My favorite football moment in Spain was a 39-38 win in overtime over the Mallorca Voltors. Mallorca was the only team in our league with nine imported players. They had three Americans, three Germans, two Icelanders and one Australian. Nine imported players is a crazy amount for our league so we were big underdogs in that game. We still managed to pull off an amazing win in overtime.
 
My favorite football moment at Butler was definitely our win at Youngstown State my junior year. I definitely miss the guys on the team and the comradery we had both on and off the field.