Scott Couper is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player from Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Nicknamed "Scoops", he played at wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

, most notably for the Scottish Claymores

Scottish Claymores

The Scottish Claymores were an American football team from Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh and latterly sharing home games with Hampden Park, Glasgow...

 of NFL Europe.

Career

Couper's first experience of American football came with the amateur British American Football league, playing eight seasons for the Glasgow Lions

Glasgow Lions

The Glasgow Lions were the first amateur American football team to be founded in Scotland. They were founded in 1984, and disbanded after the 1996 season owing to a competitive imbalance in their league....

. Couper also played for Strathclyde University's setup in the British Collegiate American Football League in 1991, going all the way to the playoffs. Couper went on to complete an organometallic

Organometallic chemistry

Organometallic chemistry is the study of chemical compounds containing bonds between carbon and a metal. Since many compounds without such bonds are chemically similar, an alternative may be compounds containing metal-element bonds of a largely covalent character...

 and polymer chemistry

Polymer chemistry

Polymer chemistry or macromolecular chemistry is a multidisciplinary science that deals with the chemical synthesis and chemical properties of polymers or macromolecules. According to IUPAC recommendations, macromolecules refer to the individual molecular chains and are the domain of chemistry...

 PhD at the university.

Scottish Claymores

In 1995 he was signed by the newly-founded Claymores to fulfill their contingent of National (non-American) players; NFL Europe rules required a number to be on the roster and at least one to compete in every other series of downs. Couper, wearing uniform number 81, played in nine of the Claymores' ten seasons of existence, initially retiring in 2001 before making a comeback in 2003. Couper amassed over 100 receptions and scored 10 touchdowns in his time with the club, and was voted the league-wide National Offensive Player of the Year in 1997. He played in two World Bowl

World Bowl

The World Bowl was the American football Championship game of NFL Europe, similar to the Super Bowl of the National Football League.The World Bowl trophy itself was a globe made of glass measuring 35.5 cm in diameter and weighing 18.6 kg .-World League of American Football:When NFL Europe was...

s with the Claymores, winning a World Bowl ring in World Bowl IV

World Bowl IV

World Bowl '96 , the championship game of American football's WLAF, took place at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland on June 23, 1996. The 7-3 Scottish Claymores defeated the 7-3 Frankfurt Galaxy 32-27 and, led by head coach Jim Criner, completed the league's first ever worst to first...

. Couper was statistically one of the most successful national players in the league.

. Since the Claymores folded in 2004, he has continued to support American football programs in Scotland. Couper was inducted to the Claymores' Hall of Fame on June 24, 2006 as part of the tenth anniversary of the World Bowl in Scotland celebrations.

Chicago Bears

On July 27, 1997, Couper was included on the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 roster for one of the "American Bowl

American Bowl

The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005.- Overview :...

" preseason

National Football League exhibition season

The National Football League preseason refers to the period each year during which NFL teams play several not-for-the-record exhibition games before the actual "championship" or "regular" season starts. Beginning with the featured Pro Football Hall of Fame game in early August, five weekends of...

 matches against the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 at Croke Park

Croke Park

Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...

, Dublin. Couper played one series late in the game, and was thrown to (but the pass was broken up) on third down.