Indoor Football This Week
by Danny Burnham
Published on March 18, 2009 under Indoor Football League (IFL)
Rochester Raiders
I've been getting a kick out the OurSports Central indoor football message boards lately when the supporters of the self-proclaimed almighty Rochester Raiders call out another poster because he hasn't played the game. You have to love it when the premier team from the premier league uses such tactics.
Well, I've played the game. I coach the game, and I cover the game. You want a piece of me, brother? Besides, let's be honest. You don't have to have played this game to learn it. It's not like we are splitting atoms, or re-inventing the wheel. We're just a bunch of meatheads with a common interest in a sport.
Rochester's attitude and actions are the primary reason everyone is hoping that Sioux Falls does a major beat down of the Raiders Thursday night. Nothing like a butt whippin to bring things back to normal.
The Rochester folks would like to tell you that they are the best thing on the field and that's all the matters ... and do so with the capitalization, punctuation and grammar skills of a third grader. That definitely makes you credible, dudes.
They just don't get it.
Yeah, it's great to have a winning team. I've won some championships. What are the championships doing for me now? I have a couple of trophies on my bookcase and some great memories. That's about it.  The Lakeland Thunderbolts won the AIFA championship in 2007. Where did it get them? The Philadelphia Soul won the Arena Bowl last year. That's worked out, hasn't it?
Winning a championship can open doors for any program. More community involvement, more sponsorships, tradition, and pride. If the players are that good, then they shouldn't be making $200-250 and the few bucks they (may or may not) be also getting under the table for long. They need to move up. That's what it should be about, not a bunch of chest-thumping.
And not putting much emphasis on keeping the team web site updated? If you're a premier team in a premier league, everything you do is premier or first-class. And I hope you read this very slowly, and several times if need be: THE CIFL IS DOING A BETTER JOB THAN THE IFL SO FAR WHEN IT COMES TO PR AND INTERNET! Deal with it.
There's no one who appreciates a good football team more than me. If Rochester, which does have a great team, runs the table and wins the IFL title, I'll be the first to congratulate them. But until then, the supporters need to see a bigger picture with the sport and do themselves, the Rochester Raiders, the Indoor Football League and the entire sport of indoor football a favor: Shut the hell up.
A FEW QUICK OBSERVATIONS: Strong attendance numbers so far, with 6,000 in Bloomington and 4,600 in Reading. That's good ... Is Florence falling apart? The AFL trickle-down is in effect, with Quincy Carter landing in Abeline and Troy Bergeron in Columbus, but the owners still need to remember it's family entertainment, promotion and cheap beer that makes it work. Â Okay, now on to the list you've been waiting for,
THE TEN MOST INFAMOUS PEOPLE IN INDOOR FOOTBALL
10)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Jim Terry - Deserves a higher ranking, but I wanted to get him out of the way as quick as possible.
9)Â Â Â Â Â Zack McDonald - My vote for biggest disappointment. Talked great and did great for one year and then ... the WIFL would still be around if it weren't for him. He moved his team to AF2 where they failed miserably. I told them that would happen, they told me to leave the thinking to them. Dear Zack and Co.... I told you so.
8) Â John Sisson - Probably not top ten on other people's list but definitely on mine since I've seen his damage first hand. He blasts the previous owner, than does a worse job of running Augusta into the ground, and possibly burning the market for good. But hey, I saw Rusty the Colt in Augusta's St. Patrick's day parade yesterday, and that's going to put them back on the field next season...Right?
6 and 7) Howard Neal Weiner/HP Patterson - Whatever alias he used didn't matter .. con man left scorched markets throughout the NIFL
5)Â Cleveland Gary - Tried to keep the NIFL together. Didn't do very well. At all.
4)Â Â Jamie LeMunyon - The Tammy Faye Bakker of indoor football. Firing players because they didn't get paid, and then telling reporters that they were being "silly"? That'll get you on ESPN.
3)Â Andrew Haines - Was going to cut him slack for AIFL, but then he did the same thing in hockey.
1) and 1A) Tony Pewonski and Carolyn Shiver. Obvious picks, but here's my take. Pewonski was worse than Shiver because he screwed over people that directly worked for him. Shiver was more incompetent than evil.
Indoor Football League Stories from March 18, 2009
- Indoor Football This Week - OSC Original by Danny Burnham
- Storm Ball Beauty Competition wraps up tonight at Borrowed Bucks Roadhouse - Sioux Falls Storm
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
