Over A Cup Of Coffee
by Jerry Hewitt
March 13, 2010 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL)
Ownership & Accountability
Armed with a cup of coffee and the latest indoor football news I ponder the state of the game. At 4 o'clock in the am I get a unique perspective on things and some might even agree with me, some not. When I approached Paul here at OSC on the idea of a more or less daily opinion piece I meant daily if I have something to say, so more or less. But all that aside, let's get to it before the coffee gets cold.
December 2009 IFL. Almost at the stroke of midnight the El Paso owner pulls the plug on the Generals causing the IFL to realign divisions and redo the 2010 schedule
March 2010 IFL. Alaska Wild owner at halftime of their second game announces the league has taken over day to day operations of the team
March 2010 IFL. Colorado Ice up for sale. Neither the IFL nor Ice owner guaranteeing team will finish the season.
Isn't anyone to be held accountable in this day and age? Commitments are made, contracts signed, but still owners think they can just up and walk away not considering the wide spread effect it may have on their local community and the league itself. In my opinion owners need to be held accountable and in this piece I'll take a closer look at the issue.
Was a time someone, who led the top indoor league, was responsible for burning more markets than any other single person to date, yet they were smart enough not to put a team in their own home town. Maybe some owners today could learn a lesson here. If you're going to start something and not finish it, be smart enough not to do it where you live and do business on a daily basis.
I am not leaving out the leagues for not doing their due diligence whatever that really means, but its these owners who sign up, expect riches, glory or who knows what, each their own reasoning I guess.
Last season the SIFL was plagued with early departures so recent history not centered on the IFL alone. Even the CIFL this season has seen one team fold, that same team move, fold, move, make up our minds already, ok? Sure its the nature of the sport, but doesn't make it right.
OK Mr. Bigshot in Midsize City USA, you have your dream, a professional sports franchise. You set up an office, hire staff, get things going for the season. all looks so rosey and maybe it truly is. Let's let time pass now, a year, maybe two or more and the flowers of your team no longer smelling so sweet. Money has been flying out the window faster than you can bring it in, that love of yours now just a money pit, so what do you do? You ponder the situation as the season gets underway and more bills start coming in an revenue from the team short in meeting those obligations. You have already collected season ticket and sponsor money, but its already spent. What now you ask yourself as you write the checks or maybe decide who to pay and who not. Then the light bulb goes on, time to call it to an end, walk away, try to sell the team, or whatever, but you are done. So flash a head, you've walked away, money maybe still owed, sponsors and ticket holders maybe paid back, maybe not, but you are through. That little piece of paper you signed with the league in your mind meaningless and you think you should not be held accountable? Get real, we all have to pay for our mistakes.
Leagues that are faced with these situations need to set examples. Not discounting their part in this as maybe some ownerships shouldn't have been approved, but that doesn't mean they should be able to just walk away from their obligations to the league, the teams who were on their schedule and most of all, the community that took them in and allowed them the privilege of putting a franchise in their town. Leagues need to take legal action, use the law to make an example of those who default on their obligations. It is in my mind that simple. And all this writing to make this one point.
Good morning, indoor football fans, it is Saturday, the second day of games in most leagues. I need to bone up on the AIFA and the CIFL. I have primarily been following the IFL and SIFL, so be patient if I don't reference the AIFA and CIFL much in the beginning.
The IFL has nine games scheduled for this weekend. Here is my take in capsule form. I'm looking at the games from a playoff standpoint although the playoffs months away. I look at what games most likely impact the playoff picture.
Impact games.
Tri Cities 0-1 at Billings 2-0, Chicago 0-1 at Richmond 1-0, Sioux Falls 1-0 at Wichita 1-1, Green Bay 1-0 at Bloomington 0-1, and Austin 0-0 at Corpus Christi 0-1.
Best match ups. Tri Cities at Billings and Sioux Falls at Wichita. Don't miss. Tri Cities at Billings.
Upset watch. Wichita over Sioux Falls and Tri Cities over Billings
Other games. Fairbanks 1-1 at Kent 0-2, San Angelo 0-0 at Arkansas 1-0, Sioux City 1-1 at Omaha 0-1, and Amarillo 0-0 at West Texas 1-0.
The SIFL is scheduled to kick off next Saturday, March 20th. The AIFA is in week two this week with three games and the CIFL in its first week of action with one game scheduled. Chris Simpson, coach of the AIFA Baltimore team hasn't seen much success in the indoor game, but got the Mariners to the playoffs last season and is off to a 1-0 start this year. This could be Baltimore's year.
Other notes of interest. The Tri Cities Fever uniforms burned in a house fire prior to last weeks game in Fairbanks. Noticed on one message board this week fans stepping up to loan the team their fan jerseys. That's what I call fan support at its finest!
Last night the Anchorage hockey team drew over 6000 and the Wild in their last home game in the same arena only had a reported 900. Not saying hockey isn't maybe the bigger draw in Alaska, but almost 5000 difference in attendance may speak volumes to the Wild's promotional ideas.
Last night the IFL had two games, San Angelo at Arkansas and Fairbanks at Kent. According to one fan maybe 500 showed up for the Diamonds home opener which they won 33-26. I couldn't find anything on the Kent game other than what I feel is an early 7-0 score on the IFL site. Seems the habit for the IFL is to rely on the Pointstreak system for all reporting. As of last night, no post game reports posted for either game other than the Pointstreak box score and recap.
As one fan put it, Pointstreak may be an industry standard next season. If you are wondering what Pointsreak is, its an automated game tracking program the IFL has adopted this season. Still has bugs, but a big leap over the older statistics tracking software still in use by most leagues.
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Southern Indoor Football League Stories from March 13, 2010
- Over A Cup Of Coffee - OSC Original by Jerry Hewitt
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.
