Over a Cup of Coffee
by Jerry Hewitt
Published on April 15, 2010 under American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Consider this for a moment: if you say that the level of play in any given league, in any sport is equal, then when you compare a team's numbers in one league to another, those numbers (stats) should equate to how one team in one league compares to another in a different league.
Monday I put the stats of all teams in all of the four leagues in one list so readers could compare side by side. At the time I wasn't sure you could accurately compare numbers from one league to another, but maybe you can. Once again, I'm going to dig into the numbers and see if I can figure out which teams might actually be the best to date in indoor football. In doing this there are several factors that create an unequal playing field, the main one being not all leagues play by the same rules. Some leagues cater more towards the arena football, who has the ball last style, while others lean more towards traditional indoor football where defenses are more important. The other factor is some teams might have an easier schedule. But those things aside, let's see what I come up with.
Even though I'm sure Greenville and Albany are good teams, it's hard to base anything on only one or two games, so I'm going to eliminate them here at the start. That leaves us with five undefeated teams. Next I'm going to cross off Amarillo as most would agree they are not in a strong division. I am only looking at teams with undefeated records, but teams like Billings, Sioux Falls and even Wichita are most likely better than Amarillo. Next off the list is Baltimore. A good team no doubt, but I can't call them the best when they are giving up over 200 yards per game while only amassing 185 per game, plus three of their wins have come against two teams, Fayetteville and New Jersey, who have not shown to be decent competition for any team. Wyoming and San Jose both are putting up good numbers on offense and defense which can't be ignored, but most likely neither is the best team in indoor football this season. Last is Cincinnati at 4-0. The Commandos are averaging 51 points per game and only giving up 24. They are averaging almost a 100 yards more per game than their opponents, but still not enough for me to say the best.
So I just ran through all the undefeated teams and eliminated them all. I didn't start out to do, it just happened because none can lay claim to being indoor football's best...yet. Even though Baltimore and Cincinnati most likely will win their league championships, they may still not be the best. We have to look further, to the Billings, Sioux Falls and even Wichita. Of those three any one of them are better teams than any with no losses. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.
Other stuff
When I broke the little piece about the AIFA covering up the truth on why Wyoming didn't make the trip to Alaska, some felt I should have dug further, find out why Wyoming bought into the lie. Honestly, the reason doesn't matter. They held the company line which was what they should've done. The only problem is the AIFA should have come up with a story not so easily disproved.
The cover up not the issue. The big issue here is why this early in the season Wasilla apparently doesn't have to funds to meet travel obligations. It makes one wonder why this team was allowed in to begin with. I think it goes back to this numbers game the AIFA and IFL are caught up in. The old NIFL philosophy as to what made you the best was one of numbers; the more teams, the better you were. The goal was to have more teams than the old AFL and af2 which would make you number one. The IFL is better financed than the AIFA and can play this numbers game better than the wannabe AIFA. The game of catch up is catching up quickly, but not as the AIFA brain trust may have visualized.
I received some email on my little blurb about teams in other leagues being contacted by someone in another league for the purpose of joining their league. Unfortunately none of the email I received supplied any confirmation. Therefore, I still have to keep it at the rumor stage. I did contact the league that I was told was behind this, but there was no confirmation or denial from them, just silence.
Today on TV
I see where where two of the Baltimore Mariners players are scheduled on the national Steve Wilkos show today. It is good to see a team's charitable efforts in their community profiled and national attention given. It probably is not coincidence that the Mariners are one of indoor football's best franchises at communicating with the media.
The value of your product
I was taught that you never give away your product or sell it for less than its true value as it cheapens your product for future sales. The auto industry has set a president now where most won't buy a new car unless it comes with rebates and sharp discounts. I see where one AFL team is giving away all tickets to this weekend's game. Granted, you have to visit one of their sponsors to get the tickets, but I have to question how smart this is. Sure, some might attend that wouldn't if they had to buy a ticket, but overall I don't see this as a smart move. It is also maybe true that another AFL team is offering ten dollar admission to all of their upcoming games. To me this all shows desperation and the new AFL season is barely two weeks old. AFL attendance may not be that great so far, but far better than some indoor teams drawing just a few hundred per game.
This article and more archived at The Indoor Football Report located at www.IndoorFootballNetwork.com Comments about this article or suggestions can be made to indoorbowl@yahoo.com
American Indoor Football Association Stories from April 15, 2010
- Erie Storm Returns Home To Host Richmond Raiders - Erie Explosion
- 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.
