Tailgating Video from Arrowhead Stadium - Losers!

There is a reason that the Arena Football League has its Fan Code of Conduct.  They do not want the arena games turning into the fiasco that takes place at many NFL games.  Take into consideration the video above.  These idiots are ruining the Tailgating experience for people who pay $25.00 to park at Arrowhead Stadium for a Chiefs game.  They are the kind of people who ruin the tailgating experience for others around them.  The problem is that they are not an isolated problem, and it carries over into the stadium.

NFL Football is not longer an experience you can take your children to and not be concerned.  The cost is just a small factor in this problem.  The drunks, the assholes that pose a threat to those around them because they want to fight about everything.  Its bad enough that I have absolutely no desire to attend another Chiefs game at Arrowhead.

Now, for Tony at Tony's Kansas City.  He equates this bullshit to the team itself.  Just because the fans are losers does not mean that the team will be losers.  Get your head out of ass Tony.  This was a lame attempt to attack the Kansas City Chiefs and you need to be called out on it.

AFL Games to return to the NFL Network

I had two main complaints regarding the involvement of ESPN in the previous version of the Arena Football League.  First, it was the game delays so that ESPN could to commercial breaks.  That was a biggie for a lot of people.  But it also took the games off of local television and off the NFL Network.  ESPN didn't show much of the games, there wasn't a great demand for Arena Football Broadcasts and ESPN gave the league television slots to other games that would draw a larger audience.

So, we will see how much time the NFL Network is willing to give the AFL.  Its not like the NFL is going to have games available.  The AFL will give them something live to present to their Football audiences.

The KC Command - The Team and Schedule Set

I have been keeping a keen eye on the progress of the Kansas City Brigade ... ah ... er ... Command.  They have created a new web site (http://www.kccommand.com) and they have posted their 2011 Schedule and Team Roster.  They have selected a new Head Coach ... Kevin Porter is now General Manager and hopefully he will do better there than he did as Head Coach.  So, things are progressing.

Now, I have looked at the cost of Season Tickets for 2011.  The flier promoting season tickets has stated that the package involves ten games.  However, the tenth game only comes into play if the team does well enough to have a playoff game at home.  You are only getting nine regular season tickets, according to the season ticket flier.  And are they making much of an effort to attract back the old Season Ticket holders?  I haven't heard anything from them as of yet and I was a season ticket holder for two of the three years they were active before.  It will be interesting to see how much support they get in the early stages, and what kind of deals come into play as Season Tickets don't progress as strongly as they would desire.

As for the team itself.  Well, don't expect to see any of the old players back.  Looking through the team roster, I didn't see anyone that I recognized from the previous team rosters.

How About Replay for Penalties in the NFL?

We have already established that the Referees sometimes need help when it comes to calling the game. We have adopted instant replay so that we can challenge a Referee's ruling on a pass completion, the placement of the ball, or aspects of the game.  With the recent rash of 'bad calls' by referees and the effect these calls have on a game, maybe we should institute instant replay on the penalties called by the Referees.  Take into consideration two calls from the Houston - Kansas City game this past weekend.  The Illegal Procedures call when the replay clearly showed that the offensive line was responding to defenders in the neutral zone.  And the infamous bad call on Flowers, where the Johnson was seen pushing off of Flowers, and the referee called Flowers for the pass interference instead of Johnson.  Two penalties that changed the course of the game and there was no way that anyone could challenge the call of the Referee.

Just two examples from a game this last weekend.  But there have been numerous bad calls this season alone, calls that people have called controversial, that people have stated changed the outcome of a game.  We have replay to insure that the game is called correctly, how about for penalties to keep mistakes from changing the game there?  Currently, we are not even told if a play is reviewed and the referee is found to have screwed up the call.

Kansas City Command

It's Official!  The return of Arena Football in Kansas City will include the selection of a new team name, and that new team name is the Kansas City Command.  Excited?  Yeah, I know, it kind of leaves you wishing for more.  I still cannot figure out what was so wrong with the name Brigade.  I have heard that people just didn't like the name, but let's face facts, if they would have developed into a winning team, then no one would given the name a second thought.  But okay, we're changing the name.  Why not the Kansas City Bombers, the Kansas City Stealth if you're wanting to keep the Stealth Bomber in the logo?  Everyone that I have talked to about the new name of the team has given me this strange look and agreed ... it's lame.

Let's face facts.  Changing the name of the team is not going to remove from the memory of past AFL fans the horrible season the Brigade had before the league went under.  It is not going to make up for the number of people who simply do not like going to Sprint Center for the games.  It is not going to change the fact that the team folded without any real warning to the fans that were supporting the team with their Season Ticket sales.  It could be a hard road back for the team, especially if they cannot come out winning.

So, where am I in this upcoming season?  I used to be a Season Ticket holder.  I was one of the people who had Season Ticket's paid for when the team folded with the league.  I am one of the people who is not really happy with the team being at the Sprint Center, and I promise you we will once again address the complaints about having the games at the Sprint Center very soon.  When I found out that the team was being brought back for the 2011 AFL Season, I was excited.  However, reflecting back on the Season Ticket sales routines of the past, I am really skeptical about jumping on Season Tickets this upcoming season.  If I do go after them, it will be close to the start of the season, I will wait and see what sales promotions they come up with before I invest.  And I may forgo Season Tickets this year.  The only real advantage you get from Season Tickets is the guarantee that no one will buy your favorite seat out from under you and you may be able to sit exactly where you want every game.  But it only saved you $1.00 per game.  Yes, you got 20% off at the Team Store (in Overland Park), but it didn't save you anything on items purchased at the games.

Do I have one positive point regarding the return of Arena Football and the change of name to the Command?  Well, I actually have a couple, but the one I will touch on is that the new name throws a definite wrench in the name that Tony, formerly known as Captain Brigade, will be able to take as a "stuper fan" this coming season.  Think about it?  He's been calling himself Captain TBD (to be decided) while waiting for the new name to be selected.  Will he call himself Captain Command?  Talk about lame.

KC Flight Crew

With the return of Arena Football to Kansas City comes the return of the KC Flight Crew.  You remember them, right?  How does one describe them?  I think it was best said by a fan in Chicago when the KC Flight Crew made the trip up there for a game ... "Welcome Village People."

Yes, I was a member of the Flight Crew when the team was located at Kemper Arena and we could actually tail-gate.  That was the best part of the KC Flight Crew.  However, with the move to the Sprint Center and it became almost impossible to tailgate, all we were left with was the antic of the core of the Flight Crew, the ones that dressed up and stood in the front row of the north end zone every home game.  It was there that they became known as the "Fight Crew" as they seemed to be in an argument with other fans on a regular basis about their antics on the front row.  They became known for reaching over the wall after balls that were still in play, and they became known for their ego after the Brigade front office decided to make them a team celebrity.

I am looking forward to the return of Arena Football to Kansas City.  But I am not alone in my feelings that something needs to be done about the more flamboyant members of the KC Flight Crew, in particular, the ones formerly known as the Fred Heads, Captain TBA (as he is currently calling himself as he awaits the teams final decision on a team name) and Slasher, who really needs to leave his plastic machete at home before one of the players gets tired of him waving it over their heads and sticks it up his ass.  The flight crew needs to remember that they are just another one of the fans, no one special.  They need to understand that fans are not supposed to interfere with the game, and one of these days, they are going to get our team a penalty for their lust for "one more souvenir."  They need to understand that more and more people are wanting to see Tony's (Captain TBA) belly, and understand that at the end of the Brigade season, more and more derogatory comments were coming, not only from fans, but from announcers.  There is team spirit and then there is foolishness.

Needless to say, I am not interested in returning as a member of the Flight Crew.  They lost me in the final season when they thought themselves worthy of celebrity status, signing autographs at the end of the games on a poster that the Brigade produced for them.  They are not an 'example' of the kind of fans that the team needs.  They need fans that are not only going to come to the games, but are going to promote the games to other people.  Who are going to conduct themselves in a manner that will not discourage people from bringing their children to a game.  Who are not going to take away from other fans in order to feed their own personal ego needs.

It will be interesting to see, after the last season, how many people return to the KC Flight Crew, and if a new, better fan club appears in 2011.

Kansas City Brigade Seek New Name

With the return of Arena Football to Kansas City, the owners are looking to give the team a new name.  It has been a matter of discussion that the name "Brigade" was not the first choice of the team, but with current events in the world being what they were, the owners could not convince the League to allow them to use the name Bombers.  Well, how about something a little more related to the history of Kansas City?

To be honest, I didn't see anything wrong with the name "Brigade".  It wasn't the name of the team that kept fans away from the game.  With the Kansas City Chiefs still drawing capacity crowds at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City wasn't grasping the 'uniqueness' of Arena Football.  In fact, many of the people that I talked didn't see Arena Football as Real Football.  The truth be known, the problem was in how the fans were being treated, and the move from Kemper to the Sprint Center drove a lot of fans away.  In the last season played in Kansas City, I talked to several people who were unhappy with the seating, with the Parking, and that there was no real place to tailgate for the games. 

And Kansas City fans are fickle.  They will support a winning team, but they will not support a team that is trying to rebuild.  The Royals only get large crowds when there is a popular promotion or a really good team comes to town.  We've tried to bring Professional Basketball to KC, and the new arena in Independence was supposed to house a minor league hockey team, which I have yet to hear anything about.

So, instead of addressing the issues that matter, the owners are looking to rename the Brigade.  Maybe they are counting on out dating all of the team clothing their past fans have purchased,  Counting on people such as myself to purchase the new team jerseys and hats

Anyway, if you are interested in suggesting a new name to the KC Arena Football Team (Brigade) owners, you have until September 27th to submit your suggestion at:  http://www.sprintcenter.com/default.asp?sprintcenter=182.

Lingeries Football - OK / MTV Broadcast Sucked

I finally caught a LFL game on MTV 2 and frankly, I was very disappointed.  Not as much as with the game, but with the production work by MTV.  It was a series of clips.  They cut you from one play to the next, they bounce their graphics in and out of the screen, and it really takes away from the game itself.  In short, LFL on MTV 2 sucks, but what can you expect from a broadcaster that focuses on music videos.  If the LFL wants to build up their fan base, they need to somehow get someone like ESPN to broadcast their games (but not try to take over the league like they did with the old AFL).

As for what I could get out of the game itself, I watched two thirty minute clips, because the way MTV 2 has them set up, you don't get the entire game because the DVR thinks the program is only thirty minutes long.  What I did see showed me some fairly descent football, you could actually see past the scantily dressed babes in pads, and actually see a football game.  But the rules are definitely different.  One two kick offs, one at the beginning of the game and another at the beginning of the second half.  The referees don't get flag happy over fights, so it appears, and the locker room clip that they showed me was almost amusing, listening to this almost cartoon like voice giving those girls hell about the game play.  Well, let's face facts, they aren't going to get top coaches in this league.

I honestly believe that I would have enjoyed the game more if MTV hadn't cut it up as badly as they did, and just show the damn game in full.  It clearly wasn't being broadcast live, you can't butcher live feed like they did and squeeze thirty minutes of live game time into thirty or forty five minutes of broadcast.

Arena Alternatives - Lingerie Football

May I make a suggestion (evil grin).  You don't believe that Arena Football can be interesting?  Well, I beg to differ.  For those of us who are just deviates at heart, who are supportive of the wholesale exploitation of women for our own personal amusement, and for you ladies that share these characteristics, how about Lingerie Football?

“This is gratuitous, to the extreme; it makes the WWF look like a chess match.  As you can see, the league is filled with lean muscled, oiled down, buxom women, who run around for half an hour wrestling each other to the ground.  Add in some mud and you’ve got a prepubescent wet dream.” (askanabc.com)

Now, don't take this too lightheartedly.  These women take this seriously, and there is even a Lingerie Football League ... uh ... Superbowl type season finale.  This is probably not for the hardcore football fans.  This is DEFINITELY NOT a game that you are going to take the kids too.  Take a look on YouTube, there are videos of some of the uniform failures that take place at some of the games (hehehehehe).  I know, I'm hopeless.

Now I am going to be honest.  I would probably attend a game or two out of shear morbid curiosity.  The idea of some babe in lingerie and pads losing her bottom or losing her top in a play appeals to my inner child (smile).  And I have to wonder if this may not breath a little life into the ALTERNATIVE Football market here in Kansas City since the Chiefs show no signs of climbing out of "Suck" mode in the near future.  Why not, the Lingerie Football League actually starts its season on August 28th and runs through January, with their big game around the same time as the Superbowl.

By the way, I understand that MTV has picked up televising the games.

Season Ticket Sales - Chicago Rush?

Now,I have to take my hat off to the Chicago Rush Marketing Team.  They are not leaving any stone unturned when it comes to pushing Season Tickets for 2011. 

Imagine my surprise when my wife sends me a text message that the Chicago Rush contacted her wanting to know if we would be interested in Season Tickets for the Chicago Rush 2011 Season.  I say this because I live just outside of Kansas City, and while I admit that I have been a fan of the Chicago Rush, I'm not enough of a fan to be driving nine to ten hours (at least) and spending Chicago prices for Hotel and Parking every time the Rush have a home game.  But hey, after my wife talked to the man, she had him send us some information for single game tickets, and he told us that if we want to make a single game trip up, he would see what he could do to build us a great package.

Well, the information has arrived and I have to admit, I'm impressed.  While the arena that the Rush play in is not as nice as Sprint (concourse wise), I found the seating more comfortable and better than Sprint.  Looking at the prices for Front Row sideline Chicago tickets, they are only $60 per game.  Lower Level Side Line Tickets are $35.00 per game.  Then you look at their Season Ticket promo.  Purchase additional tickets at Season Ticket Prices, Half Price Parking, and Four Complimentary tickets to 2011 Season opener, in addition to the standard perks.

It will be interesting to see if and when the Kansas City Brigade Season Ticket sales team starts making calls, and what kind of deal they will be making.  As for the Chicago Rush, I will have to see what the season brings in 2011 and if there are any 'critical games' between Kansas City and Chicago.