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.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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.
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.
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