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.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You couldnt have said it better. I am a football fan in general and really like Arena Football. I had season tickets every year of the Brigade but I grew tired of the "flight Crew". I was paying close to $1000 for two seats where I was sitting and I couldnt help but wonder does the brigade need more high paying fans like me or more of the "flight crew". I think they prefer me as I was treated very nicely by the Brigade staff who while feeding the "flight crew" table droppings were mocking them at every turn.