I am an Arena Football Fan ... I Wanted To Be A Command Fan

I was an arena football fan before there was an Arena Team in Kansas City.  In fact, I was often torn when the Chicago Rush played Kansas City, because I was a Chicago fan before the Brigade, and leading up to the return of the Brigade as the Command.  The trip to Chicago that I took to see the Brigade play the Command was AFL heaven for me.  My family and I even went down on the field after the game and got the autographs of the Chicago players ... after they had beaten the Brigade.   When people asked about us being in line and wearing Brigade shirts, I would simply explain that I was an Arena Football Fan first.

I was a Season Ticket holder for two of the three years that the Brigade were in KC.  I was holding Season tickets when the league folded.  I was disappointed when the Brigade didn't make it into the new league its first year, and excited when the news broke that they would be in season two, even if it was under the name "Command."  But the more I sat back and watched the process of the team coming back to KC.  As I waited for contact on Season Tickets, after seeing who was running ticket sales, after seeing the prices they were looking to collect versus single game tickets, and considering my already insane personal schedule, I found it hard to stay excited.

I am willing to give the Command a second chance.  I keep track of what is going on with the games and how sales are going at the Sprint Center.  I am not fond of the new team name, I still refer to them as the Brigade when dealing with certain people.  I wish they would tell Sprint Center to kiss-off and find a better venue, like returning to Kemper, maybe working out something with the Independence Event Center which could easily host the number of tickets that are being sold now and PARKING IS FREE!  I do not like coming into Sprint Center, the scalping that takes place on Parking by Standard Parking, and the fact that there is ABSOLUTELY NO DESCENT PLACE TO TAILGATE really takes away from the Football Experience.

Think about it.  The last game they had was an event where they were offering discounts to Scouting Groups. They sold less than 4,500 tickets.  When you look at the pictures from the game, the place looked empty.  A smaller, more fan friendly venue would be a good start.  And frankly, I could live without the drunks that are coming into the game from the Kansas City Power & Light District.  The AFL is supposed to be Family Friendly.

I wanted to be a fan ... but right now I'm just disappointed

Command Win Against Chicago Rush

The Kansas City Command up their record to 2-4, putting them in a three way tie for last place in their division, but still above other losers in the Arena Football League.  This last win came against 4-1 Chicago Rush, which are being reported to have melted down and made some Rookie Mistakes in their game against KC.  But, hey, its a win, and the Command managed to get ahead and stay ahead to win the game.

So now what?  The Dallas Vigilante's, who lead the division with Chicago.  Will the Command beat Dallas at home?  One can only hope, because if the Command don't start showing some promise, the fickle fans of Kansas City are not going to come to their support.  Even with all the crazy ... wannabe ... promotions that Sprint Center is dreaming up to sell tickets at a 'not so good deal', people aren't going to come out and support the team.

So, let's sit back and see what happens.  Maybe, just maybe the Command will make their mark at home and raise their records to 3-4, and drop Dallas into second place with a 4-3 record.  But rest assured of one thing.  Chicago is coming to Kansas City on June 4th.  They are not going to forget how they lost, and I remember the last time they had a point to prove.

Command Drop One on the Field and In the Stands

Attendance for Saturday - April 16th?  4,166.  Did the Command win their game?  No.  Was it close?  Based on the score, it may have seemed like they were mounting a come back, but no, 63-49 is not a close game, even in Arena Football.  Two touchdowns can happen all too quick, that I will agree with, but you have to be able to stop the opposing team from scoring twice as well.

4,166 in attendance.  Its time for the Command to realize that they have made several mistakes that may have cost them a future in Kansas City Sports, unless they can find a way to overcome their past actions.  What past actions?  The move from Kemper Arena to Sprint Center Arena may have been welcomes by some, but they lost a majority of their loyal fans, the ones that filled the upper deck and end zones at Kemper.  Why?  Cost.  Attitude of the staff working the events.  The fact that the upper deck was now a full level of suites higher up than they were at Kemper.  There really wasn't a bad seat at Kemper compared to what is offered at Sprint.  And the fan perks stopped when they moved to Sprint, the upper deck was too high up and too hard to access, so only the lower deck was getting perks.

Add to the dislike of the Sprint Center by many ... the fact that the Brigade owners, who are the owners of the Command, remember it was just a name change, turned their backs on their fans, taking the players away from the after game signing parties to the clubs at KC Power and Light District instead of having them do the mandatory player autograph sessions after the games.  And many of the season ticket holders that supported them at Kemper Arena were complaining that the team was giving better 'per game' discounts than the season tickets were getting.  Why should I purchase Season Tickets when I can get the tickets per game cheaper?

Now, the price of tickets has basically gone up.  The team is losing its ass, and they changed their name, negating all of the past team jerseys that their loyal fans purchased.  There is absolutely no incentive to get involved in the Command's games more than ... well ... coming to see the Chicago Rush join the list of teams that will beat the Command this year.

Sorry ... you lost me when you folded with no warning.  You failed to get me back when I saw the price had gone up on the seats I had before ... considerably up.

Command Win Home Opener ... On the Field, Not in the Stands

April 10th marked the return of Arena Football to Kansas City as the Kansas City Command (formerly known as the Brigade) took on the Iowa Barnstormers in their home opener.  Squandering a 34-18 lead coming into the fourth quarter, the Barnstormers came back to tie the game at 41-41.  But the Command did something hadn't done yet this year, they dug down deep and managed to squeak out a 62-48 win.

So, do we have something to get excited about?  Well, let's just say that the team is now 1-4 for the season, they got their asses handed to them by (at the time) 0-3 Spokane Shock, and they almost gave the game away to the Barnstormers who came into KC with a 2-1 record.  So, anything is possible, but I wouldn't get too excited yet.

On the other hand ... Arena Football is not about the sport, its about the money.  The investors and owners are all about the bottom line, and if the Kansas City Command is going to remain a part of the Kansas City Sports scene, then they will have to win, not only on the field, but in the seats (ticket sales).  A close examination of the photo (lifted from the KCCommand collection on Facebook) shows that there are a lot of empty seats, seats that were mostly filled during the first season of the KC Brigade at Sprint.  But ticket sales were dropping like a stone compared to the sales that they were enjoying at Kemper, and it may be a safe bet that if things do not improve, the Command will not last more than one, maybe two seasons is they are lucky and stubborn.

What's the problem?  How many times do I need to say it?  People thought that they would love Sprint, and some do.   But there are apparently a lot more people who DO NOT love Sprint Center and the higher cost that are involved in attending events there.  Add to that a team that is not winning, owners who are willing to put loyal fans on the back burner to get new, temporary fans and pick up business fans who will drop them like they dropped the Brigade their last season.

I will finish it by pointing out this simple fact.  The season tickets that I had set up for the season that never was were considerably cheaper than what Sprint's Ticket Office is wanting for them now.  I thought about it, changed my mind and decided that I will wait for the Chicago Rush to come to KC on June 4th and watch KC get their asses handed to them one more time.

Prove me wrong.

KC Command Scout Day Not Official with Scout Council?

 I have been hearing for several weeks that a "Scout Day" with the Kansas City Command was in the works.  The date came out in the latter part of March, and I was informed by a ticket broker that I've been working with.  However, there had been NO mention of any upcoming event through the Heart of America Council for Boy Scouts.  So, at our monthly District meeting, I asked one of the Council Executives why I was hearing about this event from my ticket broker, but not through the Council itself.  Here is what I was told...

The Kansas City Command Scout Day was not worked out through the Heart of America Council - Boy Scouts of America.  In fact, the only knowledge that anyone I talked to about the event was having received an Email talking about the event.  As far as the people I talked to were concerned, the Kansas City Command and Sprint Center set up this Scout Night and were marketing it independent of the local Council.

This is not the first time that a "Scout Event" at Sprint Center was not known by the Local Council.  I attended the Scout Day at the Professional Bull Riders event at Sprint Center on April 3 to find out that the group that I had worked up were apparently the only Scouts in the building.  We received what we were offered, it was a good time, but it wasn't the event we had hoped to be a part of.  Now we have to sit back and wonder what kind of support this Scout Day at the KC Command is going to receive since it is not being promoted by the Local Council and should the Scout I deal with attend this event as a part of Scout Day or take advantage of Council Approved activities on the same day?

All I can say at this time is that "All Plans Are On Hold."  That and, if you're going to hold a Scout Day event, you need to work it out through the various Scouting Council in the area, not fish out the local Scouting Groups through emailing their leaders.

Let's Talk About the Kansas City Football Curse

Let's talk about the Kansas City Football Curse.  The Kansas City Chiefs move from their original home to Arrowhead Stadium, and they are never the same.  In fact, they struggled for several years to become mediocre, then when they did manage to get a good team together, they couldn't finish.  Now, we are looking at the second season of the Kansas City Command (formerly Brigade) at the Sprint Center, their original home being Kemper Arena, and they are off to their second dismal season.

Hey, did you think changing the name would break the curse?  Or did you think it would lose the stigma that the Kansas City Brigade made a very poor showing their first year at Sprint, not only with their stats, but ticket sales?  The truth will soon be known.  As we are looking at the first KC Command home game for 2011 coming up this weekend against the Iowa Barnstormers, will they break their perfect record of ... wait for it ... 0 wins and 3 losses?  Are the fans going to see a repeat performance of the spanking that they got at the hands of the Spokane Shock where they lost by 27 points?

No, I didn't purchase Season Tickets for 2011.  I talked to a broker, we looked at the prices, but the seats I wanted didn't come at the price I really could justify spending ... not after the downfall of the Brigade.  What I will be doing, however, is making it to one game this season ... Scout Night on April 16th vs the Arizona Rattlers.  And maybe, just maybe I'll consider June 4th when my original AFL Favs, the Chicago Rush, come to Kansas City.

After that?  Well, let's just say that I am holding out for a return to someplace like Kemper Arena or someplace OTHER than Sprint Center.