KC Renegades End Winning Streak

The Kansas City Renegades lost their bid for five straight wins.  In the face of another dismal attendance, despite the "Kids Day" promotion, the Renegades bombed, losing to the Salina Bombers 47-31.  The Renegade managed to lead the game up until the final few minutes of the first half when the Bombers scored three times before the break, and never looked back.

Again, I didn't waste my time or money making the run down to Kemper Arena to watch the event.  I relaxed at home and pulled the game up on 810TV and watched their live stream.  What I found was a team that couldn't get their game together, and couldn't stop the Bomber's air attack.  In fact, the Bombers didn't have a single running play in the first half.  They did come out in the second half and introduce a running game after half time, and while KC managed to put another 14 points on the board in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome the lead that Salina took into the half and held the rest of the game.  The closest KC came to taking the lead was coming within 3 points with 10:52 left in the game.

Once again, attendance was dismal.  Looking at the video, I find it hard to believe that the team is bringing in enough money to pay the bills.  Yes, there is advertising around the field, but how long are companies going to pay with attendance as low as it is.  Then there was the promo that they ran for this game.  Each paid adult could bring one child to the game for free.  I don't know where they advertised this promo other than on their web site, but it clearly had little affect on the attendance.

So, what's next?  The Renegades take on the Sioux City Bandits (4-2) at Kemper Arena.  The Bandits come into Kansas City after a loss to the Omaha Beef.  Considering the level of play that was observed against Salina, I find it hard to perceive that the Renegades will win next week.  In fact, I am only willing to ponder the idea of the Renegades winning two, maybe three more games.  I will go out on a limb and give the Renegades wins against Oklahoma and Kansas.  Bloomington on the other hand could go either way, but I find it difficult to give the Renegades the upper hand against Sioux City or Omaha.  So, with the Renegades currently at 4-3, they could conceivably end the season at a ... well ... I guess respectable 7-5.  And at that end result, there is a chance that the Renegades could conceivably finish in the top four of the league.

But I am not about to use that possible end result as a statement of how good the team is, but as a reference to how bad the league is.

This Week in the CPIFL (America's Hobbyist Football League)

First and foremost, the idea of calling the players in this league Professionals is an insult to the people playing in the league.  Every indication is that the players in the CPIFL are paid so little that they can't even afford to take time off from their jobs during the season to train or compete.  A ball park figure for the player salaries, which is under a League set Salary Cap, is around $250 per game.  Which means, if they are putting in anything more than 32 hours a week into this hobby, they are making less than minimum wage.  So, let's call it what it is, a hobby league, and let's stop lying to the fans that they are paying to attend a serious professional football event.  To be frank, this is probably only going to be a one year wonder for many of the teams that are in the league.  Looking at Wichita's stats, they are only bringing in less than three thousand fans per game, and no telling how many of those tickets are being comp'd.  And Kansas City has never reported the attendance for their games at Kemper Arena, but a guess by looking at the live streams of the game, they are barely breaking two thousand fans, if they are doing that.

Update:  I have recently heard a news report that the Renegades made an offer to a former NFL Football Player (do I really need to say the name?).  What amazed me was that the reporter commented that they offered him the same deal as the other teams in the league ... $75.00 per game.  That low?  Could that information be correct?  If that is the came, then the league is even more "hobbyist" than I originally suspected and it answers a lot of questions about the quality of play on the field.

Wichita is on top of the standings again this week, carrying an overall record of 6-1.  Interesting is the fact that the team that beat them was Kansas City, who started off 0-2 and has now won their last four games in a row.  If this was the "old" AFL, I would be excited, but this is the CPIFL, and the last game I watched reminded me more of a High School football game than a Professional or even Semi-Pro game.

Anyway, Kansas City did win it's fourth game in a row, beating 0-5 Mid-Mo in Sedalia Missouri.  That's right, little Sedalia has a professional football team.  The week before, they beat another powerhouse in the league, the Kansas Koyotes (based out of Topeka Kansas), who's only win was against ... Mid-Mo.  This coming weekend, the Renegades will take on the Salina Bombers (3-2).  After that, they take on their first real challenge in several weeks, the Sioux City Bandits (4-1), who's only loss is against the Omaha Beef (4-1).  The only two teams that seem to have a chance handing KC another loss are Sioux City and Omaha, who have both already beaten KC in their first two games.  So it comes down to whether or not KC actually resolved its problems on the field, or if the competition is just that pitiful.

The Kansas City Renegades win their third straight game against the 1-3 Kansas Koyotes (Topeka), and they do it with a significant spread in points.  But before we get excited, how is attendance coming along?  And what about the fact that the only significant team they have managed to beat was the Wichita Wild, who currently sit 5-1 with their only loss against KC.  Everyone else that they have beaten are pushing records of only one win, so let's not get excited about the Renegades until they start beating someone with a record.  Looking ahead to next week, it should be another win for the Renegades, giving them a confidence building 4 straight wins. However, should KC get cocky, they could find themselves recording a loss against what looks to be the worst team in the league.  And the scenery is going to change as the Renegades will start playing most of their games on the road, and especially against teams that are showing better records.  But I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt ... there is a change that the Renegade has turned it around and could end this season with a respectable standing.  The problem is ... what's in line for a 2014 venue, will Kemper still be there considering the rumors of change in the bottoms ... and the incredibly low attendance, can they make it worth their time to keep the team going?

The Iowa Barnstormers fall below .500 with a loss to the Philadelphia Soul this week.  Iowa seemed to be off to an incredible start, but they are quickly putting themselves in the basement as they have falled into a losing streak  Chicago, on the other hand, picks up their second win this week, embarrassing the Pittsburgh Power.  Unfortunately, the two teams that I watched last year, one of which has been one of my favorite AFL teams since I discovered arena football, are not doing well at all in 2014..

Improvements, But Where Are The Fans?

The Renegades have managed to turn it around, going into week five with the record of 2-2. But I'm a skeptic and I have to ask, are they getting it together or are we simply lucky that the last two teams are worse than us? One can only hope that the team is improving, that we may actually see a winning season in arena football in, well, several years. But then again, if there is a winning season with attendance as miserable as it appears in the video footage, very few people will actually know it took place. And what is the future of the team if attendance remains, well, dismal? With rumors of some major changes with Kemper, and attendance bad enough that the owners are not reporting it in the game results (like the other teams are doing), how long can the team remain in KC?

Its safe to say that I am not alone in my apprehension in investing time and money into this team, especially considering that the ownership seems to have put the fans on the back burner again. The Brigade, the Command, the move to sprint and catering to the sponsors over the fans. The sponsors didn't stand with them when the team was down. Sprint was not an improvement for the game experience. Now, after not wanting to invest in the AFL's attempts to get their name back on the map afternshooting themselves in the foot with the lockout to break the player's union, the owner of the Renegades is trying to cheap his way back into the market. And if I'm going to pile it on, why not point out the fact that the owner is backing the superfans, who many Brigade and Command fans held a level of disgust with for their past elitist attitude and rudeness.

Cynical? Yes I am. Arena football has not been the same in Kansas City since the Brigade left Kemper Arena, since the owners failed to follow through in keeping the original AFL alive. And its not just in KC. The level of play is down across the board in arena football.

Chicago Rush, Iowa Barnstormers, The AFL Season Is On!

Wow, I miss the first two games of the AFL Season .... I've been very busy with other endeavors ... and I check the stats to see where my favorite team is ranked to find the opposite of what I was looking for.  What is up with the Iowa Barnstormers?  They win their season opener beating the Chicago Rush in Chicago (63-41).  Then they beat New Orleans (48-34) in New Orleans.  The Barnstormers are 2-0 on the road, and for week three they will host the 2-0 Spokane Shock in their first home game.  Could it be that the team to watch for 2013 will be the Barnstormers?

And what the hell is going on in Chicago?  They drop their season opener at home, then drop their second home game against Spokane.  Week three the Rush will take on the San Antonio Talons (0-1) in San Antonio.  I haven't dug into the changes that took place with the Rush over the off-season, again, my life's been busy, and all I can do is sit back and watch, see if the Rush can turn this around, and watch to see if the Barnstormers can keep the winning streak going.

It's Got To Get Better... KC Renegades

As I stated in my first review of the KC Renegades, the team needs to have a winning season to attract back the fans that they've lost over the past several years with the loss of the Brigade, then the fiasco called the Command.  But as we come out of week three, the Renegades finally pull in their first win against Oklahoma, who came into the match sporting a standing of 1-1.  Now the Renegades are 1-2, and while things seem to be looking up, the team is getting ready to face off the top team in the league, the Wichita Wild, who are currently 4-0.

I decided to take a look at the stats for the past two games, one point of interest was how many people are attending the game.  I find this a point of curiosity since the stands look pitifully empty, and I couldn't help but shake my heads as I noticed that the team is not reporting their attendance to the league, or at least, the attendance is not being reported publicly.  That's scary since the week two game, away, attendance was reported by Sioux City Bandits (which was under 5,000 fans).  

Interesting tidbit to think about as we look forward to the weeks ahead.  The owner of the KC Renegades was also involved in the ownership of the KC Command, according to an article I found in a Philadelphia article about the AFL.  Reflecting back on the pitiful talent that the Command worked with, there is little to bring hope that this team will be handled any better than the previous endeavors.  With that said, I'm going to sit back and wait to see how the season shakes out.  But let us consider the talk on the street about the future of Kemper Arena, and the fact that no team is going to survive in KC without more than a couple of thousand fans supporting it.