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.

KC Renegade - Game One

I find it hard to believe that this new indoor league will survive in Kansas City.  Like around fifty other people, I elected to for-go the $12 cheap seats to attend the game at Kemper Arena, and pulled the game up on Livestream.  What did I find?  A lot of empty seats.  A lot of empty seats along the wall, in the end zones, and up in the cheaper seats of the lower level.  If I was going to rate the team's future based on what I could see in fan support ... its not looking good at all.

Kansas City has taken another step backward when it comes to football in Kansas City.  Watching the game, it came off amateurish.  The KC Renegades quarterback tossed several interceptions, player mistakes cancelling touch downs, and simply falling apart in the second half of the game.  The Renegades were leading the game by four points (21-17) at half-time, but by the end of the third quarter the Omaha Beef had a ten point lead (31-21).  By the midpoint of the fourth quarter, I had seen enough, and I now find myself thinking about next weekend when the Arena Football League kicks off its season and my favorite team, the Chicago Rush, will take on the Iowa Barnstormers.  Hopefully I will be able to find that game on a live stream.

Predictions?  If this first game is any example of team talent and fan support, the Kansas City Renegades will find it very hard to have a second season in Kansas City.  Even with the tickets ranging from $12 to $37 dollars, and Season Tickets around $72 a season, people are not going to put aside their past experience with indoor football in Kansas City and the team will struggle to get any fan support.

The Renegades and The Posse

Kemper Arena will once again be the home of an indoor football team for Kansas City.  In reading over the team's web site, they are agreeing with many of the fans who did not like the Sprint Center as an Arena Football venue, that Kemper makes a much better arena for indoor football.  So, in March of 2013, the Kansas City Renegades will take the field at Kemper Arena and hopefully present Kansas City Football fans with what was lost with the changing of ownership of the AFL and the breaking of the player's union.

Now, for the meat of the article.

With the announcement of the Kansas City Renegades, the now former KC Flightcrew super (annoying) fans through together a new fan club ... The Posse.  They had their facebook page up and running within hours of the annoucement of the new team name, and as usual, they are conducting themselves as if they were a part of the team's PR program.  Maybe they are, but I would have hoped that the owners of the Renegades would have taken the time to look at the conduct of key persona of the now former FlightCrew.

Don't get me wrong.  I would love to think that The Posse will be like the early FlightCrew.  There were a lot of good people involved, and the wingnuts that prompted themselves up as someone special were the vast majority.  I would hope that the people who are involved in The Posse will be more focused on setting up the  group in the image of the FlightCrew of Kemper Arena and not the FlightCrew of the Sprint Center End Zone.

What am I saying?  The FlightCrew of Kemper Arena were fans from all over the stadium who enjoyed Arena Football and loved tailgating ahead of a game.  The FlightCrew that stood in the end zone of the Sprint Center were more egomaniacs than super fans.  During the seasons of the Brigade and the Command at Sprint Center, the FlightCrew became known as the FightCrew.  They drew complaint after complaint from the fans behind them.  They drew criticism from fans at the games for reaching into the field of play to grab a souvineer football.  They made gestures at visiting players that were simply inappropriate for a 'family friendly' environment, and they became more and more convinced that they were an important part of the team, and conducting themselves not as super fans, but super assholes.

I am excited about the return of indoor football to Kemper Arena.  My fear is that these so-called Super Fans are going to resume their antics, that they are going to become a distraction from the game, that they are going to become an embarrassment to the other fans here in Kansas City.  And with the cost of front row tickets being as reasonable as they are, there will be more of these super egomaniacs down on the front row, making life miserable for those who have the seats behind them and/or who are wanting to enjoy the game.

One Last Look at 2012 - Attendance

I want to share some attendance numbers with you for the Arena Football League:

Average Game Attendance - League

2006 ... 12,378
2007 ... 12,392
2008 ... 12,957 (last year of old AFL)

2010 ... 8,135
2011 ... 8,241
2012 ... 7,841

Average Game Attendance - Kansas City

2006 ... 15,234 (Kemper Arena)
2007 ... 11,894 (Kemper Arena)
2008 ... 12,828 (Sprint Center)

2011 ... 4,353 (Sprint Center as Command)
2012 ... 4,303 (Sprint Center as Command)

Now, I have done a little digging around, and it appears that the following teams are not coming back for 2013.  The Kansas City Command have folded, along with the Georgia Force.  The Milwaukee Mustangs have announced that they will be sitting out the 2013 season with the intention of returning in 2014, and the New Orleans VooDoo may find themselves without an Arena for 2013 do to renovations.  But according to ArenaFan stats, 11 of the 17 teams suffered losses in average attendance in 2012, and with the issue of Player Pay becoming a Labor issue for the league, it may get worse.

Kansas City Command - Game Over

The Kansas City Brigade captured the attention of Kansas City football fans in the first three years of being a part of the Kansas City Sports Scene.  Their first season was not great, but they came back and made a couple of strong bids during the next two years.  Arena Football in Kansas City was a great experience for those who could not afford the outrageous prices demanded by the Kansas City Chiefs.  It was Blue Collar football.  It was Kid-Friendly football.  It was fan-friendly football.  Then the team moved to the Sprint Center and it all came apart.

The move to the Sprint Center brought a lot of complaints.  Many of the season ticket holders did not like the new venue and many were talking about not renewing their Season Tickets.  Those who did decide to renew their Season Tickets were met with the collapse of the League and instead of being notified about the situation and how to get their refund, left a lot of season ticket holders to find the information for themselves.

With the creation of the new Arena Football League, things changed.  Kansas City wasn't a part of the first season under the new owners, who managed to set Arena Football back about twenty years when they broke the Player's Union before Season two.  The Kansas City Brigade came back with the same ownership, and the same losing head coach, but they didn't come back as the Brigade, they basically gave all the old Brigade fans the finger by renaming the team the Command ... but keeping all the team logos.

It was the same Sprint Center experience.  Over Priced Parking, discouraging tailgating, and with the significantly lower player wages, they failed to field a team that could play football well enough to even give the fans something to hope for.  It was NOT the Arena Football Experience that captured the attention of Kansas City Football fans as the Brigade, and the attendance over the past two years was solid proof that the Team, and the League, was failing to provide what the fans were wanting.

The Kansas City Command were dead when their feet hit the floor.  They kissed the wrong asses.  They held up the wrong people to promote Arena Football in Kansas City.  They made it clear to far too many people that the days of Fan-Friendly Arena Football were long gone and it was now all about raking in the money.  I wish I knew how many people told the owners of the Command that what they needed to do was take the team back to Kemper Arena.  That they needed to get back to the basics of providing a good product at a reasonable price.  They didn't listen to any of us, and now we get to say goodbye to the Arena Football League (AFL) in Kansas City.

The question that remains ... however .... is ...

Has the Kansas City Command tainted the sport for others to try?  Will the football fans of Kansas City give the newly formed Kansas City Renegades a chance to pick up the gauntlet and run?  Different owners, different league, and the return to a popular venue.  We will have to see.

New Team in Town!

The word is getting out and it’s getting out fast.  Kansas City is about to be the home of a new Indoor Football Team.  It is going to be one of the founding cities of the newly formed Champions Professional Indoor Football League, and they are making promises that you will enjoy the game or they will give you your money back.  Sound intriguing?

But can Kansas City support a second Indoor Football Team?  Look at the facts … the Kansas City Command did not draw the crowds that many were hoping for in 2010 or 2011.  But what was everyone expecting?  When they were the Kansas City Brigade, before the original AFL collapsed, people were complaining about how they HATED being at the Sprint Center … and were citing a number of reasons.  Then there was the players strike, which ended up being a player lockout and the owners of the AFL teams broke the player’s union, and the result?  The money for a player in the AFL went from an averaged five thousand plus dollars a game to around 6,800 dollars a year.  Needless to say, the quality of players in the league went to hell and it went to hell in a hurry.  People everywhere were complaining about the level of talent in the league, and they were showing their disgust by not attending games.

The “to be named” team for Kansas City will be doing something that many arena fans have been asking for.  It is taking the games back to Kemper Arena.  No, Kemper doesn’t have the sound system or video systems that Sprint Center has, but I don’t go to a football game to listen to music and watch the screen.  I want to get close to the game without taking out a second or third mortgage on the house.  I also want to be able to tailgate before the game, and that was basically impossible at Sprint Center to have a good tailgate without spending a lot, A LOT of money.  We are going back home to where Arena Football started in Kansas City, to the house where Arena Football was successful in Kansas City.  All we can hope for is that this new league is attractive to the better players available out there.

So, up on all the hype?  Like the sideline seats in the first three rows are only going to be $35 per game?  The promise by the team owner that if you don’t enjoy the game they will give you your money back.  There will be the chance to meet the players after the game, and let’s face it football fans, there really is no bad seat in the house.  Even in the upper deck you’re closer to the field than the upper deck at Sprint.

So, the watch is on around here.  My wife and I are already talking about checking the new team out.  All we’re waiting on is the league schedule for 2013, and the word is the teams will play from March to June, six home games and six away games.