Sunday, July 9, 2017

Welcome to The Suck

Greetings keyboard tough guys and meme warriors.  This is most definitely not the blog I wanted to write today.  Truth be told I didn't want to have to write today at all.  But, for those of you who've followed my log form long enough know that this space is for me to spew MY verbal diarrhea and express MY thoughts, feelings and opinions about indoor football, with a strong and critical towards the Sioux Falls Storm.  It's my therapy. You can comment and tell me how wrong I am, I take no offence.  I suck, I know it, I'm a bad fan.  I know.  It's still cheaper than therapy.

Last night was what it was. A valiant fight by the players on the field to even get back in the game.  Now, the play and decision making up the middle of the offense and from the head coach left a lot to be desired on multiple occasions.  There's just no way you can expect to win any football game, especially a championship game with FIVE total yards of offense and NO offensive touchdowns in an ENTIRE half.  That was a failure of execution which cannot be excused.

The less than expected first half effort was all but forgotten by the end of the third quarter with Sioux Falls trailing by six points.  Next came either the arrogance of a coach who doesn't know his squad had been outclassed on and off (more on that later) the field for the better part of two hours.  Going for it on 4th down inside your own ten yard line makes very little tactical sense.  But I've see coach Riggs lose faith in a kicker before and this is the typical aftermath.  That sucks.

Now is the time where if you have small children or large farm animals reading this you may want to make them stop.  Sioux Falls fans, and the IFL. You and we suck.  Terrible, arrogant, ignorant and plain old fucking stupid.  If I have to hear one more fucking story about fans acting like idiots I'm going to fucking scream.  That's NOT the way you treat people who come over to your place for a game.  Act like a fucking grown fucking person.  Now, Storm fans are not the only fucking assholes i'm speaking to.  I'm sure the fuck sticks know who they are.  How's about you fucking watch the fucking game, cheer for a team, I don't care if it's ours or not.  DO NOT fucking say stupid rude shit to other fans, DO not use obscene hand gestures, and please for the love whatever deity you pray to, do not allow yourself to get over-served and assault someone verbally, physically, or vehicularly.  If you think i'm talking to you please feel free to stop over to the next tailgate, if there is a next year, and we can discuss our behavior like adults, or I can punch you in the fucking face, it's up to you.  You suck.

IFL, you suck... Not only has the veteran rule watered down the talent pool, and made the play in the league overall sloppy and hard to watch.  Not only have you resorted to running game clocks to shorten games instead of making the game more friendly for the fans in the stands.  ZERO need for more than one media timeout a half unless the game is ACTUALLY being televised.  Don't allow teams like Sioux Falls to have kickoff 20-30 minutes late, don't let them have 20 or 30 minute halftimes.  Hire competent officials who can spot a fucking football.  Seriously NCAA division II football games have the same 4 15 minute quarters and don't take three and a half hours.  Cut out all of the on field bullshit and give us our fucking football back.  You Suck

You also completely failed on a giant level at the United Bowl.  It actually hadn't really ever occurred to me, but observing and listening some of the Arizona fans that tailgated with us it began to sink in just how low rent and minor league the IFL still is.  Granted it sure feels like the most polished league Sioux Falls has ever played in, but when the Rattler fans were very rightfully complaining about the complete lack of ANY United Bowl swag.  No T-Shirts, no patches, no towels, nothing.  This may be a Sioux Falls issue since they hosted, but I've seen game tshirts on-sale before.  I recall some Lexington Vs Sioux Falls United Bowl towels, or tshirts, maybe both.  You had two weeks to get some swag ready for purchase, and you didn't do it, so to whoever didn't get on that, you suck.

Speaking of all of the great folks that stopped by and chatted with my crew at the tailgate, thank you so much.  It was fun in interact with another group of crazy people, but my utmost and deepest respect to the retired couple who DROVE from Phoenix to Sioux Falls to follow a team she's been watching since 1993.  THAT is what the teams at this level should be building as a fan base...  Those that don't, or can't... you suck


The reality of indoor football is that the bottom line is ALWAYS the bottom line.  Teams like Wichita Falls who has to overcome systemic local apathy and Cedar Rapids whose ownership flat out gave up and mailed the season in doing ONLY the bare minimum (if even that, if rumors of unpaid player are true) to field a team.  Salt Lake and Colorado are dead.  Wichita Falls has extremely strong rumors that no one is denying about moving to the CIF, which if we're honest has made more since for them since their creation.  Less strong rumors of two more IFL teams leaving to the CIF.  Cedar Rapids is not one of them, but I'll be shocked if their ownership group cares any more.  I'm going to count them as folded until proven otherwise.  That's SIXTY percent of your league, gone.

What we're probably left with is Spokane, Arizona, Sioux Falls, and probably Iowa.  Even if you added teams out of the extremely softly rumored expansion in Portland and Boise, that leaves a horrible footprint that is a nightmare travel budget.  Attendance in Spokane has plummeted since they left the AFL and the ownership stopped spending the extra "legal" money to take care of their players off the field.  Nader Naini has already set the stage for their folding as of last season when he told the Spokane Spokesman in May of 2016 "“My partners and I have made a commitment to this,” he said. “If the community tells us it’s not interested in this asset, we’re not crazy. We’re going to want to see those numbers rise.” Given the complete on field collapse in the last half of 2017, it wouldn't shock me one bit if they cashed out.  That sucks

Three teams does not a league make.  Arizona would be smart to play a wait and see attitude with regards to what the Arena Football League can come up with as far as thoughtful expansion. That leaves Iowa who could probably get accepted to the CIF in this plausible scenario.  That leaves the ending of indoor football in Sioux Falls exactly as many have predicted.  The best team and organization to ever play without rebound nets too good and spends too much money and has too much arrogance to be accepted to the low budget CIF.  

So, as always at this time of year I hope I'm wrong with regards to the league moves, but I think we've all seen this coming from a mile away.  At least this time we can get on with the honesty that travel and budgets and NOT Sioux Falls winning all the time is the REAL reason the CIF exists. And frankly.. that sucks.