Scrimmage Eerily Silent without Fans
Matthew Pickut
Friday January 17, 2003
As exciting as the game ended, the play of both teams definitely showed the rust of the preseason. With each team carrying almost 40 players, and frequent substitutions, players got limited time to show their skills during live action. Among those who took advantage of the time was WR/DB Brett Beech who hauled in 3 catches for three yards and newcomer OS Donald Shoals looked good and added a touchdown.
Shoals also saw time at Defensive Back, “I got cut during training camp from the Colts, so it’s good to keep playing,” Shoals said after the game, “I’m kind of an aggressive guy so I’m enjoying it, I’m just trying to get a spot on the team.”
Shoals and rookie Brian McDonald both show the Firebirds commitment to bringing fresh speed to the receiving ranks.
OS Eddie Brown also saw time on defense at strong side LB but was less excited about the opportunity. When asked about whether or not he was looking forward to playing defense, Brown said, “Absolutely Not, I’m just trying to do what I can to keep a job. I mean its fun, I was able to stick my nose in there and hit some people.” From the sidelines Brown looked solid at the “Mac” backer, recording one solo tackle and one assist, while supporting the defense against the run.
All four QB’s on the roster Raymond Philyaw, Craig Whelihan, David Preistly, and Jim Ballard saw action during the game and played well. Incumbent starter Philyaw saw only limited time, however, due to off-season surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.
Head coach Mike Dailey knows that it is still too early to make any predictions about who his starter will be in week one, “It’s still too far off. We want to get the QB’s some more work and we’ll make the decision as we get closer to the season. We got some work in and that’s the key, we got everyone in and we’ll get to watch and evaluate everyone on tape.”
What if?
What if you threw an AFL game and nobody showed up?
Monday’s game provided what in Sociology would be considered a ‘control group’ [See? I did pay attention in my methods class] for studying the effect of everything else the goes on at an AFL game. There were maybe 100 people (including players) at the Fieldhouse to watch the game. Needless to say there were no promotions, rock music, or cheerleaders, which gave the game en entirely different feel. With only a ten minute halftime, the game took around two hours even with the expected pre-season mistakes.
It turns out that the game is in many ways just as compelling without the crowds and fanfare. For one you can hear the players talk smack much better, and there is nothing to mute the sounds of collisions. The flow of the game is even quicker (if such a thing is possible), almost too fast really -- considering the emphasis on starting the 25-second clock as soon as possible. All things considered, however, even with everything stripped away, you wind up with exactly what the league bills itself as: football.
That said, I wouldn’t recommend a full season of the ‘bare-bones’ AFL I saw on Monday (even though I enjoyed it). The surrounding festivities turn the game into an event and add to the excitement of watching a game (they also give me time to get to the concession stands. Hmmm … Nachos Grande). Still, it does point out that maybe some of the extra-curriculars could be scaled back without hurting the game, and I think eventually we will see less of the ‘psuedo-sumo’ type events as fans become more educated about the game.
Still, watching a game like Monday’s only makes me look forward to the season that much more. There is a big difference between 100 people watching a last second field goal, and 12,000 + hyped up fans screaming as the home team wins a game that matters. Oh, and even though there is no cheering in the press box, (allegedly,) that’s part of what I love about the game.
Matthew Pickut is a pastor in northern Indiana and a long time AFL fan. He also writes for his own website: The Brown Paper Blog. He graduated from Taylor University in Upland Indiana (class of `96) with degrees in Biblical Literature and Sociology as well as a healthy respect for the medicinal properties of coffee.
