Perspectives from a new Arena Fan
Matt Krueger
Tuesday July 11, 2000
I have always been more of a baseball fan rather than a football fan. I like the Buffalo Bills and the NFL, but my heart belongs to the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball. I also love the Buffalo Bisons of the International League. Baseball is the sport I know best.
Before you take pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard to complain about an ignorant fool writing about a sport you love, stop. Refer back to the headline and relax. This article is about my introduction to Arena Football and what I think of it.
Flat out, Arena Football rocks!
I have to ask the Cleveland broadcaster, who sat next to me in the press box during the June 29 Buffalo game, what the hell are you thinking?
He (I forgot his name) said Arena Football is a disgrace and embarrassment to the great game of Football. All the show (fireworks, rock music and lights) was distracting and took away the dignity and respect of the sport.
I suggest he goes back to the golf course, pulls up his yellow pants and leaves Arena Football to the younger generation.
I’m not even sure why he went to the game. He said he had never seen a game before, the only thing we had in common, and wanted to check it out. He was disgusted by the pre-game show and scoffed at the female TNN correspondent. For someone who had supposedly never seen an AFL game, he had a lot of opinions coming in.
I couldn’t have had a better time at the game. Not only did the home team win on national television, but also the crowd was electric and both teams played some serious ball.
Here’s what I like: no punter, playing offense and defense, coaches standing on the field, narrow goal posts, walls, up-close fans, cheap tickets, no gajillionaire players, good music and constant action.
Here’s what I don’t like: little television coverage and only 17 teams.
What my press box cohort failed to realize is that this isn’t the NFL. The AFL is tweaked, altered, enhanced. In a word, it’s different. It’s still football, just a different kind of football. This is football for the new millennium.
I think it’s great that this league brings professional ball to cities that don’t have NFL teams. Ask the fans in Oklahoma City, Grand Rapids, Orlando, San Jose, Milwaukee, Durham, Los Angeles, Des Moines and Albany what they think of the AFL. I’m sure they’ll agree.
I have encouraged all my friends to go to the Destroyers’ final home game, not just because Buffalo is on a roll and winning, but because it’s a great game. If they do go to a game, you never know, they could go home with a game ball that landed in the stands. How cool is that?
While baseball is still my favorite sport and the one I know most about, I’m excited about Arena Football and hope to continue covering Destroyers’ games.
I think the fan I talked to before that game summed up the AFL best. “This is good, clean fun.”
Matt Krueger was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2000 season.
