The AFL: It`s about Family (a father speaks out)
Tim Ball
Thursday May 9, 2002
The Arena Football League is no longer Americas best kept secret. It shouldn’t be.
If the AFL is allowed to grow in the respectfully constant direction it has been going since Baker’s arrival, it will be very successful. If it is taken on the same path as the XFL, Americans will disapprove. We don’t want a circus, we want heroic sport. In that department the AFL hits dead center on target thanks to Baker’s management.
The “Extreme Sports” stars in skysurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and motorcycle jumping have proved they are not crazy. They are brave and capable athletes respected and supported by the millions of fans who feel they know them and can share their accomplishments. Arena Football players are the same. Their happiness is something you simply want to support. This is a far cry from having to pay a multi-millionaire “elite athlete” for his autograph and a mumbled thanks.
Out of the mouth of babes
“Children are the future…” This may have been a line from a great anthem, but Arena Football as a sport is grabbing the attention of the very young in a LIVE format they grasp easily. As they grow up, they will take the sport with them. My family is a prime example. We are all very grumpy when one of us misses a game.
“Daddy when are they going to score a touchdown” asked my five year old daughter during the Rams verses Buccaneers Monday Night football game last season. It didn’t dawn on me until later that she only knows Arena football, the boredom she was enduring at the hands of “specialized players,” forced the poignant question to dear old dad. I had to explain that Mark Grieb doesn’t play for either team so we had to be patient…She left to go tell Barbie all about it.
Fans and players
In Arena Football, you feel you know the players. After the game, fans and team members meet at field level to talk and sign autographs. As an example, San Jose SaberCats quarterback Mark Grieb’s accessible and appreciative personality coupled with his ability as a star player draws caring fans to him in large numbers. The fact that he has a Masters degree from Stanford makes him a dream of a role model for parents trying to raise children in a society pushing instant gratification from every angle. This relationship between star and fan is the same on all teams in the Arena League.
I witnessed first hand the power of fan and player interaction at last Saturday’s San Jose SaberCats verses Georgia Force game. The Force was hitting quarterback Mark Grieb with everything they could, injuring him at one point. (A rumor was circulating during the end of the third quarter that Force players were in the Compaq Centers kitchens trying to pull the sinks out of the wall for a go at the heroic Grieb. I’ll let you know if it’s true if I can). The Bay-area crowd almost suited up and went on the field. A conversation between players and fans put things in order. The fans were resolute. “We’ll handle it.”
The Compaq Center crowd let it be known that they weren’t going to sit around and watch a good guy go down. Remember, we’re talking about a Silicon Valley computer crowd that is usually subdued and calculating as to when and how victory will be attained at the highest level of probability… For the last fifteen minutes of this game, the 13,000 plus faithful would have impressed any WWF fan by their loyalty to Grieb. Their need for victory was medieval as they rallied behind him. In Arena Football, the players on the field can hear the fans word for word… They handled it.
Georgia did not score in the fourth quarter.
They care, I care
I will not take my family to an NFL game unless I get free seats next to the owner. To park at a San Francisco Giants game is so offensively high that I’d rather send my money to a TV evangelist. At least I know they will be held accountable…sometime.
Arena players want you there. They care. They say it. Arena fans want to be there. They care they say it back. There is no better sport in America.
Arena Football is America…
Now, if they only had those motorcycle jumpers at halftime...
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
