Surviving as a Stringer in the AFL
Dan Ryan
Wednesday July 25, 2001
Here`s the reason, plain and simple because none of the 135 segues I tried worked: With my last correspondence check, ironically from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the Mustangs-Predators coverage (and believe me, sitting through that sloshfest was hard work), I went down to the bank and took care of some business. I am now officially out of credit card debt.
No, it never got to the point where I needed to hang out in the parking lot with a sign saying, "Will cover Arena Football for food.” The best way to describe things is that it took a while to get a handle when life`s kickoffs bounced off the nets.
[Actually, the better way to say it is: "When life throws you a curveball,” but as Kevmo once told me, "This isn`t johnsmoltzfan.com." You can insert your favorite pitcher if you like.]
The Fabulous Baker Boy may not like to admit this, but the AFL is still a stringer`s paradise. In layman`s term, that means the Journal Sentinel and the Arizona Republic don`t send their writers on the road, but there`s some dumb schlep in Florida who can help out when the Mustangs and Rattlers travel to the Preds, Storm and even Bobcats. The pay`s good -- not enough to live on -- but sufficient to help augment the day job and make some dents in the mail that comes in windowed envelopes.
So it has been since June 1991 when Orlando beat Tampa Bay in the Florida Suncoast Dome. Yeah, it has been a Garcian-type long, strange trip, only without the tye-dye shirts and the bitchin` version of "Touch of Grey.``
I`ve covered Rick Buffington at all his AFL coaching stops. Had a Tim Marcum one-liner bail me out on numerous occasions. Perspired heavily in the Palm Beach Auditorium with its famous 33-inch yards. Saw Kurt Warner. Oronde Gasden, too. Was there for Stevie Thomas` kickoff return against Albany in 1995. Same for Barry Wagner`s "I Got My Ring" shout when the Preds finally won the damn thing in `98. One hundred and fifteen games. Should I be commended or committed?
And along the way, covering the Cleveland Thunderbolts begat Indians spring training and a Kent State NCAA baseball Regional; the Houston ThunderBears begat Comets-Miracle; the Mustangs led to a Milwaukee-Wisconsin vs. Bethune-Cookman gamer, and so on. The end result: my network has more affiliates than UPN.
August is going to be pleasantly different with needing Orlando or Tampa Bay to host the Arena Bowl to help out with the kids` back-to-school fund. Especially this year, given the playoff situation. I can actually do a couple of things for fun, such as help out Kauffman and Mason with their exclusive investigation of Ice Palace hot dog consumption during Storm games or my continued quest for a coveted Arenafan Online golf shirt.
Then again I could always go over and get one at the online store, but I don`t want to start on that road again.
Dan Ryan has been involved with all forms of arena football since 1988, including writing for ArenaFan when Joe Kauffman and Tim Capper aren’t killing his columns because they don’t get his jokes or perspective. His day job is at Bethune-Cookman University, which has produced both an NFL Hall of Famer (Larry Little) and an Arena Football Hall of Famer (Stevie Thomas) and his hobby is tracking how many f-bombs Adam Markowitz drops in the chat room on game nights.
