ArenaFan at ArenaBowl NOLA blog

Reppact · Joined: 01 Jan 2001 Location: Montreal, Canada

The ArenaFan crew will be blogging their trip and experiences as we attend the championship of the AFL's Silver Anniversary season.

Stay tuned.
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Previously a dedicated AF board contributor. Now... meh. Whatever.

Everything happens so fast, it's like playing football on a postage stamp - Lee Corso

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

Ah, back to the ArenaBowl in New Orleans... It's been four years since I've been to the Bayou, and I'm very much so looking forward to going once again to see how the city has grown and hopefully bettered itself. Remember that it wasn't all that long after Katrina that the ArenaBowl came to NOLA.

Anyway, I'm a few hours from getting ready to get on the road to head down to Tampa Bay, as Joe and I fly out tonight. Tim will joining us tomorrow night, but we'll be doing our first of at least three podcasts for the week tonight.

And as I have done for the last four ArenaBowls, I'll be blogging along here in this thread in green so you all can see and experience everything that we are experiencing in the Bayou. Please feel free to chime in with comments or any questions that you might have.

How do I know it's ArenaBowl week? Turned on the car this morning to head out to the office, turned on the radio, and the first thing I heard was "Livin' On a Prayer."

Drink.

It's going to be a long five days...

Firstnten.net · Joined: 23 Jun 2011

So Adam how come you're on the wagon?

YowDawg · Joined: 09 Jul 2002 Location: Moulton, Alabama

Is the game the same? Even though JBJ has no connection to the $oul?
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Alabama Steeldogs - Most disappointing team in af2 history.
Overal Record: 65-69

Arena Football Games Attended: 109

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

The game and the circumstances are nowhere near the same. It's really a brutal shame too, because '07, and to a lesser extent '08 were just awesome situations. The concept of Radio Row was amazing, and now, we've been limited to "Radio Row" being in whatever the hell room Joe and I are going to be staying in when we get to New Orleans.

Joe and I are sitting at TPA as we speak, waiting to take off for the Bayou. We'll check in around 7:30 CT when we get there... which would still be two hours before the game kicks off...........

Firstnten.net · Joined: 23 Jun 2011

Take some pictures and post them. You never posted Soto's opening day press conference pic. It should be included with any CBA announcement during this week. Laughing

Any CBA announcement needs some perspective.

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

I'll post the picture as soon as we get into the hotel. ArenaFan has officially arrived in NOLA.

Arena_Pigskin · Joined: 21 Nov 2011 Location: Austin

y'all should have a good time. I was down there three weeks ago for the ELCA Youth Gathering and that city was hopping. Glad to see it alive and well (well, at least the downtown area).
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stormjr · Joined: 30 May 2007 Location: Clearwater, FL

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

We're going to pass on podcasting tonight. The internet connection just isn't good enough here at the moment. The Sheraton is truly in terrible shape. They're doing construction on the hotel, and it really makes everything look like a royal disaster. Blah.

We ran into Anthony Herron, who apparently lost his luggage. Also saw Coach Plank and some of the Soul players. The Rattlers are leaving tonight and should be here overnight.

Had dinner on a nice little place on Rue Bourbon, aka Bourbon Street. That's about the only highlight right now. Not looking forward to the four days here if this is what it's going to be like. Unbelievable that we are kinda stuck here with the rest of the league. Both the Rats and the Soul are staying here as well.

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

Good morning from the Bayou! It's only 7:30 here, but Joe and I are already forced to be up and moving around for the most asinine Media Day on the face of the earth. I'm betting that there will be about 6 media members there, two of which are going to be with ArenaFan. My guess says that AFL Fan Zone will be represented, as will the Arizona Republic (Richard Obert), and probably one other guy from Philadelphia. There might be a guy or two from local news stations as well, though the Times Picayune isn't in print circulation any longer.

Later today, I'm expecting to have the full scoop on Virgil Gray and his injury, what has changed with the Arizona secondary to make it so lethal of late, and why Derrick Ross and the rushing attack work for the Soul. Maybe some other stuff as well. We also expect to hear the formal announcement that a CBA has been signed, and we'll be right on top of all of that to boot.

We've got wall to wall coverage of all things related to the ArenaBowl and the AFL, and if there is any breaking news, we'll be right at the heart of it and have the interviews (hopefully....) to help give us all of that insight.

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

MY FREAKING GOODNESS! Look at these ugly pieces of crap that the Rattlers are going to be wearing for helmets on Friday night... Man, it is just totally against every bone in my body to see the Rats playing in an ArenaBowl without see that copper dome.

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

Some pics from Media Day can be found here...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151326334003222.569470.334192033221&type=1&l=a884187da9

Here's probably the best shot of what the scene looked like.

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

Oh, and the ever so important KURZ COUNT during his Media Day. 15:36. I counted the following... (We'll have the actual State of the League Address posted in a little bit so you all can verify if you want to waste 15 and a half minutes of your life listening to the Commish bash ArenaFan)

"Good": 4
"Great": 33
"Amazing": 1
"Fantastic": 1
"Tremendous": 3 (note: all 3 were within about 15 seconds of one another)
"Wonderful": 2
"Remarkable": 4 (note: 3 of which were in one sentence)

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

Back from Media Day and back in the room. It's pouring rain in the Bayou at the moment, and the construction on the hotel is going on apparenly right near us, making it a bit difficult to work through all of the hammers and drills.

But regardless, we plug through it all. It was a long morning with an hour of the Rattlers, a half hour of the Commish, and an hour with the Soul in that order. None of the Arizona players were really all that memorable for their interviews. Good information and a good spot from Nick Davila, who really seems like a focused quarterback. Really like the message that Kevin Guy is giving to his team right now. It's not about t-shirts and just getting to this celebration. It's about winning a title.

Commissioner Kurz was blah as always. He talked for about 15 minutes and didn't take questions, storming right off the podium when he was finished and back to the owners meetings, which are supposedly going on this weekend as well, kinda like the olden days. Kurz spent about 10 minutes talking about how "great" everything is (33 "greats" in those 15 mintues by my count), and about 5 minutes bashing Adam Markowitz with ArenaFan.com for ripping the league. Okay, he never actually said my name, but we all know he was doing. Sorry for reporting it as I see it, Commish. Guess he and the front office of the league still haven't gotten over it for whatever reason.

Oh, by the way, remember the big deal that was made out of the AFL Field Pass thingy that would get fans the access to Media Day? Didn't see a single fan there. There were a grand total of 6 media members, 4 of which were print, two of which were camera. The only ones from outside of New Orleans that were there are the two currently sitting in Room 3403. And that "Ultimate Field Pass Winner" thing that they did? Unless Big John or Peanut won that prize, there was no winner there for Media Day either.

Anyway, I digress.

The Soul came out after the Commish, and they were quite the opposite from Arizona. This was a bunch that was glad to be here but were just glad to be together. Clint Dolezel gave me a great interview, and Derrick Ross is a can't miss. It's seriously a fantastic five minutes or so of your life that is going to make you laugh and smile. He's a great, great guy.

To show you the difference: The Rattlers have a curfew of midnight tonight and 11:00 p.m. tomorrow. The Soul have no curfew. Might it get them in trouble? I'm not all that sure. Coach Plank trusts his guys to do the right thing and police themselves. Both teams have also been running later practices and have made it a point to get their bodies right quickly for the late start time. Both coaches were concerned about it, but both down played that fact.

Also interesting is the gigantic chip that Arizona is carrying on its shoulder. And it's not about the fact that the Rats lost the ArenaBowl last year. It's about the fact that Philly is the "chosen team." The Rattlers are tired of hearing about it. Might make an interesting story to write today... but instead, I've got some other things in the loop, as we continue to provide the Arena Football League nation with coverage that is absolutely unrivaled to that of anyone else on the planet, including the league itself.

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

Just wrapped up a nice little story about Derrick Ross and Clint Dolezel and their odd relationship that I think is most certainly worth a read. (Of course, I think it's worth a read... I wrote the damn thing!)

http://www.arenafan.com/news/?page=origcol&writer=113&article=3346

Reppact · Joined: 01 Jan 2001 Location: Montreal, Canada

Well, made it to the Queen City (Charlotte, NC). Gonna grab a bite and wait for my connecting flight to NOLA. Funny how I am going to New Orleans through a former AFL city.
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Previously a dedicated AF board contributor. Now... meh. Whatever.

Everything happens so fast, it's like playing football on a postage stamp - Lee Corso

AFLGuru · Joined: 28 Dec 2005

No Tim, it's funny that you're flying through the Hornets' old city to get to the Hornets' new city.

mgemay · Joined: 08 Apr 2005 Location: Canada

I'm an ALF Field Pass holder and was told in an email...

"AVITAE ARENABOWL XXV MEDIA DAY
(Wednesday, August 8, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm; New Orleans Arena)"

Sounds like there was a miscommunication on times with the info given to the Field Pass holders and that's likely why none were there this morning.