Post by fwp on Jul 18, 2009 7:16:06 GMT -5
www.elpasotimes.com/sports/ci_12856253
EL PASO -- A successful Indoor Football League franchise in El Paso shouldn't be a stretch.
The Generals play in the second-largest market in the league (River City in the St. Louis area is the biggest) in a football-crazy state in a broader West Texas region that has three other strong franchises in Odessa, Abilene and San Angelo.
With Crane, Texas, native Brian Brents as head coach, the team posted a 12-2 record that matched the best in the league.
The elephant in the room, of course, is El Paso's last failed indoor football venture, the 2004 0-16 El Paso Rumble that folded after one season.
Particularly from the standpoint of luring sponsors, that ghost proved as tough as any opponent, but heading into the playoffs, El Paso has drawn a respectable 3,540 fans per game -- fourth in the 19-team league -- rebuilt its corporate backing and won an award as the IFL's best new franchise.
"We felt if we did it right, fans would come," said owner and El Paso businessman Albert Smith of Allegiance Pro Sports, Inc., which also owns the Abilene and Odessa franchises. "We felt that because of our love of El Paso it would work. We don't feel this team is ours; it belongs to the city of El Paso. We've thought that all along.
"This is a matter of doing things right and telling the truth."
Fans responded early with an announced opening crowd of 4,130 in the El Paso Coliseum, though Smith admitted sponsors took longer to come on board.
"It took until the middle of the season," he said.
Still, earning a second chance for indoor football in this town wasn't an insurmountable task, Smith and Brents said.
"We've been through a lot trying to overcome the problems of the previous team," said Brents, who was an assistant in Odessa during the Rumble's failed season, which concluded after the league took over the team. "This is a different organization, a different franchise. I'm optimistic about the future. The organization loves the city, loves these players, wants to improve these players' lives.
"They've brought something to El Paso that's going to be here a long time."
In a way, Brents was symbolic of the franchise's effort to win over skeptics. He was coming off a successful season in Tupelo, Miss., when the Generals approached him with the chance to come back to West Texas.
"I had never heard good things about El Paso," Brents said. "They kept telling me I've got to see it. (Wife) Rachael and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the Smiths. Having (now 15-month-old son) Tyson, we didn't want to go someplace we would be at for one or two years."
Then he sold El Paso to the players.
"I was surprised," defensive lineman Ron Ellington said. "I heard the prior team didn't have much support, but it's great to see how well it turned out. Everybody loves a winner."......article continues in link.
EL PASO -- A successful Indoor Football League franchise in El Paso shouldn't be a stretch.
The Generals play in the second-largest market in the league (River City in the St. Louis area is the biggest) in a football-crazy state in a broader West Texas region that has three other strong franchises in Odessa, Abilene and San Angelo.
With Crane, Texas, native Brian Brents as head coach, the team posted a 12-2 record that matched the best in the league.
The elephant in the room, of course, is El Paso's last failed indoor football venture, the 2004 0-16 El Paso Rumble that folded after one season.
Particularly from the standpoint of luring sponsors, that ghost proved as tough as any opponent, but heading into the playoffs, El Paso has drawn a respectable 3,540 fans per game -- fourth in the 19-team league -- rebuilt its corporate backing and won an award as the IFL's best new franchise.
"We felt if we did it right, fans would come," said owner and El Paso businessman Albert Smith of Allegiance Pro Sports, Inc., which also owns the Abilene and Odessa franchises. "We felt that because of our love of El Paso it would work. We don't feel this team is ours; it belongs to the city of El Paso. We've thought that all along.
"This is a matter of doing things right and telling the truth."
Fans responded early with an announced opening crowd of 4,130 in the El Paso Coliseum, though Smith admitted sponsors took longer to come on board.
"It took until the middle of the season," he said.
Still, earning a second chance for indoor football in this town wasn't an insurmountable task, Smith and Brents said.
"We've been through a lot trying to overcome the problems of the previous team," said Brents, who was an assistant in Odessa during the Rumble's failed season, which concluded after the league took over the team. "This is a different organization, a different franchise. I'm optimistic about the future. The organization loves the city, loves these players, wants to improve these players' lives.
"They've brought something to El Paso that's going to be here a long time."
In a way, Brents was symbolic of the franchise's effort to win over skeptics. He was coming off a successful season in Tupelo, Miss., when the Generals approached him with the chance to come back to West Texas.
"I had never heard good things about El Paso," Brents said. "They kept telling me I've got to see it. (Wife) Rachael and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the Smiths. Having (now 15-month-old son) Tyson, we didn't want to go someplace we would be at for one or two years."
Then he sold El Paso to the players.
"I was surprised," defensive lineman Ron Ellington said. "I heard the prior team didn't have much support, but it's great to see how well it turned out. Everybody loves a winner."......article continues in link.