Post by fwp on Mar 12, 2010 5:49:58 GMT -5
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2011322861_predators12.html
KENT — Imagine sitting in the stands at ShoWare Center for the inaugural Indoor Football League game for the Kent Predators.
You are behind the goal post and a field goal or extra point sails toward the stands. But with no netting, the ball lands in your lap. If you are along the sideboards and a player dives into the stands and fumbles, you pick up the loose ball.
According to the team, you are now the owner of the game ball. No wonder the budget for footballs is big in the Indoor Football League.
"We always say you can keep the football but you have to return the player," said Kent Predators co-owner Chris Kokalis. "We want to make it a fun experience for everyone who goes to a game. It's a fun, fast-paced game and we want to get the fans involved."
This is football at its most interactive.
"The indoor game is a lot of fun," said Kokalis, who owns the team with Seattle businessman Ken Moninski. "There's not a lot of down time. It's just high energy all the time."
The Predators open their home season Friday night at 7:30 against the Fairbanks Grizzlies.
The Indoor Football League is a 25-team league with two conferences and six divisions. Teams are scattered throughout the country — there are teams like the Omaha Beef, Maryland Maniacs, Amarillo Venom and Chicago Slaughter. The two-year-old league plays 14 regular-season games before the top 16 teams make the playoffs.
The expansion Predators are 0-2 after road losses to the defending league champion Billings Outlaws and to the Alaska Wild.
"We have a solid team and hope to make a playoff run," said Kokalis. "The talent level in the league is great and we match up with anyone with who we have. We just need to get that first win to get us going."
William McCarthy was brought in to coach the Predators. He comes with a wealth of assistant coaching experience in the indoor game. With El Paso last year, he helped the team make it to the conference championship. Before that he was with a team in Mississippi which won the conference championship.
The Predators are allowed to keep 30 players on their active roster and many of them have local ties, including former Kentwood star Kevin Jones, who plays defensive back. Former University of Washington lineman Manase Hopoi is a 6-foot-5, 280-pound defensive lineman for the Predators and running back Chase Reed starred at Pacific Lutheran.
Kicker Justin Miller might not have a football background but he did play soccer at Seattle University and linebacker KJ McCrae played at Portland State.
"We wanted to keep as much of the team local as we could to create some excitement early on," said the 30-year-old McCarthy.
Each player is paid $225 per game plus a $25 bonus for a win.
"For some, this is just a step to the next level," said McCarthy. The season started Feb. 28 for the Predators with a 56-40 loss in Billings. A 48-39 defeat in Anchorage followed a week later. The season runs through June 19 before the playoffs.
'We've had a lot of mental mistakes — and that comes form being a new team," said McCarthy. "We only have seven guys on the roster with arena league experience and 23 who don't. But once they learn the game, we will really start to get it going."
Kokalis and Moninski also co-own the IFL team in La Crosse, Wis. — another expansion team. They looked at other areas for a team, but settled on Kent.
"This is a great football area — and people love their football around here," Kokalis said. "We are devoted to making this a success."
KENT — Imagine sitting in the stands at ShoWare Center for the inaugural Indoor Football League game for the Kent Predators.
You are behind the goal post and a field goal or extra point sails toward the stands. But with no netting, the ball lands in your lap. If you are along the sideboards and a player dives into the stands and fumbles, you pick up the loose ball.
According to the team, you are now the owner of the game ball. No wonder the budget for footballs is big in the Indoor Football League.
"We always say you can keep the football but you have to return the player," said Kent Predators co-owner Chris Kokalis. "We want to make it a fun experience for everyone who goes to a game. It's a fun, fast-paced game and we want to get the fans involved."
This is football at its most interactive.
"The indoor game is a lot of fun," said Kokalis, who owns the team with Seattle businessman Ken Moninski. "There's not a lot of down time. It's just high energy all the time."
The Predators open their home season Friday night at 7:30 against the Fairbanks Grizzlies.
The Indoor Football League is a 25-team league with two conferences and six divisions. Teams are scattered throughout the country — there are teams like the Omaha Beef, Maryland Maniacs, Amarillo Venom and Chicago Slaughter. The two-year-old league plays 14 regular-season games before the top 16 teams make the playoffs.
The expansion Predators are 0-2 after road losses to the defending league champion Billings Outlaws and to the Alaska Wild.
"We have a solid team and hope to make a playoff run," said Kokalis. "The talent level in the league is great and we match up with anyone with who we have. We just need to get that first win to get us going."
William McCarthy was brought in to coach the Predators. He comes with a wealth of assistant coaching experience in the indoor game. With El Paso last year, he helped the team make it to the conference championship. Before that he was with a team in Mississippi which won the conference championship.
The Predators are allowed to keep 30 players on their active roster and many of them have local ties, including former Kentwood star Kevin Jones, who plays defensive back. Former University of Washington lineman Manase Hopoi is a 6-foot-5, 280-pound defensive lineman for the Predators and running back Chase Reed starred at Pacific Lutheran.
Kicker Justin Miller might not have a football background but he did play soccer at Seattle University and linebacker KJ McCrae played at Portland State.
"We wanted to keep as much of the team local as we could to create some excitement early on," said the 30-year-old McCarthy.
Each player is paid $225 per game plus a $25 bonus for a win.
"For some, this is just a step to the next level," said McCarthy. The season started Feb. 28 for the Predators with a 56-40 loss in Billings. A 48-39 defeat in Anchorage followed a week later. The season runs through June 19 before the playoffs.
'We've had a lot of mental mistakes — and that comes form being a new team," said McCarthy. "We only have seven guys on the roster with arena league experience and 23 who don't. But once they learn the game, we will really start to get it going."
Kokalis and Moninski also co-own the IFL team in La Crosse, Wis. — another expansion team. They looked at other areas for a team, but settled on Kent.
"This is a great football area — and people love their football around here," Kokalis said. "We are devoted to making this a success."