Post by 50yardfan on Mar 23, 2011 14:45:34 GMT -5
by Jerry Hewitt - It goes without saying that all of the upper level indoor football leagues have their problems. It also has become apparent that some are better at hiding or controlling their problems than others.
Last season it appeared the IFL was on the verge of a trouble-free, break-out season, until it all came apart. First, the Colorado Ice experienced problems, but that was quickly fixed with new ownership. The IFL wasn't so lucky when the Alaska Wild was forced to cease operations, forcing the league to cancel games. That was followed by the West Michigan Thunderhawks barely surviving the season with unpaid bills and the league having to release the team's letter of credit to get them through. Maybe the IFL had no way to see Colorado coming, but that wasn't the case with Alaska or West Michigan. An easy check of ownership qualifications would have shown neither was financially viable or sustainable.
Leagues can and should see the problem areas before the season gets underway. In most cases we fans see these problems long before the leagues will admit to them. That doesn't make much sense to me, and I'm sure not to many fans either, but it is one of those things we've all come to expect.
What I don't understand is why leagues fail to not only do their due diligence before allowing teams to take the field, but also why they seem to ignore the fact that most new teams need hand holding on how to get off to a good start. I read with interest and some disbelief that the SIFL Fayetteville club didn't appear to know what to do with their stats. But in fairness I felt the same disbelief when I saw a UIFL club looking for the best stat program for use before their season took off. It's just crazy that a league wouldn't have a stat program for their teams and include it in the start-up package.
Another thing I mentioned the other day was the CIFL allowing teams in that can not compete at this level. We've seen this in all the leagues past and present along with bringing in replacement teams from the semi-pro ranks to fill in open dates left by teams folding mid season or just before the season started. This is nothing short of cheating fans out of what they pay the price of admission to see.
All of the upper leagues are run by experienced professionals who have been around the indoor football block a time or two. All have seen some failure and success. All know exactly what they should be doing, but all seem to ignore the obvious upon occasion. How could the SIFL ignore the Houston venue situation, for example, or that Layette might be in trouble financially? How could the IFL ignore that Arizona would have problems financially or that management there was not suitable? How could the CIFL be so desperate as to allow at least one team and maybe two into the league that would be less than competitive? All of these problem areas should have been addressed and fixed, but weren't.
Every time I hear about a problem, I listen for the excuses and I tire of excuses for problems that should have been caught and fixed before they became a problem. I don't want excuses, I want to see action, see leagues simply take care of business in the right way and give us fans a fair shake. Seriously, is that too much to ask?
Last season it appeared the IFL was on the verge of a trouble-free, break-out season, until it all came apart. First, the Colorado Ice experienced problems, but that was quickly fixed with new ownership. The IFL wasn't so lucky when the Alaska Wild was forced to cease operations, forcing the league to cancel games. That was followed by the West Michigan Thunderhawks barely surviving the season with unpaid bills and the league having to release the team's letter of credit to get them through. Maybe the IFL had no way to see Colorado coming, but that wasn't the case with Alaska or West Michigan. An easy check of ownership qualifications would have shown neither was financially viable or sustainable.
Leagues can and should see the problem areas before the season gets underway. In most cases we fans see these problems long before the leagues will admit to them. That doesn't make much sense to me, and I'm sure not to many fans either, but it is one of those things we've all come to expect.
What I don't understand is why leagues fail to not only do their due diligence before allowing teams to take the field, but also why they seem to ignore the fact that most new teams need hand holding on how to get off to a good start. I read with interest and some disbelief that the SIFL Fayetteville club didn't appear to know what to do with their stats. But in fairness I felt the same disbelief when I saw a UIFL club looking for the best stat program for use before their season took off. It's just crazy that a league wouldn't have a stat program for their teams and include it in the start-up package.
Another thing I mentioned the other day was the CIFL allowing teams in that can not compete at this level. We've seen this in all the leagues past and present along with bringing in replacement teams from the semi-pro ranks to fill in open dates left by teams folding mid season or just before the season started. This is nothing short of cheating fans out of what they pay the price of admission to see.
All of the upper leagues are run by experienced professionals who have been around the indoor football block a time or two. All have seen some failure and success. All know exactly what they should be doing, but all seem to ignore the obvious upon occasion. How could the SIFL ignore the Houston venue situation, for example, or that Layette might be in trouble financially? How could the IFL ignore that Arizona would have problems financially or that management there was not suitable? How could the CIFL be so desperate as to allow at least one team and maybe two into the league that would be less than competitive? All of these problem areas should have been addressed and fixed, but weren't.
Every time I hear about a problem, I listen for the excuses and I tire of excuses for problems that should have been caught and fixed before they became a problem. I don't want excuses, I want to see action, see leagues simply take care of business in the right way and give us fans a fair shake. Seriously, is that too much to ask?