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28 Jun 2011

Football on the Fringe

A few weeks ago, I attended two minor league indoor football games and interviewed dozens of players, owners, and commissioners associated with the Indoor Football League and the Southern Indoor Football League. Here's a brief account of my journey. There were a lot of out-takes from this project, and I hope to use them in an upcoming Walkthrough. For example, I had a great conversation with Jared Lorenzen that was cut for space issues. (Write your own joke.)

Posted by: Mike Tanier on 28 Jun 2011

10 comments, Last at 09 Jul 2011, 2:05pm by jebmak

Comments

1
by Travis :: Tue, 06/28/2011 - 11:46am

The play-by-play for that 138-0 game is incredible.

2-McBryde, Derric sacked for loss of 9 yards to the FAY7 (51-Fisher, Russel), fumble recovered by ERI 51-Fisher, Russel at FAY0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:38.
14-Ojeda, Carlos drop-kick attempt good.
Erie Explosion 138, Fayetteville Force 0
Ojeda's last PAT was a successful 2-point dropkick
End of game, clock 00:00.

Nothing says running up the score like going for 2 with a 136-0 lead. (Erie's kicker had previously kicked 18 conventional extra points, plus 2 rouges on kickoffs.)

Also, did Fayetteville quit with 1:38 left, or was the final period played with a running clock?

6
by Aaron Brooks' Good Twin (not verified) :: Tue, 06/28/2011 - 8:02pm

"Players and coaches for the Fayetteville Force in North Carolina staged a mutiny after missing paychecks in April; they were replaced by a semipro team, which promptly lost, 138-0, to the Erie Explosion. "

It wouldn't shock me if Erie was intentionally running it up against a team of scabs.

7
by Aaron Brooks' Good Twin (not verified) :: Tue, 06/28/2011 - 8:06pm

Remarkably balanced scoring. 9 TDs, 1 safety, and 2 2-pt conversion on behalf of the defense (67 pts); and 10 TDs and 1 2-pt conversion for the offense (71 pts).

2
by grizz (not verified) :: Tue, 06/28/2011 - 1:31pm

Gotta hear what Lorenzon had to say!

3
by drobviousso :: Tue, 06/28/2011 - 4:07pm

If there is no football this year, I hope you turn this into a full length book.

4
by Barry (not verified) :: Tue, 06/28/2011 - 6:36pm

Looks like Erie comes out a little flat in the 3rd quarter. That's something they should work on before the playoffs.

5
by Doug English (not verified) :: Tue, 06/28/2011 - 6:53pm

Why is there not a TV programme following one of these teams. It would be incredible, full emotional rollercoaster.

8
by Sophandros :: Thu, 06/30/2011 - 8:58am

Yeah, Hard Knocks should be about minor league football teams. THAT would be interesting and not contrived, and you can do it all year long.

-------------
Sports talk radio and sports message boards are the killing fields of intellectual discourse.

10
by jebmak :: Sat, 07/09/2011 - 2:05pm

I would absolutely watch this, and I barely watch any sports related programming (I can't think of the last non-event sports thing that I watched, not including the last five minutes of some pregame show).

9
by andrew :: Sun, 07/03/2011 - 2:15pm

Just think if Erie had scored another 74 points they could have matched the Georgia Tech/Cumberland score...

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