Wilmot Phoenix

Observations from Two Feet Away - Mailbag

Adam Knoll | July 24, 2010 at 02:49 AM EDT | No Comments (0 new)

                I’m more than excited today, I get the chance to do my first official mailbag. It may be just one response to a recent column, yet it offers another opinion, and I think that’s awesome. On all of the blogs, there is a comment button, feel free to click it and write in. Hopefully, I get to do these more often. With the fall coming up, and a rash of GFL related writing about to be written (including the Strength of Schedule one I’ve been dying to write), I hope we can get further dialog going.

                Back to the point, MJ (I’m guessing Michael Johnson) of the Lynx had some point about the ‘Re-Draw the Lines?’ column from a couple weeks ago. He’s what he wrote:

                It's not that the GFL needs to redraw the lines that dramatically, although your idea is not bad at all. The GFL needs more board or upper management help. These teams that are entering the league and folding have to be stopped, and the best way for that to happen is to put measures in place for that not to happen. Monetary measures are usually the best way to make that work. For instance, there should be a roster minimum of say at least 25-30 players, and the league should ask for ID's along with waivers 2 months before the season starts to gaurantee that team a spot. As for monetary amount, make each new team (probable of folding) give an extra amount of money $500-1000 and the league will hold this money until the season is over. This money will be used for fines, games forfeited, etc, but at the end of the day if your team folds, you lose your money. This will keep every team in it until the end. Also, each team must show proof (signed agreement) of a home field, and also each team should have two jersey's. White for away, and alternate color for home. If you can't tell this is a Lynx player, and I know a little about how things are run appropriately. We were the first team with a true home field, first team with two full uniforms (and did it mainly to make sure we had an offset color from other teams).

            To this, I respond:

            There are some area’s I agree about, and others I don’t. Firstly, I don’t think my division idea was too dramatic, quite contrary. I believe that it’s the natural evolution of this league, seeing as we expand at a very fast rate, and more teams means more need to break into groups. The drives are horrible, and going to a divisional format will put a damper on that. There will still be travel, sure, yet it won’t be nearly as much. Additionally, the divisional format will get rid of this one conference to rule them all thing we have going. The Lynx, at this moment are #4 in our conference, while they would be first in the other conference (read that again). That’s unacceptable to me.  

            Yet, some of your points are very interesting and worth wrapping our minds around. Many of them have to do with being a new team, and I’ll use my experience this season to use as a sounding board to the ideas.

The teams entering the league just to fold need to be stopped:

            Completely agree. The Gators have been forfeiting since Week 5 (Week 5!) and the Scorpions (let’s not forget, the expansion team made up of former Gators players) have been forfeiting since week 6. It’s appalling that the Scorpions can play an 8 man exhibition game against the Oak creek Renegades (an old GFL team) this past weekend when they already forfeited their game slated for the same day against the Rage. Just the fact they played a non-existent team (to our league anyway) over playing a scheduled game in their own league is truly stunning. However, I bet you any money they play against the Gladiators in the upcoming week, and that’s because they are at home and don’t have to travel. Also, they don’t have to play a team like the Premier, Cowboys, Lynx or what have you…they think they have an actual shot.

            I can understand that losing players is a huge problem. All I have to do is look at my team in which we lost 11 or 12 guys this year due to different stuff, it is hard to keep a hroup together. However, considering the circumstances, I view this season as an aberration. We started out with 27 players on purpose, to have a set group of starters and a backup system that didn’t sit out too many guys. We lost a lot of depth, yet I’m still fielding a team, and I feel a competitive one at that. The fact is that some of these teams are getting together with friends of theirs who feel it’s just a summer league that doesn’t matter. They have no interest in traveling, and they have no interest in playing the schedule out once they lose the first two or three games. Some teams are in this because they respect the league and want to be a part of it, others are in it because they simply want to play ball, and when it gets tough they can’t keep their guys interested. I could not be more irritated by this. Either get in the league to create a respectable franchise and further the league, or don’t bother. I don’t think the league does a good enough job education prospective owners of the rigors of a season. We seem to be stuck in expansion mode, while hoping the quality will sort itself out.

Monetary measures are usually the best way to (stop a team from forfeiting). For instance, there should be a roster minimum of say at least 25-30 players, and the league should ask for ID's along with waivers 2 months before the season starts to guarantee that team a spot.

            Agreed, to a point. I purposely didn’t want a large roster, in 8on8 football; too much depth is a bad thing. Even after this year, I’ll probably run an opening day roster next season of around 27 again. However, your point is valid in that going under 25 is dangerous. Injuries, quitters and the work/family dynamic make it tough if guys start falling out. I have to know that if I have a slim roster, I better have guys willing to play no matter what, which I’m lucky enough to have. I don’t get the same feeling from the teams who aren’t finishing their schedules. You can tell the difference between teams who have committed, hell or high water guys, and those who don’t expect as much, and it stinks the league isn’t being taken as seriously as it should be by some franchises.

            The picture ID could work, if fact, I think it should be implemented in other ways as well. We played the gators in week 2 and they scored twice by freakish plays by number 58, who was a small, athletic guy. However, on the GFL website number 58 was a 6’2 240 pound guy who played O-Line. This is a major problem, and one I’ve seen all the time. We need to make sure the guy in the jersey is the guy on the roster. I.D’s would help there or at least a card with the player’s height and weight.

             This is the third season in which the roster ‘deadline’ has been thrashed, albeit by far less this year than in the others. However, I know for a fact that a team added three players to their roster (Illegal 1: your only allowed to add two guys a week), never had it updated on the GFL site (Illegal 2: everything was said to have to be and it happened was Week 9 (Illegal 3: The Roster Lock was Week 7). I won’t say who did it, I’ll just say that you wouldn’t be surprised and there is no reason to pursue it because it’ll just lead to needless damage.

            We need a better way to control this, and it needs to be from someone outside the league, almost like an arbitrator. Yet this person, or board, needs some actual clout or it won’t work.

As for monetary amount, make each new team (probable of folding) give an extra amount of money $500-1000 and the league will hold this money until the season is over. This money will be used for fines, games forfeited, etc, but at the end of the day if your team folds, you lose your money. This will keep every team in it until the end.

            This part makes me cringe the most, because I can bet that even though you guys probably never really talked about it, I’m sure there was a consensus that my team would either 1) never get started up, or 2) never make it through the season. I had no capital; I was relying on player fees and sponsorships. From the outside point of view, I’ll even admit, I was a classic case of bit off more than I can chew. Yet I have  the desire to accomplish what I set out to do, and I gained a  reputation of caring deeply about this league from basically taking over the league site when it died during the 2009 season. That’s what I think we need, to find people who care almost ridiculously about what they are about to do. I’ve been insane this past year; I care, way too much. But we made it, right? It never looked like the Scorpions cared about the league, about themselves sure, but never the league. Wolves, Warriors…never made it to preseason. It’s not about wanting to make a team and play games; it’s about joining a league, earning your dues and finishing what you start. It’s not about how many teams you let in, or from where; it’s about who you let in, and what they are willing to do to make it work.

            I agree with the Leagues policy of if you forfeit, then you have to pay the refs and the stadium costs, yet I doubt it’s being carried out. I highly doubt the Gators and Scorpions have paid one cent since Week 5/6. In this case, you’re right: A forfeited game should cost cash, yet I’m not sure that should be done at the beginning of the season. Make in on a case by case basis, and if the team forfeits, and doesn’t pay the fine…then they don’t have a team next season, period. That will end them too. If the Scorpions had paid $500 before the season to make up for this, I’m not sure that would have led them to play out their year. It’s hard to get guys to drive, and replacing them is hard because of the two players a week rule. Yet make them pay after the fact, we both know most teams won’t, and we will weed out the weak teams that way. As of right now, I’m sure if they sweet talked enough, some of these teams would be considered for next season, which is a crime.

Each team should have two jersey's. White for away, and alternate color for home.

            This is the one spot that I completely agree on, and the one that I completely failed on. With all the startup costs, by the time it came to buying jerseys, we only had enough for one jersey. It was a tough decision, we always wanted two, but the money is tough. I would say, give a new team till their second season, by then they should have two. I can remember the Rage, who are excellent with finances, only had one their first season, hell, the sabers, a fourth year team, has always had one. Two jerseys should be mandatory to all established units, that way, if an expansion only has one, then the established team can help out by wearing whatever works.

            There are many things that need to be fixed, yet I do believe the league has never been stronger, or had more talent in it than it does now. The hardest parts to clean up are always the edges, which need to be meticulously handled to get right. At the present moment, I don’t know if a singular commissioner and a right hand man can be that thorough. We need to be better in that area.