In 1996, Jason Gibson found himself flat broke with a gas tank nearing empty on the drive to an open tryout for the Albany Firebirds. He was forced to spend the night at a rest area off the New York State Thruway until his dad could send him enough cash to cover a fill-up and … More Invitation-Only Workouts Challenging Arena’s Open Tryout Industry
The thunderstorms passing through Philadelphia last Thursday night created a soft start to the NFL season for me. By the scheduled start of the Eagles-Falcons game at 8:20, only isolated pockets of fans were gathered across the wilderness of Lincoln Financial Field’s open seating area, and the thin crowd conjured memories of a summer filled … More NFL Could Regain Its Compete Level Using Arena Rules
For the past season, my lunchtime routine has consisted of clicking on Facebook for the soap-operatic drama of the American Arena League Forum. Today, however, instead of dialing into arena football’s version of ‘As The World Turns,’ I landed in some Wellesian ‘War Of The Worlds’ episode being broadcast by Professional Arena Football. Despite two … More PAF Repos AAL’s Forum In Latest Blow To Flailing League
The National Arena League is that place between sleep and awake where you still remember nightmares of the AAL as the higher order to which you’re accustomed comes back into focus. It’s the Pearly Gate at which “pro” football really becomes professional. It’s where communities passionately embrace their teams and hate the opponent. It’s where you … More Zebras: A True Asset To The NAL
Following Gregg Fornario’s August 15 launch of Northern Arena Football, the prevailing sentiment is that this sport needs a new league about as much as the world needs to invent another way to make doughnuts. There’s an inherent fear about diluting its limited talent pool with a broader base of teams, or by over-saturating the … More Why Fornario’s NAF Is A Rising Tide For Arena Football
There’s no question Billy Back is a great coach. Maybe the National Arena League Coach of the Year. He earned the Indoor Football League equivalent of that honor in 2016 with the Wichita Falls Nighthawks. This year, he’s been downright Belichickian. His Carolina Cobras have been the most consistent team in the NAL, and he … More That Being Said, What The Hell Was Bill Back Thinking There?
Charles McCullum threw eight touchdown passes, and Phillip Barnett and Tyrell Goodman collected four touchdowns each, as the Carolina Cobras routed the Jacksonville Sharks, 73-48, in NAL semifinal action last night at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Carolina offense scored on each of its first 11 drives – ten going for touchdowns – while its defense … More Cobras Dominance, Sharks Breakdown, Put National Arena Bowl In Carolina
From a talent perspective, arena football is stratified into four widely accepted tiers. A player going from the EIFL to the AAL – or from AAL to NAL, or NAL to AFL – is said to be “moving up.” Congrats are posted on league forums and off they go, never to return. Culturally, however, the … More The Fifty Yarder Pocket Guide To Distinguishing Pro From Semipro
You better believe National Arena League Commissioner Chris Siegfried is all smiles these days. He has every right to be. By this time last year, the NAL was already three full weeks into its offseason, basically ceding the arena world to the AFL for the balance of July and all of August. But this year, … More With Bizarre AFL Postseason Over, NAL Now Stands Alone
I’ve spent the better part of this past week asking myself, what right do the Washington Valor have to challenge the Baltimore Brigade for the Arena Football League’s crown this Saturday night? Valor fans and those blind disciples of indoor football’s original league will say they have every right. The all-in playoff format was preordained … More AFL’s Beltway Bowl Is A Matchup That Should Not Be
Fifty Yarder: 