C's Football Season is Here!

Well guys, C's football season is officially upon us!  Saturday was his first game.....only 17 more to go!

I thought since it had been awhile, I would re-post some of the things I wrote about the League, how the game is played, C's involvement and even fun (ok not so fun) things like "football bimbos"and crazy fans. I'll post a bit each week...since this next six months our lives are largely focused around the AFL (Arena Football League).  Of course, this season will be a bit different since about half way through we will be welcoming another member into our family!

So be prepared ladies (and gents? Are there any out there?), I am about to talk about football!

Arena Football is a lot like the NFL, with a few key differences. Believe it or not, the league is celebrating its 27th year! It is still a professional league, but the game is played indoors, hence the “Arena” part.  The guys do get paid, just not million dollar contracts like in the NFL.  A lot of these guys are really playing it for the love of the game! They usually have to get jobs in the off-season, which is exactly the opposite of the NFL, August through March.

Arena Football can be a very high scoring game. I'm talking points in the 60s and 70s. The reason? The field is only 50 yards, instead of 100 like the NFL.  Oh man does this make for some intense games. I mean really, a quarterback can throw a pass the entire length of the field for a touchdown!  That being said, it means a team can score really quickly.  Two seasons ago, C’s team was down 9 points with a minute to go and they ended up winning!  (You can’t take a knee in Arena Football, you must keep playing)

Another difference is that there are no sidelines on the field.  The entire field is surrounded by a padded wall (in our home stadium it is about 4 feet tall).  Multiple times a game you can hear the boom of a player being shoved into that wall. It sounds really dramatic. Since they don’t actually have sideline space, pushing another player into or over (yes it happens a lot) the wall is considered “out of bounds” so the clock stops, like in the NFL.

C is the one in white with the black sleeves....see the padded wall?

Because the field is a lot smaller, obviously there aren’t as many players on the field.  In Arena Football there are only 8 players on the field at a time, versus 11 in the NFL.  Also, an Arena team can only have 25 players on its roster (versus 52 for an NFL team) which means a lot of the guys play multiple positions. An Arena team can’t afford to have players that only play special teams (except for the kicker) so players on the kick returns and such must also play an offensive or defensive position.

One last major difference that is noticeable right away are the goal posts.  In the NFL, the regulation width is 18 feet, 6 inches.  In Arena Football, they are a measly 9 feet! Let me tell you, it definitely looks tiny from the stands.  Granted, the kicker obviously isn’t kicking as far, but there isn’t much room for error. Yikes. 

Right now, there are 12 teams in the league.  Last year, the Rock band KISS bought a team in LA and this year Vince Neal (of Motley Crue) bought a team, the Las Vegas Outlaws. They have been pretty fun additions.  Next week I am actually going to head to Vegas to see their away game, I am curious as to what kind of show the Outlaws will put on!

Filming some green screen things for the upcoming season!

 So that’s a very basic overview of Arena Football! Next time I will talk more about C and what he does!