Post by oipheroes on Mar 11, 2009 23:35:02 GMT -5
More football? Yeah, why not
Rick Snider
Indoor football returns to Washington. Washingtonians love the sport. It doesn’t matter if the game is at FedEx Field, a parking lot or outer space, locals will watch it.
Now local entrepreneur Corey Barnette brings a small-scale version of the Arena Football League that included the Washington Commandos in 1987. A bunch of former college players, one-time NFL prospects and people with nicknames like Freak Show, The Tree and Wolfman open Friday at the Reading Express before returning April 4 at the D.C. Armory.
“I’m not trying to be Dan Snyder or Jerry Jones,” said Barnette of his NFL counterparts. “If we can get 3,000-4,000, we’ll be here for years.”
It’s football inside a hockey rink. Expect 58-42 scores from eight-man teams playing on a 50 by 28 yard field with waist-high boundaries.
“The guys who watch the Redskins are going to watch this game, watch this sport,” coach Danny James said. “It’s fun, it’s fast paced. It never stops.”
The selling point is contact. James nicknamed everyone on his roster, but the Goon Squad defense includes Mr. Bad Intentions, Get It Cracking, Mr. Big Hit and The Ice Man.
Not exactly the Four Horsemen, but the apocalypse is coming.
“Guys will get lit up on any given play,” said quarterback Mike Scipione.
Scipione is a former Chantilly High quarterback who never played at Kentucky. He spent 2005 with an indoor team before becoming a government contractor. Indeed, nearly all players have jobs given the Armor only pays $200 per game with a $50 bonus for victories.
“I figured I’d do some other things in life, but with a team coming to the back yard it was hard to pass up,” said the 6-foot-7 Scipione. “This game is molded around the quarterback. It’s pass happy. Everything is tight windows. In the outdoor game, you’re throwing as the play’s developing. Here, it’s three steps and throw.”
Scipione reached an NFL camp. So did three teammates. They still dream of making the pros even if it’s indoors.
“They play because each one of these guys has the ability to be in the NFL and if for one or two skills [missing], would be there,” Barnette said.
The Redskins are a decade or more from returning to Washington. Snyder never fulfilled his pledge of an indoor team, either. At least football is back in the shadow of RFK again, if only indoors.
Rick Snider
Indoor football returns to Washington. Washingtonians love the sport. It doesn’t matter if the game is at FedEx Field, a parking lot or outer space, locals will watch it.
Now local entrepreneur Corey Barnette brings a small-scale version of the Arena Football League that included the Washington Commandos in 1987. A bunch of former college players, one-time NFL prospects and people with nicknames like Freak Show, The Tree and Wolfman open Friday at the Reading Express before returning April 4 at the D.C. Armory.
“I’m not trying to be Dan Snyder or Jerry Jones,” said Barnette of his NFL counterparts. “If we can get 3,000-4,000, we’ll be here for years.”
It’s football inside a hockey rink. Expect 58-42 scores from eight-man teams playing on a 50 by 28 yard field with waist-high boundaries.
“The guys who watch the Redskins are going to watch this game, watch this sport,” coach Danny James said. “It’s fun, it’s fast paced. It never stops.”
The selling point is contact. James nicknamed everyone on his roster, but the Goon Squad defense includes Mr. Bad Intentions, Get It Cracking, Mr. Big Hit and The Ice Man.
Not exactly the Four Horsemen, but the apocalypse is coming.
“Guys will get lit up on any given play,” said quarterback Mike Scipione.
Scipione is a former Chantilly High quarterback who never played at Kentucky. He spent 2005 with an indoor team before becoming a government contractor. Indeed, nearly all players have jobs given the Armor only pays $200 per game with a $50 bonus for victories.
“I figured I’d do some other things in life, but with a team coming to the back yard it was hard to pass up,” said the 6-foot-7 Scipione. “This game is molded around the quarterback. It’s pass happy. Everything is tight windows. In the outdoor game, you’re throwing as the play’s developing. Here, it’s three steps and throw.”
Scipione reached an NFL camp. So did three teammates. They still dream of making the pros even if it’s indoors.
“They play because each one of these guys has the ability to be in the NFL and if for one or two skills [missing], would be there,” Barnette said.
The Redskins are a decade or more from returning to Washington. Snyder never fulfilled his pledge of an indoor team, either. At least football is back in the shadow of RFK again, if only indoors.
