Tonight the fam and I went to check out the latest revolving door spectacle at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center (I still can't get used to calling it the Donald L. Tucker Center) - we went and saw the
Tallahassee Titans, an arena football team which apparently is a member of something called AIFA, the American Indoor Football Association. So yeah, that makes this minor league arena football - and judging by the talent, VERY minor league.
For those not familiar with Tallahassee's sports history let me break it down for you: Florida State is king by far and away. FSU men's football, basketball, and baseball are and probably will always be the #1, #2, and #4 ticket draws in the city, with only the occasional Florida A&M football game (#3) rivaling them. The owners of the Civic Center, the town's largest non-stadium arena/venue, have tried to bring in various minor league professional sports teams to town in the hopes of making a few bucks. Problem is, every single time they half-ass the job, the marketing is non-existent or the product sucks, and accordingly attendance rapidly drops causing the team to fold or move. The first folly was probably the most successful, the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks, which played in the East Coast Hockey League.
Tiger Sharks games were a blast to go to, but as the novelty wore off there were just too few hockey fans in Tallahassee to sustain the team. That and the management essentially gave up on the team on day one, caring little about quality of play and only on attendance - not realizing that the two are DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL. The geniuses in the TLCCC decided that hey, we've already got a hockey rink setup, so why not bring an indoor soccer team to town? So in come the Tallahassee Scorpions, who played as a member of the EISL, the Eastern Indoor Soccer League.
Due to the abysmal attendance for all EISL games (the league average was 1000-1200 per game) the league was forced to fold after two years. Once the Scorpions and Tiger Sharks folded, the powers-that-be decided that since FSU football was so successful, why not try arena football? A few years later we got the Tallahassee Thunder, a team playing in the horribly named league "arenafootball2." Check out this killer logo designed by I assume some kid at a local elementary school:
Once people realized that dressing some ex-FSU and ex-FAMU scrubs up in pretty new uniforms and put them on a smaller field did not translate into an enjoyable product, the team was financially doomed. I don't remember, know, or care if the team was contracted, folded, or moved. I just know that they managed to take the somewhat exciting sport of arena football and dull it up some.
Which brings me to tonight, and the latest incarnation of arena football in Tallahassee - the Titans. First off, before the game even started I had some issues with the team. Who designed the logo? Why does it look so much like a rip off of the Toronto Argonauts (of the Canadian Football League) and Tennessee Titans (of the NFL) logos? Judge for yourself:
Toronto Argonauts
+
Tennessee Titans
=
Tallahassee Titans?
That said, the opening cheerleader sequence was awful. The cheerleaders are all FSU/TCC/FAMU students who in all fairness are probably trying to make a few bucks and relive past high-school-cheerleader glory days. The outfits made them all look like they had guts, and the knee-high go-go boots were just hilarious. Once the team was announced and the game started, that is where the pain began.
"Real" arena football, the kind that actual "pros" play, is a fast game with a constantly running clock. This was not the case tonight. The 1st 15 minutes of the game took 1 hour and 5 minutes to play. Why? Because of the 30 or so plays in the 1st quarter, the referees called around 25 penalties. You can imagine this destroyed any semblance of flow and rhythm. Oh and the playcalling! You seriously could get away with calling 3 plays total: swing pass, QB sweep, and FB up the middle. They should have a contest where some 7 year old gets to call plays for a half - that would be far more interesting than watching that sad example of a football game. We mercifully left at halftime. Again, putting scrubs from FSU and FAMU on a small field does NOT make your product a good one.
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I've seen a lot of movies this spring break, and since I'm too lazy to write full reviews of each, you get 11-Word Movie Reviews:
300: Pretty damned good. Why is every Greek/Roman movie in sepia?
Blood Diamond: Really liked this flick. Leo made a despicable hero very believable.
Casino Royale: Good movie. Broke from the formula, but that's not necessarily bad.
The Last King of Scotland: Whitaker is fantastic as Amin. Powerful and gripping the whole movie.
Stranger than Fiction: Surprisingly decent movie worth a few good laughs. Ferrell is great.
The Prestige: Very interesting concept - I would recommend this for any magic fans.
A Prairie Home Companion: I loved the old-time radio feel and some great folksy tunes.
Crank: Decent mindless action flick. Wouldn't dub this one a "must see."
Pan's Labyrinth: Fascinating, gripping story. I was proud I could understand the Spanish.
The Departed: As good as promised. Everybody comes through with some solid performances.
In music, I'm working my way through the latest albums from The Arcade Fire, The Shins, and Air. I'll report back when I'm through 'em.
Oh, and big ups to Dan Henderson and Randy Couture for winning their respective championships. Great fights to watch.
