This past weekend, I went to my second NAL Indoor Football game this year. Went to what is my local team now, the Sioux City Bandits in their regular season home finale against the Southwest Kansas Storm. It was veterans and law enforcement appreciation night. While I thought that the game was better played and had a better overall atmosphere than the game that I attended in Omaha, there were a few problems that the league needs to figure out for next year.
First is the time of the games. Could someone tell me how you have a running clock as much as possible for the game and it still takes approximately 3 and a half hours to complete the game? It seems counter-intuative. I know why if I am being honest. Too many media timeouts. The home team trying to entertain the crowd every second and taking more time than those media timeouts are supposed to be. When I watch the NAL at home, I can split my time between the telecast and something else if the game is going long or getting boring like it was in Omaha. Here it was a very good game, but three and a half hours is just too long for a game. There was one other reason that the game went so long and that was the officiating.
I was very disappointed in the number of stoppages of play that needed a review. It broke any flow to the game. I don’t believe that the officials determined the outcome of the game, but the team that could get a little bit of momentum had an advantage. That was the Bandits who jumped out to a fast start. Hopefully, the officials can improve next year and not have games like this in the future.
I saw why the Storm were undefeated in the league up until this game. They have a very good offense and a real player in Mason Pierce. He is 5’8″ and 170 lbs. Fast as a waterbug. He is elusive and was that main weapon for the Storm. He was playing on kickoffs, was the kick returner, plays wide receiver during the offensive snaps and you could tell that the gameplan was get him the ball when at all possible. I didn’t watch the Storm lots this year, but according to most people, Demarius Washington is the rumored frontrunner for MVP of the league. He is also a wide receiver fo rthe Storm which is going into the playoffs as the #1 seed.
I hope that the NAL playoffs are good close games. The league needs it. The Dallas Bulls folding during the season was not a good look. Going back to Dallas with a new team next year is risky. Let’s be honest. There are tons of things to do in Dallas. Can the NAL bring enough attention to themselves in that market that fans will come out and support the team.
I am also reading some speculation that Louisiana and Amarillo will be leaving the league in the coming offseason. That would be tough for the league. The economy is not exactly rolling along with no problems. I am hoping that something happens so the league keeps those two teams and can also bring in one more team. A league of ten teams sounds like a great thing. Then I hope that the league starts to solidify the teams.
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