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CHECK OUT OUR
NEW SUPPORT THE TEAMS
page to your left!
Mason-Dixon 9-man Challenge
Hagerstown MD
November 21-22, 2009
Congratulations to our Spring OC09 Champions!
Packers (9-man A)
Lynch Mob (9-man B)
Carnage (7-man)
D4 (4-man)
Congratulations also to our Baltimore 09 Champions!
Baltimore Packers (9-man)
D4 (4-man)
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Welcome to the Flag Football Clearinghouse!
I've been reading other sites (including dcareaflag.com) and listening to players and teams say that anytime you post
a criticism (valid or not) against an organization, the post is pulled.
Honestly, I think that sucks. If you have a valid complaint, and you post your side honestly, it should remain
visible for others to read. It should also include the organization's right to defend itself. One of the
problems with flag football is the separation of teams, so that when one team has an issue, they are isolated from other teams
with similar issues. This has to change.
So I am offering this site as a middle ground. Any team, player, coach, fan or organization can post on
this site, as long as they do it honestly and somewhat professionally. Tournaments can advertise, teams can look
for players, and grievances can be aired. There will be no discrimination based on organization affiliation, region,
or style of play. This opens the door to everyone.
Here is what is required of you. All postings must have a valid email address listed. This allows opposing
parties to talk to each other in order to settle the issue. Above all, we want the issues to be settled. Anonymous
postings do not attempt to solve the problem, and do not allow for issues to be settled privately.
Therefore, they will not be allowed.
Also, personal attacks and rudeness will not be tolerated either. They don't promote positive
changes, and therefore are not productive. They also make it harder to sell our game, since businesses prefer adult
recreation that is "family-friendly".
Other than that, and I'm sure I'm opening a whole can of worms, but Theflagfootballchallengeseries.com is at your disposal.
Use it well.
Andy
Friday, March 23, 2007
Bashing the New Teams
This is why its hard to grow 9-man.
From Real Deal's board (Thanks Gill): http://members6.boardhost.com/realdeal/msg/1174603256.html
Yes, the Hagerstown tournament had 14 teams there, and yes, you haven't heard of most of them. Why? Because those teams
haven't traveled before. Are they at the elite level of 9-man? Of course not, they have played in their home leagues and never
saw that level of competition before. How many teams are truly at that level? The Real Deal, Titans, Packers, Metro-Dawgs
and the Heat are the only teams that played in (A) more than 4 tournaments and (B) played more than one state away from home,
other than Orlando. If you want the style to grow, you have to convince the other traditional teams go to tournaments outside
their regions, and the younger teams to move up and play the elite.
Are the younger teams going to win those tournaments? Probably not, but they will start stealing games, and eventually
become elite themselves. Will the younger teams improve now that they've seen the big boys? You can't help but improve your
team by playing better competition.
I will say this: instead of bashing the teams that are trying to move up (I know you're scared of losing your elite status,
but come on now, this is ridiculous), give them the respect for being willing to play against you. Twelve teams played their
tails off knowing they had the Packers and Metro-Dawgs waiting for them. Not one team quit to avoid playing them, and noone
complained about the draw.
Grow the game. Help out the new guy. Give respect when respect is due. And quit bashing teams for
trying to grow: our style needs that.
Andy
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Recurring Demise of 9-man
This past weekend, the MCFFU hosted their World Championships in Dallas, Texas. The Hot Boyz from Texas defeated
the Metro-Dawgs (VA) to win a 12 team field, including 11 teams from the Lone Star State. This was the 3rd largest 9-man
tournament field in the last 12 months (behind Orlando and get this...Hagerstown, MD). Getting the Texas 9-man
teams to a tournament was a coup to be promoted.
You mean it wasn't promoted? There had to be an article or two about the 9-man game on the Flag Football World
Championships website, right? Let me find it...there!
How is having a 12 team tournament "The Last Stand for 9-man?"
The article on the FFWC website ( www.flagfootballwc.com) touts that 9-man is in trouble again. Is this a continuation of the old school line that 9-man is dying, and 8-man
is replacing it? I've heard the same story from George Higgins, read the posts of Bret Gavin, and gotten the condolences
from Mike Cihon. Now the MCFFU posts another story announcing the impending death of our style.
In the end, they've all wished me luck, sent me on the wild goose chase, and waited to see what would happen. And
here's what did happen:
- There were more 9-man tournaments last year than in any of the previous 5 years, including new tournaments in Ocean
City, Long Island, Harrisburg PA, Virginia Beach, and Rhode Island.
- More large-scale participation than in previous years.
- The 9-man teams banded together to communicate and support more tournaments.
- Ocean City was started from scratch, drew 10 teams, and is growing again this year.
- The MCFFU Virginia Beach tournament replaced the AFTFL Summer Nationals for the top 9-man teams.
- Hagerstown grew from 8 to 14 teams.
- New tournaments have been added in Albany, Palmyra PA and Baltimore for the 2007 season.
- The NEFFA is promoting 9-man with 3 tournaments this year.
- Ray Capuana continues with his tournaments at Bayside.
I'm glad we didn't listen to the doubters.
In the end, the Dallas tournament was good for 9-man. It proves that there are teams outside the East Coast.
It proves that they can win a tournament with an East Coast team in it. (I understand how the weather affected the Metro-Dawgs,
but we've all played short. They still had an incredible run to the championship game, and mentioning who they were
missing is a slap in the face of the guys who played.)
However, this tournament doesn't help anything if the 9-man teams from the South stay home. Texas,
you've played a home tournament. It's time to go on the road. There is great competition out there,
so come find it. Alabama and Atlanta, it's your turn too. The teams from the East Coast will come your way if
you come North.
And West Coast? I know you are used to playing 8-man Eligible, but I will tell you that 9-man is
closer to football in pads than Eligible. You need big boys who can maul, and athletes who can ball. Give
us a chance, because we would love to hit Vegas and Cali. I promise you, we'll make the trip.
And the death of 9-man?
Just like Sinbad, it's demise has been greatly exaggerated.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Making it about the teams.
I apologize for taking so long before posting again. There are so many things to talk about, which makes it harder
to talk about anything. So I'm going back to basics.
Flag football is flag football is flag football. The game changes between styles (Eligible vs Ineligible, another
blog to come soon), organizations (USFTL vs MCFFU vs everyone else, coming soon as well), and even types of flags (don't
get me started on triple threats). There is one constant that makes our game special.
The Teams.
We are all competitive, aggressive, and with a healthy does of ego. Some are physical, some are very organized,
some travel everywhere, and some travel nowhere. But the teams make the game special. We are all proud of our
team, our accomplishments, and how well we stack up against each other. We feed off of this.
So this is your turn to present your team, and its accomplishments. Show the pride you have in your squad.
We want to know your players, your captains, and what you've done as a team. This is your page.
I will make one tiny request. I have to edit somewhat for space, so unless its a national championship, please
limit your accomplishments to the last 3 years.
So now it's on you. Who are you, and why are you important?
-Andy
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Why can't we make a schedule that works for everyone?
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Month |
Tournaments
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January |
1/13-14 Orlando (USFTL) |
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February |
None due to weather |
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March |
Possibly NC? |
3/31-4/1 RI (NEFFA) |
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April |
4/28-29 Ocean City (Hoffman) |
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May |
5/26-27? Or 5/19-20? Long Island or NJ |
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June |
6/2-3? or 6/9-10? NC? |
6/23-24? Harrisburg (HFFL) |
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July |
July 7-8? or 14-15?(NEFFA) |
July 28-29 Virginia Beach(MCFFU) |
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August |
August 11-12 Baltimore (MDFFA) |
August 25-26 Discipio Tournament (Albany) |
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September |
League Play |
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October |
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November |
11/17-18 Hagerstown (Hoffman) |
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December |
12/1-2? Rhode Island (NEFFA) |
The positives are easy to point
out. There is a 9-man tournament just about every month. None are back to back weeks. Each region (MD, NJ/NY, NE, Carolina) gets at least two tourneys, and there are
smaller tourneys for a Competitive (8-man) level for themselves.
There are issues as well
to address. The tournaments in NY/NJ
need to be run well, and have the capacity to handle larger groups of teams. The AFTFL has lost its presence in 9-man with the problems of last summer,
and FlagMag has never been supported outside the New England region. Some tournaments may have to adjust dates, but they will have more support from
the teams that travel by doing that.
Here is
why it works:
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Teams will travel to
areas that return the favor. When the tournaments support each other, the number of teams will rise as well.
For a tournament to be successful, it needs to have the support of the local teams, and at least 5-8 local teams participating.
Without those numbers, teams from outside the region tend to pass on the tournament as being "too unstable".
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Teams will travel when
they feel they will get a fair shake. Having good officials and good communication in the development
of the tournament go a long way to building tournaments.
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Teams want to go to
good places. A high school in the middle of nowhere is not attractive, nor is placing a tournament somewhere
with no night life. Teams will spend their money on going to places they can have fun on and off the field, and won't
return to a place with a shoddy field to play on. Fool me once...
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Tournaments need to
give value to the newer, younger and less experienced teams. Not only are these teams the future of our sport,
they are what make the sport interesting. Upsets are good for the game, and pool play encourages teams to take a chance
by guaranteeing a 3rd game for everyone on Sunday. Plus the senior teams need to lay off the up and comers: bashing
them does not help your positioning.
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Teams need to focus
on the quality of the tournament rather than which organization it is affiliated with. A good tournament is
a good tournament. Did you have fun at this tournament, and would you come back again. Honestly, that is what
matters most.
This all comes down to customer
service. Build a good product and the teams will be there. That's the bottom line.
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Welcome to new thoughts, ideas and plans for flag football!
We look forward to growing our game, without the petty
arguments of previous organizations. Our goal is to enable more teams, players and regions to participate, and
to bring national and corporate attention to Flag Football!
This site is designed for open conversations about flag football,
irregardless of organization.
Need somewhere to promote your league, team or tournament?
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We are excited that you are visiting our web site. We are here to provide a forum for flag football's ineligible
style. Our focus is to bring more attention to the closest thing to pads, and to grow our game to its past heights.
I look forward to hearing from you, and I personally look forward to what 2007 can bring! Feel
free to email me with any questions or comments.
Andy Hoffman
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Please get in touch to offer comments and join our mailing list.
 
The Flag Football Challenge Series
*801 Long Bar Harbor Rd, Suite 200 *
* Abingdon MD 21009 *
(410) 612-9231
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