There was no standing and cheering on third down. No chants of “De-fense! De-fense!” when the Dragons were attempting to complete a goal-line stand against the Orlando Predators. We just couldn't bring ourselves to outwardly display enjoyment at Arena Football.
Sorry, but Arena Football is just plain lame.
I used to think the sport was OK when I saw it on television. Lots of scoring. Pass plays 99 percent of the time. Jon Bon Jovi as an owner of the franchises.
Then I actually attended a game. Well, the first 33 minutes and 19 seconds of it. The Dragons, three-time defending Eastern Division champions, hosted the Predators at Nassau Coliseum on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The seats would have been considered very good had it not been for the things that were taking place oh-so-close on the field.
Instead, we got to see a weak game with manufactured excitement. Any sport that can tout concepts such as affordable entertainment and fun for the kids among its main bulletpoints on a Powerpoint slide is simply not a sport.
When there is very little pleasure drawn from seeing a touchdown being scored in a football game, there is a problem.
Sure, the players wear pads and get hit and often get hurt, but this wasn’t football. This was indoor soccer with a NERF ball on steroids. This was the Long Island Ducks on turf.
There appeared to be a few "die-hard" Dragons fans among the 11,678 in attendance, with their Dragons jerseys, Dragons hardhats and other Dragons gear. Two words: Dear. God.
Yeah, those Thundersticks are really cool! They went out of style right after the Anaheim Angels popularized them en route to winning the 2002 World Series.
Sitting in the Coliseum for the first half of an Arena Football game made me wish it were an Islanders game instead, and I hate hockey!
Heck, I’d have settled for a Saints lacrosse game.
Or the state high school wrestling championships that were held there the two previous days.
Or a Tech Expo.
Anything but this.
Some would suggest drinking as a way to dull the pain and make it more enjoyable. There aren’t enough bars on Long Island to make this exciting. The most exciting development was learning that the clock still runs on incomplete passes.
Speaking of passes, how many quick-outs can one person watch in one sitting? Quick pass to the left. Quick pass to the right. Quick pass to the left. Quick pass to the right. A deep ball. Repeat. Do they create their playbooks on a napkin from the Starbucks across the street?
Combine that with the terrible tackling and this was like watching the 2005 Jets play (with one exception – no draw plays on third-and-4), only nine times worse.
At 2:30 p.m., with Dragons quarterback Aaron Garcia on the ground with what turned out to be a broken leg, we called someone to find out what time the UConn-Villanova men’s basketball game started.
"2 p.m.," the voice on the other end of the phone said. "You're late."
Time to exit the Dragons.
Comments (6)
What would sarra do then?
Hey Eddy Curry, it takes a big man to insult someone online. Especially when it comes from a guy with such impeccable grammar like yourself. Go back to school tough guy.
As far as your comment about the quality of competition in the AFL, you are totally off base. When Kevin Swayne is your best player, your team is just not good. I have been to an AFL game. Mark is right, it sucks. Go clap your thundersticks.
Hey Eddy, maybe if you didn't spend so much time making lame and incorrect comments at this writer, just maybe we could win a game. Get back to practice, you weak-hearted fool.
I agree with Eddy Curry that La Monica is a pompous, know-nothing faggot.
End of.
Hey, Johnny Tee, great insightful comment. were you born a moron or did you need some time to perfect your talents?
When you are defending the Arena Football League, it should be clear whether you are a winner or a loser. I don't think anything more needs to be said. And that's that.