Post by mrbee on Jul 11, 2007 9:43:11 GMT -5
Fayetteville owner says good riddance to NIFL
By AUSTIN WARD
Star-Tribune staff writer Saturday, July 07, 2007
Richard King is breathing a little easier today.
His Fayetteville Guard are closing out a regular season that King wasn't sure would ever be completed.
He's expecting a big crowd and excited to give away a new car during today's game against the Greensboro Revolution.
And after the final buzzer, his hands will finally be clean of the National Indoor Football League.
"I'm almost ashamed to be a member of it, but I'm only a member (until after the game)," King, Fayetteville's owner, said in a phone interview with the Star-Tribune on Friday. "It's kind of like a breath of fresh air, because it's just been such a drawn-out process."
Drawn out, and anything but easy.
Both the Wyoming Cavalry and the Guard have been working to distance themselves from the dysfunctional and nearly defunct league for months, and in the end, the NIFL did some of the work for them.
The league reportedly sent letters to King and Wyoming Director of Business Operations Argeri Layton alerting them that they would be kicked out of the league effective today -- after the completion of a regular season that would essentially have been nonexistent without the two teams honoring all their home games.
King called the letter "hilarious," and there weren't any tears shed by Layton either.
If anything, their expulsion was welcomed with open arms.
The Cavs and Guard -- the top seeds from the dormant Atlantic and Pacific Conferences -- were free to schedule their own title game, which they'll play next Saturday in North Carolina and call the Indoor Football Championship Bowl.
They're free to search for a new home without fear of retribution from the league offices -- the Cavs will reportedly join the American Indoor Football Association.
"They've made my life a living hell getting (to the end of the season)," King said. "It never fails. I don't know what it is.
"I'm the type of guy where if somebody doesn't want me, I just want to leave and let them go. It seems like when I don't want them, they do everything in their power to make my life difficult. You've just got to do what you've got to do. I feel like after (today), and after Argeri and I play, I'm just going to be so elated that No. 1, we finished the season, and No. 2, I still have a franchise intact. I'm very fortunate."
It's about the first stroke of luck for either team this season.
The Guard and Cavs have piled up wins and boast gaudy records, but a cancellation-plagued season and the uncertainty caused by the NIFL's excessive expansion put a strain on nearly everybody.
King and Layton organized a sort of revolt earlier this season, banding together the teams with independent ownership and cutting out the league to ensure the completion of the schedule.
Now, they're even making sure the postseason gets played. Although it won't be the Indoor Bowl or sanctioned by the NIFL, it's a matchup that's been anticipated all year long.
In some ways, the league actually set up the bowl game, since the Cavs and Guard were reportedly the only two teams to receive eviction notices -- which is largely the reason the San Diego Shockwave were shut out of the discussion.
"We just didn't want to deal with the NIFL," King said. "Every time we had them get involved with anything we were doing, it always got screwed up. It always got to where (Wyoming) and I ended up getting the raw end.
"The smartest thing for us was, there's no doubt we're the best of the East, and to me Casper is the best of the West, so it just made sense to set it up. Even though they lost one game, points-wise they're the best, so let's get it on."
And as far as the NIFL goes, both teams are just glad to be getting out.
Contact sports reporter Austin Ward at (307) 266-0634 or austin.ward@casperstartribune.net
By AUSTIN WARD
Star-Tribune staff writer Saturday, July 07, 2007
Richard King is breathing a little easier today.
His Fayetteville Guard are closing out a regular season that King wasn't sure would ever be completed.
He's expecting a big crowd and excited to give away a new car during today's game against the Greensboro Revolution.
And after the final buzzer, his hands will finally be clean of the National Indoor Football League.
"I'm almost ashamed to be a member of it, but I'm only a member (until after the game)," King, Fayetteville's owner, said in a phone interview with the Star-Tribune on Friday. "It's kind of like a breath of fresh air, because it's just been such a drawn-out process."
Drawn out, and anything but easy.
Both the Wyoming Cavalry and the Guard have been working to distance themselves from the dysfunctional and nearly defunct league for months, and in the end, the NIFL did some of the work for them.
The league reportedly sent letters to King and Wyoming Director of Business Operations Argeri Layton alerting them that they would be kicked out of the league effective today -- after the completion of a regular season that would essentially have been nonexistent without the two teams honoring all their home games.
King called the letter "hilarious," and there weren't any tears shed by Layton either.
If anything, their expulsion was welcomed with open arms.
The Cavs and Guard -- the top seeds from the dormant Atlantic and Pacific Conferences -- were free to schedule their own title game, which they'll play next Saturday in North Carolina and call the Indoor Football Championship Bowl.
They're free to search for a new home without fear of retribution from the league offices -- the Cavs will reportedly join the American Indoor Football Association.
"They've made my life a living hell getting (to the end of the season)," King said. "It never fails. I don't know what it is.
"I'm the type of guy where if somebody doesn't want me, I just want to leave and let them go. It seems like when I don't want them, they do everything in their power to make my life difficult. You've just got to do what you've got to do. I feel like after (today), and after Argeri and I play, I'm just going to be so elated that No. 1, we finished the season, and No. 2, I still have a franchise intact. I'm very fortunate."
It's about the first stroke of luck for either team this season.
The Guard and Cavs have piled up wins and boast gaudy records, but a cancellation-plagued season and the uncertainty caused by the NIFL's excessive expansion put a strain on nearly everybody.
King and Layton organized a sort of revolt earlier this season, banding together the teams with independent ownership and cutting out the league to ensure the completion of the schedule.
Now, they're even making sure the postseason gets played. Although it won't be the Indoor Bowl or sanctioned by the NIFL, it's a matchup that's been anticipated all year long.
In some ways, the league actually set up the bowl game, since the Cavs and Guard were reportedly the only two teams to receive eviction notices -- which is largely the reason the San Diego Shockwave were shut out of the discussion.
"We just didn't want to deal with the NIFL," King said. "Every time we had them get involved with anything we were doing, it always got screwed up. It always got to where (Wyoming) and I ended up getting the raw end.
"The smartest thing for us was, there's no doubt we're the best of the East, and to me Casper is the best of the West, so it just made sense to set it up. Even though they lost one game, points-wise they're the best, so let's get it on."
And as far as the NIFL goes, both teams are just glad to be getting out.
Contact sports reporter Austin Ward at (307) 266-0634 or austin.ward@casperstartribune.net
