Post by Banana Cat on Jun 30, 2011 15:28:09 GMT -5
www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/06/29/1637889/coach-jason-gibson-sees-bright.html
Coach Jason Gibson sees bright future for Columbus Lions
Jun. 29, 2011
By CHRIS WHITE / ledger-enquirer.com
The end of the Columbus Lions’ season couldn’t have been more painful for Lions coach Jason Gibson.
A pair of late fourth-quarter turnovers allowed the Albany Panthers, the Lions’ fiercest rival, to take a 75-61 victory on Columbus’ home field Saturday in the SIFL semifinals.
The 2011 season was over for Columbus, and gone with it were the Lions’ hopes of repeating as Southern Indoor Football League champions.
Columbus Lions linebacker Justen Rivers puts pressure on Albany quarterback Cecil Lester in the first half Saturday night.
Yet it was, at least in some ways, the best season in team history.
The Lions’ 12-2 finish was the best in the team’s five-season history, and the team drew an average of about 3,000 fans through its final four games while setting a new season attendance record, Gibson said.
“Right now, I think the momentum is great for us,” Gibson said. “It’s greatest with our fan base. Our last four games at home were all great games, we had great turnout, and they were all attendance busters. I’m already getting Facebook messages and calls from people saying they already want to get tickets for next season now.
“It’s a lot different than it has been in the past.”
At least part of the credit for that success is owed to its rivalry with Albany and an in-state feud that began about two years ago when the Lions left the American Indoor Football League for the SIFL in hopes of finding a more regionally-based schedule.
After two seasons, Gibson said his team is in as strong a position financially and competitively than it has been in his previous five seasons as coach and director of football operations.
“(The SIFL) is the best model we can be in right now,” Gibson said. “… I think a lot of leagues get caught up in adding as many teams as they can so they can get more league dues and say they’re the biggest indoor league out there. But nobody really cares what league we play in if we’re playing Albany. They just care that it’s a great rivalry, and that’s the kind of thing we need.”
Smaller league
Finding ways to parlay 2011’s success into the next season will be crucial, Gibson said, but the future of the SIFL’s lineup is likely to remain largely blurry until the league’s meetings at the end of July.
The Lions and South Division rival Alabama have announced they will return to the league for 2012 and Gibson said he expects Albany will return, but few other teams have made the same commitment.
Meanwhile, Gibson and representatives from other teams have expressed an interest in trimming the SIFL’s current roster, which began 2011 with 16 teams, down to a dozen or fewer with a renewed focus on stronger ownership and a location in the Southeast.
When the SIFL incorporated several former AIFA teams from the Northeast before the start of the season and accepted teams from as far west as Texas, the league sacrificed some stability, Gibson said. That showed when the Lafayette Wildcatters shut down shortly before the start of the season because the team could not afford worker’s compensation insurance; when the Mobile Bay Tarpons Force failed to pay players for several weeks, leading to the teams’ demise mid-season; and when many of the Fayetteville players quit early in the season after they were not paid.
“I thought Fayetteville and Mobile had good football teams,” Gibson said. “Mobile started 2-0 and had a phenomenal quarterback. Fayetteville was 3-0 then the team turned into a debacle. So I like our competition and I hope it works its way back to what it was. There was a good level of competition for us, and I think people saw that those teams were for real. We just need to get some good ownership and people who can run them.”
Gibson said he would like to see the league withdraw from the Northeast but would be eager to see the league return the four teams, all from Texas, in the Southwest Division.
“I would like to see a Texas side of the SIFL and a Southeast side, and those teams can just play in the playoffs,” Gibson said.
Other teams from the Southeast could join, too. The SIFL has expressed interest in placing a team in Macon, Ga., Gibson said, and the owner of the Alabama Hammers is reportedly interested in adding an SIFL team in Knoxville, Tenn.
2012 roster
Returning as a strong contender for the 2012 SIFL title will rely on the Lions’ ability to retain or replace some key pieces.
The 2010 championship left Gibson wondering if some of his veteran players, such as defensive back Damian Daniels, receivers Gerald Gales and Anthony Merritt and linebacker Justen Rivers, would return after finally capturing a title. But each came back.
Three days after the Lions’ season-ending loss to Albany, the coach said he has yet to broach the topic with them.
“There are some staples on the team I’d love to have back again,” Gibson said. “(Quarterback) Chris McCoy, Damian Daniels, and a few other guys. But I’ll let them heal up a little bit. Come October and November, when the season gets closer, I’ll know what they’re going to do.
“But I know their mentality. If they can play at that high of a level, they’re not going to want to sit around and watch.”
Jun. 29, 2011
By CHRIS WHITE / ledger-enquirer.com
The end of the Columbus Lions’ season couldn’t have been more painful for Lions coach Jason Gibson.
A pair of late fourth-quarter turnovers allowed the Albany Panthers, the Lions’ fiercest rival, to take a 75-61 victory on Columbus’ home field Saturday in the SIFL semifinals.
The 2011 season was over for Columbus, and gone with it were the Lions’ hopes of repeating as Southern Indoor Football League champions.
Columbus Lions linebacker Justen Rivers puts pressure on Albany quarterback Cecil Lester in the first half Saturday night.
Yet it was, at least in some ways, the best season in team history.
The Lions’ 12-2 finish was the best in the team’s five-season history, and the team drew an average of about 3,000 fans through its final four games while setting a new season attendance record, Gibson said.
“Right now, I think the momentum is great for us,” Gibson said. “It’s greatest with our fan base. Our last four games at home were all great games, we had great turnout, and they were all attendance busters. I’m already getting Facebook messages and calls from people saying they already want to get tickets for next season now.
“It’s a lot different than it has been in the past.”
At least part of the credit for that success is owed to its rivalry with Albany and an in-state feud that began about two years ago when the Lions left the American Indoor Football League for the SIFL in hopes of finding a more regionally-based schedule.
After two seasons, Gibson said his team is in as strong a position financially and competitively than it has been in his previous five seasons as coach and director of football operations.
“(The SIFL) is the best model we can be in right now,” Gibson said. “… I think a lot of leagues get caught up in adding as many teams as they can so they can get more league dues and say they’re the biggest indoor league out there. But nobody really cares what league we play in if we’re playing Albany. They just care that it’s a great rivalry, and that’s the kind of thing we need.”
Smaller league
Finding ways to parlay 2011’s success into the next season will be crucial, Gibson said, but the future of the SIFL’s lineup is likely to remain largely blurry until the league’s meetings at the end of July.
The Lions and South Division rival Alabama have announced they will return to the league for 2012 and Gibson said he expects Albany will return, but few other teams have made the same commitment.
Meanwhile, Gibson and representatives from other teams have expressed an interest in trimming the SIFL’s current roster, which began 2011 with 16 teams, down to a dozen or fewer with a renewed focus on stronger ownership and a location in the Southeast.
When the SIFL incorporated several former AIFA teams from the Northeast before the start of the season and accepted teams from as far west as Texas, the league sacrificed some stability, Gibson said. That showed when the Lafayette Wildcatters shut down shortly before the start of the season because the team could not afford worker’s compensation insurance; when the Mobile Bay Tarpons Force failed to pay players for several weeks, leading to the teams’ demise mid-season; and when many of the Fayetteville players quit early in the season after they were not paid.
“I thought Fayetteville and Mobile had good football teams,” Gibson said. “Mobile started 2-0 and had a phenomenal quarterback. Fayetteville was 3-0 then the team turned into a debacle. So I like our competition and I hope it works its way back to what it was. There was a good level of competition for us, and I think people saw that those teams were for real. We just need to get some good ownership and people who can run them.”
Gibson said he would like to see the league withdraw from the Northeast but would be eager to see the league return the four teams, all from Texas, in the Southwest Division.
“I would like to see a Texas side of the SIFL and a Southeast side, and those teams can just play in the playoffs,” Gibson said.
Other teams from the Southeast could join, too. The SIFL has expressed interest in placing a team in Macon, Ga., Gibson said, and the owner of the Alabama Hammers is reportedly interested in adding an SIFL team in Knoxville, Tenn.
2012 roster
Returning as a strong contender for the 2012 SIFL title will rely on the Lions’ ability to retain or replace some key pieces.
The 2010 championship left Gibson wondering if some of his veteran players, such as defensive back Damian Daniels, receivers Gerald Gales and Anthony Merritt and linebacker Justen Rivers, would return after finally capturing a title. But each came back.
Three days after the Lions’ season-ending loss to Albany, the coach said he has yet to broach the topic with them.
“There are some staples on the team I’d love to have back again,” Gibson said. “(Quarterback) Chris McCoy, Damian Daniels, and a few other guys. But I’ll let them heal up a little bit. Come October and November, when the season gets closer, I’ll know what they’re going to do.
“But I know their mentality. If they can play at that high of a level, they’re not going to want to sit around and watch.”