Post by Bouncer_Texxx on Nov 15, 2012 12:12:21 GMT -5
www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012311130011
Good news for the rest of the IFL – Storm quarterback Chris Dixon has accepted an offer to play for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League, ending a wildly successful two-year stint in Sioux Falls.
In two years in a Storm uniform, Dixon won two MVP awards and led the team to two Indoor Football League titles, going 33-1 (including playoffs) in that span.
Prior to joining the Storm, Dixon had won consecutive IFL championships with the Billings Outlaws, and when that team folded, Storm coach Kurtiss Riggs jumped on the opportunity to add the dual-threat signal caller. It was almost assumed that Dixon would instantly play at an MVP level and take Sioux Falls back to the top, but as high as expectations were, Dixon managed to exceed them.
“That’s exactly how I wanted it,” said Dixon, 31. “I expected that, and I embraced it because I expect the same things out of myself. I came into the best franchise in the league. They were already a great team with a lot of great players. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to come in and be a part of it. The Storm and the city of Sioux Falls were very, very good to me. I loved it here, but it felt like this was the right situation for me.”
Riggs said Dixon is, “By far, the best player in indoor football history,” and said the pressure he faced to perform upon arrival makes his success all the more impressive.
“There are very few people who can say they delivered on expectations that were as high as what he faced when we brought him in,” Riggs said. “There were so many people outside the Storm that wanted to see him fail and would do anything to take him down, and he just went out and answered them every week.”
In his first year in Sioux Falls, Dixon threw for 2,856 yards and 74 touchdown passes to win league MVP, then followed that up this past season by completing 74 percent of his passes for 3,321 yards and 67 touchdowns while also leading the league in rushing with 711 yards and another 30 touchdowns to repeat as MVP.
Having won a total of five rings and four MVP awards in the indoor game, Dixon is finally taking his game to a higher level. The AFL, though not as formidable an entity as it was when its games were televised on NBC roughly a decade ago, is the highest level of indoor football, with teams in major markets and a TV contract with NFL Network. Dixon had chances to go to the AFL – which suspended its entire 2009 season – in the past but had been reluctant to take the plunge. But now he says the time is right.
“I just didn’t want to have any what-ifs about my career,” Dixon said, adding that both the improved stability of the league and the apparent desire of the IFL to weaken the Storm’s dominance were factors in his decision. “I’ve accomplished about all I can at this level, and my career is getting closer to the end, so I figured, ‘Why not play at the next level?’ I’m excited to be a guy at the bottom of the ladder trying to prove myself and help a team get to a championship.”
As for the Storm, they know better than to think they can replace a player who was undoubtedly the best in the entire league, but the strength of the franchise’s reputation has always made them an attractive destination for the best available free agents.
Riggs said there are a couple of players with indoor experience that the team has its eye on, and they’ll also look to give local players a chance, something Riggs and owner Todd Tryon have said they want to make a greater commitment to.
Josh Hanson of Augustana and Taylor Perkins of USF both recently completed their eligibility, and both are slated to graduate in December, so they could both be attractive candidates. Both had excellent senior seasons in the Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
“Obviously, you can’t replace Chris,” Riggs said. “But we’ll bring a few guys in, and whoever ends up being our guy is going to have a lot of talent around him. We’ll be OK.”
In two years in a Storm uniform, Dixon won two MVP awards and led the team to two Indoor Football League titles, going 33-1 (including playoffs) in that span.
Prior to joining the Storm, Dixon had won consecutive IFL championships with the Billings Outlaws, and when that team folded, Storm coach Kurtiss Riggs jumped on the opportunity to add the dual-threat signal caller. It was almost assumed that Dixon would instantly play at an MVP level and take Sioux Falls back to the top, but as high as expectations were, Dixon managed to exceed them.
“That’s exactly how I wanted it,” said Dixon, 31. “I expected that, and I embraced it because I expect the same things out of myself. I came into the best franchise in the league. They were already a great team with a lot of great players. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to come in and be a part of it. The Storm and the city of Sioux Falls were very, very good to me. I loved it here, but it felt like this was the right situation for me.”
Riggs said Dixon is, “By far, the best player in indoor football history,” and said the pressure he faced to perform upon arrival makes his success all the more impressive.
“There are very few people who can say they delivered on expectations that were as high as what he faced when we brought him in,” Riggs said. “There were so many people outside the Storm that wanted to see him fail and would do anything to take him down, and he just went out and answered them every week.”
In his first year in Sioux Falls, Dixon threw for 2,856 yards and 74 touchdown passes to win league MVP, then followed that up this past season by completing 74 percent of his passes for 3,321 yards and 67 touchdowns while also leading the league in rushing with 711 yards and another 30 touchdowns to repeat as MVP.
Having won a total of five rings and four MVP awards in the indoor game, Dixon is finally taking his game to a higher level. The AFL, though not as formidable an entity as it was when its games were televised on NBC roughly a decade ago, is the highest level of indoor football, with teams in major markets and a TV contract with NFL Network. Dixon had chances to go to the AFL – which suspended its entire 2009 season – in the past but had been reluctant to take the plunge. But now he says the time is right.
“I just didn’t want to have any what-ifs about my career,” Dixon said, adding that both the improved stability of the league and the apparent desire of the IFL to weaken the Storm’s dominance were factors in his decision. “I’ve accomplished about all I can at this level, and my career is getting closer to the end, so I figured, ‘Why not play at the next level?’ I’m excited to be a guy at the bottom of the ladder trying to prove myself and help a team get to a championship.”
As for the Storm, they know better than to think they can replace a player who was undoubtedly the best in the entire league, but the strength of the franchise’s reputation has always made them an attractive destination for the best available free agents.
Riggs said there are a couple of players with indoor experience that the team has its eye on, and they’ll also look to give local players a chance, something Riggs and owner Todd Tryon have said they want to make a greater commitment to.
Josh Hanson of Augustana and Taylor Perkins of USF both recently completed their eligibility, and both are slated to graduate in December, so they could both be attractive candidates. Both had excellent senior seasons in the Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
“Obviously, you can’t replace Chris,” Riggs said. “But we’ll bring a few guys in, and whoever ends up being our guy is going to have a lot of talent around him. We’ll be OK.”