Post by Banana Cat on Nov 18, 2011 19:06:18 GMT -5
blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2011/11/qa_with_harrisburg_stampede_an.html
Q&A with Harrisburg Stampede and AIF owner John Morris
November 18, 2011
JAMES PHILLIPS, The Patriot-News
The Harrisburg Stampede are coming back in 2012.
John Morris, President and owner of the Stampede recently announced the team will be a part of newly formed American Indoor Football (AIF). Morris has also returned Bernie Nowotarski as Harrisburg’s GM and head coach.
Last season in the SIFL (with merged with the AIFA), Harrisburg suffered through a dismal 2-10 season. The team, which allowed an average of 63.6 points per game, saw dwindling attendance at the Farm Show Arena Complex. The Stampede, who started play in 2007 in the AIFA, will begin their season in March.
The AIF will feature two divisions: one on the east coast covering the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland (two teams) and North Carolina and the other on west coast covering the states of California, Arizona and Nevada. A championship game, played in June between the eastern and western conference champions, will be hosted by the eastern conference champion.
The AIF website — aifprofootball.com — is now online, and team announcements can also be followed on the Stampede website (www.harrisburgstampede.com).
Following the AIF press conference at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville (N.C.) Thursday, Morris, via a phone interview, discussed the Stampede’s upcoming 2012 campaign and the new league.
Q: What prompted the formation of the AIF?
A: We’ve had great success over the past five years with the AIFA and we decided to go ahead and form our own league which is the American Indoor Football. We just dropped off the association [off the AIFA]. As you know, I own that league also, but we’re going to go in a different direction and bring back the AIF. We’re going to have five teams on the east coast and five teams on the west coast. We’re going to have six teams make the playoffs [three from each division], those teams will play each other and then we’ll have a national championship game in the end [west coast will play at the east coast]. There was a lot of enthusiasm at the press conference, and the city [Fayetteville] is excited about its team and the league. The one thing that I have in my league is talent.
Q: Talk about the Stampede. I see that you brought Nowotarski back for another season.
A: Bernie is already actively getting in touch with some [former] players and looking for some solid players for our team. I’m also talking to some players like William Hines, Archie Smith, Eugene Goodman, James Thaxton and Keith Stokes about returning to the team. Our goal is to hopefully go back to that season [2009] when we had our 12-4 season. We will strive to get back to the playoffs and bring a championship to Harrisburg. That’s my goal.
Q: Fred Clark was co-owner of the Stampede the past couple of years. Is he going to be in that same capacity this season?
A: The bottom line is Fred Clark went on this journey with me to help keep a professional football team in this town for the community. Really, that’s why he did it and I’m very grateful that he came on as a partner for a couple of years with us. Fred is just an awesome person. He helped with the foundation, and hopefully, we can build on something and have football in Harrisburg for a very long time. He is a guy who does a lot of things in the background for the community and he doesn’t get enough credit for the job he did. The good ones, the humble ones don’t look for the attention or notoriety.
Q: Talk about the attendance, or lack thereof the past years.
A: We have some diehard fans in Harrisburg. We haven’t been able to get, for some reason, the fans that we really need to come out and support us that we see in different cities. I also believe that a lot of it has to do with the economy. It’s been really tough. So what we’re going to do is restructure our ticket prices this year and we’re going to try and make if affordable for everybody. It also helps to win games. It’s going to be our job to put a winning product on the field so they can come out and have something to scream and yell about and get excited about. In any professional league sport, you have to have to support of the fans and businesses to make your product grow and produce.
Q Talk about the AIF All-Star Classic in Cancun, Mexico.
A: Cancun has a beautiful arena and we’re going to fly all of the all-stars out there in July and have a four-night, five-day stay. It’s going to be similar to a Super Bowl week, only it’s an all-star game where the players can showcase their talents. They’re going to be out there enjoying themselves and their going to have a lot of activities for them to have a blast. We want to promote our league to fans who normally wouldn’t have an opportunity to see us.
November 18, 2011
JAMES PHILLIPS, The Patriot-News
The Harrisburg Stampede are coming back in 2012.
John Morris, President and owner of the Stampede recently announced the team will be a part of newly formed American Indoor Football (AIF). Morris has also returned Bernie Nowotarski as Harrisburg’s GM and head coach.
Last season in the SIFL (with merged with the AIFA), Harrisburg suffered through a dismal 2-10 season. The team, which allowed an average of 63.6 points per game, saw dwindling attendance at the Farm Show Arena Complex. The Stampede, who started play in 2007 in the AIFA, will begin their season in March.
The AIF will feature two divisions: one on the east coast covering the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland (two teams) and North Carolina and the other on west coast covering the states of California, Arizona and Nevada. A championship game, played in June between the eastern and western conference champions, will be hosted by the eastern conference champion.
The AIF website — aifprofootball.com — is now online, and team announcements can also be followed on the Stampede website (www.harrisburgstampede.com).
Following the AIF press conference at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville (N.C.) Thursday, Morris, via a phone interview, discussed the Stampede’s upcoming 2012 campaign and the new league.
Q: What prompted the formation of the AIF?
A: We’ve had great success over the past five years with the AIFA and we decided to go ahead and form our own league which is the American Indoor Football. We just dropped off the association [off the AIFA]. As you know, I own that league also, but we’re going to go in a different direction and bring back the AIF. We’re going to have five teams on the east coast and five teams on the west coast. We’re going to have six teams make the playoffs [three from each division], those teams will play each other and then we’ll have a national championship game in the end [west coast will play at the east coast]. There was a lot of enthusiasm at the press conference, and the city [Fayetteville] is excited about its team and the league. The one thing that I have in my league is talent.
Q: Talk about the Stampede. I see that you brought Nowotarski back for another season.
A: Bernie is already actively getting in touch with some [former] players and looking for some solid players for our team. I’m also talking to some players like William Hines, Archie Smith, Eugene Goodman, James Thaxton and Keith Stokes about returning to the team. Our goal is to hopefully go back to that season [2009] when we had our 12-4 season. We will strive to get back to the playoffs and bring a championship to Harrisburg. That’s my goal.
Q: Fred Clark was co-owner of the Stampede the past couple of years. Is he going to be in that same capacity this season?
A: The bottom line is Fred Clark went on this journey with me to help keep a professional football team in this town for the community. Really, that’s why he did it and I’m very grateful that he came on as a partner for a couple of years with us. Fred is just an awesome person. He helped with the foundation, and hopefully, we can build on something and have football in Harrisburg for a very long time. He is a guy who does a lot of things in the background for the community and he doesn’t get enough credit for the job he did. The good ones, the humble ones don’t look for the attention or notoriety.
Q: Talk about the attendance, or lack thereof the past years.
A: We have some diehard fans in Harrisburg. We haven’t been able to get, for some reason, the fans that we really need to come out and support us that we see in different cities. I also believe that a lot of it has to do with the economy. It’s been really tough. So what we’re going to do is restructure our ticket prices this year and we’re going to try and make if affordable for everybody. It also helps to win games. It’s going to be our job to put a winning product on the field so they can come out and have something to scream and yell about and get excited about. In any professional league sport, you have to have to support of the fans and businesses to make your product grow and produce.
Q Talk about the AIF All-Star Classic in Cancun, Mexico.
A: Cancun has a beautiful arena and we’re going to fly all of the all-stars out there in July and have a four-night, five-day stay. It’s going to be similar to a Super Bowl week, only it’s an all-star game where the players can showcase their talents. They’re going to be out there enjoying themselves and their going to have a lot of activities for them to have a blast. We want to promote our league to fans who normally wouldn’t have an opportunity to see us.