The "Omaha Mammoths" - FXFL

[Turtle9160]

If they are going with 4 teams, then the Mammoths are not returning in 2015. The Brawlers (formerly of Boston) schedule lists 4 teams: Brooklyn, Florida, Hudson Valley (NY), and Mahoning Valley.

http://www.milb.com/documents/0/3/6/136 ... 6j4etw.pdf

Shocking that they moved to have two of the teams in New York, one has to wonder if they may have blown any chance at coming back should the league continue on in the next few years since they haven't announced the Mammoths wont be returning

[nebugeater]

If they are going with 4 teams, then the Mammoths are not returning in 2015. The Brawlers (formerly of Boston) schedule lists 4 teams: Brooklyn, Florida, Hudson Valley (NY), and Mahoning Valley.

http://www.milb.com/documents/0/3/6/136 ... 6j4etw.pdf

Shocking that they moved to have two of the teams in New York, one has to wonder if they may have blown any chance at coming back should the league continue on in the next few years since they haven't announced the Mammoths wont be returning

I have read on some comments of some of the articales that I have found that there is some speculation of a second 4 team division that would not play this year but next year. There was enough meat to it or good speculation that they thought that that detail may be announced at the start of or during the saeson. If there is anything to that that could be where Omaha fits in and why there has been no announcement. IF I had to find those comments again I probably couldn't but I say the same type of thing more than one place.... and it means nothing but speculation I know.

[Linkin5]

Did anybody go to these games? I couldn't believe how much they were charging for football nobody cares about.

[nebugeater]

Did anybody go to these games? I couldn't believe how much they were charging for football nobody cares about.

Start time sucked to if I remember correct.

[Turtle9160]

Did anybody go to these games? I couldn't believe how much they were charging for football nobody cares about.

I went to all three games, had really good seats too lol. Start times weren't to bad, having games on a Wednesday evening

[Greg S]

Did anybody go to these games? I couldn't believe how much they were charging for football nobody cares about.

That's the problem with minor league football. With rent, insurance and such, the prices they have to charge really hurt their business model. The Nighthawks were a financial train wreck and gave the bogus impression that minor league football could work here.

Greg

[Coyote]

Omaha Mammoths not returning for second season

[PobodysNerfect]

Surprise!

But seriously this kind of makes me upset, I wanted this to work, I want people to come to these games, they were fun, I know why Omahans have trouble investing in something they know may fail, but it's that thinking that helps them fail. Oh well, football can hold off for a while.

[iamjacobm]

Tired of half baked leagues. Unless an NFL attached league wants in I say pass.

[Greg S]

The NFL has half heartedly mentioned doing this again, but I just don't see it. With the concussion issues and such, it's just too cost prohibitive to do minor league football.

Greg

[bigredmed]

Surprise!

But seriously this kind of makes me upset, I wanted this to work, I want people to come to these games, they were fun, I know why Omahans have trouble investing in something they know may fail, but it's that thinking that helps them fail. Oh well, football can hold off for a while.

Part of why minor league anything struggles in Omaha is that most of the time, its bush-league or a good team that is in a |expletive| league. I am not going to buy tickets for off-brand stuff. I am a STH for the Mavs. When they hired Coach Blais, I listed my desires for the team on MavPuck. I want a team that is in the hunt, that can skate with anyone, and can produce some Academic All-Americans. In other words, if they want me to work hard and give some of my pay to them for the privilege of being a fan, then they had to bring something to the table. So far, so good with them.

We see the Storm Chasers doing well and in baseball, AAA teams really do have pretty solid baseball, and they represent a good value for the fans. Did any of the other minor league pro teams (or even the NBA) EVER bring that kind of value or performance to the city? Lots of weak teams or dysfunctional leagues that were always a week from folding.

In the summer and fall, there is simply too many other things to do. As we have seen over the past few years, in the winter, there are a lot of non-sports events that crowd the schedule. In our freistadt, there is just too much quality competition for a sports team that can't deliver quality and consistency.

Sorry for the people who worked for them. Sorry for the fans. Not sorry for the people who ran this.

[nebugeater]

Maybe it is a good thing that Omaha is not part of this round or FXFL attempts

http://wkbn.com/2015/09/27/tryouts-canc ... he-valley/

NILES, Ohio (WKBN) — A new pro football team is scheduled to play its first game this Saturday — the Mahoning Valley Brawlers. But will the team ever hit the field? That’s a question we’re investigating after the league cancelled a tryout in Niles with little notice.

The players say they were just looking for a chance.

“I was just ready to showcase my talents, show them what I got,” said Brandon Gamble, Buffalo, N.Y.

But he never did. Some of these football players traveled hundreds of miles — and spent hundreds of dollars — to try to make it into the Fall Experimental Football League. But when the players showed up this morning — nothing. No tryouts, and no information from the league.

“People spent a lot of money to come here. And the money I spent on a flight, hotel, rental car, I can’t get that back. I know they won’t reimburse me for that,” said Damian Ford, Birmingham, Ala.

“I’m, number one, disappointed. And number two, this could have been handled a little better,” said Joshua Huffman, Twinsburg, Ohio.

After waiting for hours, the players finally got word that the league had cancelled the tryouts.

“It is an inconvenience. Because we have lives. I do have a son. But this is my dream. This what I want to do. So I see the opportunity, I’m going to go for it, even if it was a 12-and-a-half-hour trip,” said Fred Barnes, of Atlanta, Ga.

We asked FXFL commissioner Brian Woods — why were the tryouts cancelled? And what is the status of the Mahoning Valley Brawlers?

“This question will be addressed tomorrow via a joint press release between Mahoning Valley Scrappers and FXFL,” said Woods.

“I’m very frustrated. I’m disappointed, one, that we didn’t get to do the tryout today. But even more, being local and this being such a positive thing that i was looking forward to in the area, I’m more disappointed in that,” said Ben Moody, who played at Lakeview High School.

The players paid $85 to register for the tryouts. The commissioner says they will get a refund. But will the Brawlers ever hit the gridiron at Eastwood Field? The valley will know more tomorrow.

[Greg S]

There are only 3 teams now listed on the website. The Brawlers are no longer on there.

Minor league football just doesn't work. Just look at the carnage in Omaha. Different leagues have been trying for decades.

Greg

[Coyote]

But the question is why hasn't/won't a minor league work? Vincent McMahon put tons of money in his, you have to believe there is talent out there (except for QBs) , so why can't even 4 teams survive?

[Greg S]

But the question is why hasn't/won't a minor league work? Vincent McMahon put tons of money in his, you have to believe there is talent out there (except for QBs) , so why can't even 4 teams survive?

So many have tried. Since the AFL NFL merger you've had a bunch of attempts, the WFL, the NFL backed World League, the UFL, the AAFL (which never got off the ground, the XFL, and now the FXFL.

As popular as football is, D1 college and the NFL seem to be the only ones needed.

Football is so expensive, not just roster size but insurance and stuff, not to mention now the concussions. Honestly, how many people will watch the FXFl (if it plays this year) without an Omaha team in the mix? I suspect the same for other cities that don't have a team. Also, it's not like the NFL really needs a developmental league. The top draft picks coming out of college won't go through a developmental league like they do in baseball and hockey.

Greg

[Greg S]

But the question is why hasn't/won't a minor league work? Vincent McMahon put tons of money in his, you have to believe there is talent out there (except for QBs) , so why can't even 4 teams survive?

So many have tried. Since the AFL NFL merger you've had a bunch of attempts, the WFL, the NFL backed World League, the USFL, the UFL, the AAFL (which never got off the ground, the XFL, and now the FXFL.

As popular as football is, D1 college and the NFL seem to be the only ones needed.

Football is so expensive, not just roster size but insurance and stuff, not to mention now the concussions. Honestly, how many people will watch the FXFl (if it plays this year) without an Omaha team in the mix? I suspect the same for other cities that don't have a team. Also, it's not like the NFL really needs a developmental league. The top draft picks coming out of college won't go through a developmental league like they do in baseball and hockey.

Greg

[Original]

It's also travel. If you're traveling with 40 guys, that gets expensive pretty fast. A true minor league could probably work if the NFL teams agreed to subsidize it, and they put it in a single major metro area. Like, the NFL has a 4 team minor league in Dallas, and did a lot of community marketing, played on high school fields, etc. You could build a single gym/practice facility, and the teams could rotate around in it. The problems are that you start to get into affiliation issues (what major teams are affiliated with what minor teams, and what does a major team do when it wants to send down a CB, but there are no teams that play man press with open slots for a CB?) and the fact that football is much, much more a team game than baseball or basketball, and most players need a couple weeks in the system to really make an impact, whereas a baseball player can get traded from one team to another with minimal adjustment, and a skilled basketball player won't need much more time.

The other issue is that there already is a sort of minor league, it's called the practice squad. And if you have minor leagues, the practice squad guys are in a weird limbo, because they are not getting game reps like they would in a minor league, yet they are the guys just good enough to almost be NFL players who would the least from game reps, because of the work they are putting in with the full team. There are actually many minor football leagues (Omaha has a minor league team, the Beef, remember them?) and those guys almost never make it to the NFL.

For the NFL, the real solution isn't a minor league, it's doubling the practice squad. That could cost each team about... $1.5 million, and that's probably the best solution if the powers-that-be really feel there is a talent gap.

As for the Mammoths/Nighthawks/FXFL, I bet no one would ever really care enough about them, compared to the Huskers, for them to be a financially successful enterprise.