The Bobcat Nation

They were talking about it on Sports Nuts today-the NIFL (National Indoor Football League) has awarded a franchise to Bozeman. The team will play in the Valley Ice Garden. The season is in the spring.

http://niflfootball.com/aNEWS_BIG%20SKY%20Thunder.htm

How long before it goes belly up? Or will it be a success???

Do you think they would try and recruit x-Bobcats to play to improve attendance? I suppose the only ones still in shape would be the players graduating this year. O'Brien could be the coach.

I'm surprised that the VIG is big enough to play indoor football in, especially w/ the low ceiling, seeing as how the fieldhouse was considered to be too small for it. Oh well, here's hoping they do good. I heard season tickets go on sale Dec. 5th.

i hope this thing works out. i am a fan of arena football and i'll definitely see some games. hey quast, why dont you get your butt to bozeman and throw on some pads! seriously though, isn't this a great opportunity for former cats in the area? kane? elliot? i know, how 'bout rosie? god knows he's not gonna be catchin' balls for the cats! but the kid is fast, and despite what we've seen, he CAN catch! $200 a game sounds good to me. let's get out there former cats. plus, you'd have to think that'd bring people to the games.

It's not really workng in Billings. They has a few former Bobcats and It won't last much longer in Billings.

The ice sheet is 85' x 200'. Arena field is 85' x 150' with 8-yd endzones. The place is just big enough in the x-y plane, but I agree, the ceiling is kinda low.

What other cities are in this league? If this is sold properly, I could see it possibly filling in a niche that is missing in Montana. The fact is, aside from the Griz and the Cats, there isn't a lot of quality entertainment in the state (athletics or otherwise).

EDIT: Just read the website and saw the cities...

I guess one mitigating factor on the roof thing is that, unlike real football, the ball is never punted. That's the part of the game that requires the most height. If all you are doing is kick-offs and passing, the ball probably never really does get all that high off the ground.

I'm not a big fan of the major Arena League. It's cool for about 10 minutes, and then it just looks like guys playing ratball in a gym with no defense (and rules in place to make sure there is no defense). I'm not sure how the rules compare in this league, but I hope they make for a better game.

It seems like many Arena league fans are more into the cheerleaders and booze than the game itself ... so there is definitely a niche market that will be into it for those reasons alone (if they have cheerleaders ... otherwise expect just a lot of boozers). I know I am generalizing, but that has just been my experience at Arena games as compared to other sporting events.

But in Bozeman, where it will be the only pro league, maybe it will attract a little more sports savvy crowd than it does in San Jose.

I read this in the Comical today... about the Thunder NIFL team coming to Bozeman.

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ar ... otball.txt

grizzh8r wrote:I'm surprised that the VIG is big enough to play indoor football in, especially w/ the low ceiling

Did anyone see the Chronicle today? I really think Hinkleman reads the board for ideas, takes credit as his own idea and then will knock the message board community as soon as he can. He wrote an article about the ceiling being to low for football at the Ice Garden. What a novel idea, we only discussed it two weeks ago!! I am sorry, I may still be upset from his first article, but I think Hinkleman wasn't the guy to add to the Chronicle. Eveyone else seems to do such a great job there and has improved the class of the paper. This guy doesn't do much for the Chronicle in my mind.