Fort Wayne Freedom

Fort Wayne's indoor future: fan perspective

Ron Wise explained it simply enough.
"I'm football nut," he said in early June when chatting for a story on the health of indoor football in Fort Wayne.
Wise played at Snider before heading to Anderson College to play for current Saint Francis coach Kevin Donley. He was on Donley's staff at Georgetown College (Ky.). He currently is an assistant coach for Homestead.
But perhaps the truest measure of his passion for the game: he bought season tickets for the Fort Wayne Safari, the city's first sniff at indoor football that ultimately never even played a game.
There are plenty of others in the community who have supported the sport from the beginning.
Dan Wolf, who owns Wolf's Color Graphics, has had season tickets every year. He started with eight and has 12 for the past four years, he said. He often makes road trips, too.
Tom Rodenbeck had as many as 24 season tickets until this season.
Angie Vance and Ernie Gresh also are consistent presences at home games.
With the season wrapped up, now they're back in a familiar place: playing the waiting game.
"I guess you just become numb to it," Wolf said. "You sit back in your recliner and wait for the phone to ring, see who has what kind of news. I'm not really worried about it at all. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. What I hope happens is they get the needed investors or find the correct owners to fund this thing long-term."
Other fans, like Troy Dan, think maybe the next best course of action is to have indoor football disappear for a year or two.
"There needs to be a hunger developed," Dan said. "It's like relationships. The city has been dating a football team now. They're on their third football team in three years. They're tired of dating. Let them get hungry for a relationship again. Let them yearn for something. This community is just tired."

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Fort Wayne's indoor future: Chappuis, Fahlsing

Mark Chappuis comes from a football family.
His dad, Bob, helped Michigan win the Rose Bowl in 1948 and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1947. Mark Chappuis also has a brother who played collegiately, and Mark was a starting linebacker at Butler in the mid-1970s.
So when Mark Chappuis says he doesn't want to get rich off indoor football, that he really wants to see it succeed because he thinks it fits in the community, one would be hard-pressed not to believe him.
Maybe that's what makes him a perfect partner for Bill Fahlsing, who is such a staple in the sports community, he's been attending Komets games since the late 1950s.
When we spoke in early June for our package on whether indoor football can work in Fort Wayne, Chappuis and Fahlsing said they had no doubts the franchise could return to drawing 6,000-plus fans per game.
"Because, at least on paper, it worked very well about three years ago with big crowds," Chappuis said. "We just think with the proper management, it should work well, and the proper promotional effort."
Perhaps the biggest hurdle in the Freedom's return in 2009 -- though Chappuis doesn't doubt it will be back -- is finding investors who are willing to spend and help absorb the team's debt.
Just how deep the team is in the hole hasn't been confirmed, largely because new debt is surfacing weekly, Chappuis said.
But whatever the number, it's enough to scare off some potential investors.
Ron Wise is part of group of about 12 local businessmen who are interested in owning an indoor franchise in the city. Wise said the group "offered to take (the Freedom) over, but we're not going to pay their debt and their expenses."
Chappuis and co-owner Bill Fahlsing said they haven't received any "formal" offers to buy the team.
But they do need financial help.
"We need help for what I call the emotional football Fort Wayne native, people who have the wherewithal to support something that returns a value to them, either personally or to their business or their family or the community," Fahlsing said. "There's many people like that. ... Any time you go the general public and say 'We need your support and that's all we need,' it's somewhat unfounded support and it's not long-lasting. What we need to say is 'We will do what we can to increase the value.' If we average 2,600, we think we should 4,200 to 4,800 next year and maybe more, especially based on if the offseason is favorable and our product is good to begin the season. It'll snowball."

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Fort Wayne's indoor football future: Jeff Spitaleri

The Continental Indoor Football League technically is in its second season, but the league founded by brothers Jeff and Eric Spitaleri worked under a different name in Year 1. In three years as a league co-founder, Jeff Spitaleri has reviewed countless proposals for ownership groups, and he admitted the league has made mistakes in adding some franchises.
Here's more from Jeff Spitaleri, who spoke to me for the package on what it will take for indoor football to succeed.

What do you think are the keys to having a successful franchise?
The first key to being successful is not coming in expecting to make money right away because you're not going to do it. That's one of the things when we talk to people (who want a team). If those are the first words out of their mouth ... that's a red flag for us. The first thing really is just to understand it's a process to get to making money. After that, you understand that there is work that has to be done. People aren't just going to come to your game because you're in town. A competitive team does help, but all the other stuff is very important.
When you look at a certain ownership structure, is there one that works?
Every market is different. We made the mistake on this a few times over, but local ownership is very, very important. Obviously, we've seen the difference between a local owner and one that's not local and how that goes down. I've seen it. More and more, it comes back to who is from there understands the market and understands what needs to be done and the mentality of the people they're going to be dealing with.
What's the process when someone wants to join the league?
If they're brand-new, if they're somebody we've never met before, the first thing we want to know is background on them. Who are you? What makes you decide to get a team? Some of the people I've talked to have no business calling but just think they can call up and get a team, and that's not the case. The process really is just they call us, we get some background on them, like a phone interview. Then we've got some paperwork we send to them to fill out in regards to their market, their background, their finances. I know there are some other leagues that have like a $5,000 application fee. We don't have anything like that. Whether I have a check for $5,000 in my hand or not, I can look at it and decide, 'This person is capable of handling this team or they're not.' We base it off of that. If we turn them down, which we've done plenty of times, we tell them they're not qualified at this time. If we accept them, we tell them here's what's due.
So tell me about the situation here. Todd Ellis comes in and shows you financial statements, obviously, and you felt he was good to go. Then you kind of backtracked on that a bit, kicking him out and then re-instating him. How do you avoid that from happening again?
There were some things we may have to get into that are a little bit deeper than just reviewing paperwork. We might have to go the route of the full-blown checks, verification checks, financial checks. Anybody can put their finance report in front of you, and here's how much they're worth. But there's got to be better ways of confirming they're true.
And you're looking into those?
We've made some mistakes. I admit that. We're not perfect by any means. We learn new things every single day. ... A lot of people probably look at it and say 'it's not hard to do a background check.' I could give you a bank reference and give you a number and tell them you're calling, and all they've got to do is answer the phone such-and-such bank, active, valid and done. We'll get it. We'll figure it out. But for the time being, I know it's hard to trust people you don't know, but sometimes we have to stick to just that and taking people at their word and hoping the information they've given to us is accurate and correct. Obviously, there's cases when it doesn't happen.
Do you anticipate having a franchise in Fort Wayne next season?
I would hope so, yeah. I really feel that given the opportunity, it can be the type of market it was before, and the fans would enjoy the game.
What's Fort Wayne's status with the league right now?
It's a three-year agreement with the league. What we'd do if there were going to be new owners that would come on board, we'd want to talk to them and then go from there. Then we'd say 'yes' or 'no.' After that, we'll renew. We want to stay away from year-to-year because we want them to build something. ... We're not looking to have a new team come in and pay a new expansion fee. We want the stability factor. ... We're hoping if a new group does come in, they're not looking to play in another league. This is a pretty good fit. I hope they sit down and look and see that.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Fort Wayne's indoor football future: Matt Land

Matt Land has coached 20-plus games in indoor football, and he lives in the community. Both qualify him to assess just what needs to be done to revive the sport and help it thrive.
In continuing our blog coverage to supplement Sunday's stories on the health of indoor football in Fort Wayne, Land and I chatted recently. Here's some of what he had to say:

Some people have said, 'This needs to go away for a year or two and then start fresh.' Do you think that's the case or is the franchise on the right track with Bill Fahlsing and Mark Chappuis in the mix?
I would plan on having a team next year. The thing is, who would have thought we'd have a team going through an entire season this year? Bill and Mark, against all odds, got the team through this year. In my opinion, Fort Wayne owns them some help and a little bit of gratitude because that's why they're doing it. They aren't doing it to become George Steinbrenner. They're doing it because they know Fort Wayne loves football, and they know it's a football town and they wanted to help provide a service for this community they've lived in their whole life.
Is it possible to get back to the so-called glory days when there were 7,000-plus fans at games?
Absolutely. It can happen. Look at the last home game. They were well-entertained, and that's all they want. It can work. But then you bring these people in from out of town, and they don't (live in town) because they all want their money.
Do you think it's crazy for people to come in thinking they can make money on this?
I think guys who have their whole livelihood wrapped up in this can't do it. You can't do it if it's your single source of income, which means if you have 20, 25 guys who are local business owners and throw in a little bit of money into making the pot big enough, that's a business model that will work.
In using that kind of ownership structure where guys are plopping down $25,000 or so, aren't you worried there would be some issues, a power struggle, so to speak?
I'm sure there will be butting of heads. But I think that (structure) is the way it will work. There's got to be a chief that's elected, a board of directors and make it a legitimate business. You have to do that. You have to run it as a business.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Fort Wayne's indoor football future: Randy Brown

Randy Brown will hit Year No. 18 this August at Memorial Coliseum, meaning he's been around long enough to have dealt with ownership for all the incarnations of indoor football in the city.
Brown and I chatted a few weeks ago for the stories that were published in Sunday's Journal Gazette. (Sorry for the delay. I've been out of town attending a family issue.) Here's some of what didn't make it in the paper, and be sure to check back on the blog daily through the week for other perspectives from the city's key players.

How do you think we've gotten to this point where we've had three franchises in three seasons?
I have to put the blame at the feet of the various leagues. They're just not doing a good job of pre-qualifying the respective groups.
How are you involved in the process?
Unfortunately, by the time it gets to us, our hands are pretty well tied because a league has made a commitment to an ownership group and there aren't too many options for the Coliseum at that point. We could say, 'no.' What we try to do is protect our interests and we do that through letters of credit and the lease and the term of the lease and all those things.
Two years ago, it seemed that you had an option of choosing. There was Bill Bean's proposal that would have kept the city in United Indoor Football and then the proposal from Jeremy Golden to play in arenafootball2. You chose af2. If Bean was the choice instead, we may not be where we are right now.
Hindsight is great, isn't it? But the other thing is the UIF had stability concerns. So it was a matter of we were looking at af2 as being a stable league, and af2 had endorsed an ownership group that they said they had extensive experience with. We made the best decision at the time with the information that was available to us. It turns out that all of the details that had been given to us weren't exactly as presented. It's one of those if you could do a do-over, but ... (leaves thought hanging)
You meet with the ownership groups?
We meet them. But at that point, most cases the decision has been made, and it's not the Coliseum decision. It's the league's decision. With the exception of the time when both the af2 and the UIF group here as pick an ownership group. More often than not, you don't have that luxury. It's 'here it is, take it or leave it.' It's a tough situation for a building to say to its market, to its citizens, we don't want this entertainment option. That's not what we do. We certainly want to make sure the facility and the market is protected as much as possible. That's why, by and large, we've been fairly demanding to the ownership groups, making sure the season ticket holders and the sponsors have been protected. I think that, by and large, the groups have stood by those previous commitments that have been made. It hasn't always been by their choice.
Were you ever concerned this season that the team wouldn't make it?
We've had concerns. It's not just indoor football where this has come up, if you think about the past. We've had the same issues, not necessarily our team, but the opposing team coming to town, wondering will they be here and what the ramifications of that are. Sports, it's an interesting business, and more often than not, people don't realize to the extent sports franchises operate on a shoestring, almost a 'by gosh' and 'by golly.' You hope it's going to hold together. Certainly this season was one of those seasons we had concerns.
Is there a point when the Coliseum just says 'no,' and you stop the cycle?
We certainly hope the next group has the money to be successful. We want a group that can come in, be successful, that can make a commitment, two to three years minimum, and then put together a winning team. The potential is there.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

The CIFL is just silly

I know I'm just dropping by with interim coverage of the Continental Indoor Football League, but this entity is just, well, indescribable.

The Fort Wayne Freedom's problems this season have been well documented: Bad ownership ... change in ownership ... quarterback quitting hours before game ... change in coach ... unpaid players ... no practices ... an incomprehensible playoff format.

The Freedom's season came to an end over the weekend -- though the CIFL still hasn't announced who made the postseason -- and at least we don't have to deal with the following stuff anymore.

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the defending champion and undefeated Rochester Raiders (12-0) have quit the league just before the playoffs begin. Why? On Sunday, hours before a scheduled game, the Flint Phantoms didn't show up and the Raiders weren't compensated the way they had been told they would be in such an event by the league.

Now, Rochester will join the American Indoor Football Association -- this season!! -- and play the winner of that league's playoffs in some sort of wacky Super Bowl.

The amazing thing is, according to the newspaper, this is the second pro sports team from Rochester to quit on the verge of the playoffs in two years.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Freedom lose heartbreaker, miss playoffs

The Fort Wayne Freedom lost 39-32 to the regular season-champion Kalamazoo Xplosion on Saturday night and head coach Matt Land was taking the blame.

Why? The Freedom had a chance to tie it with first-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the waning seconds. He called a Rocky Harvey run, a quarterback sneak, a pitch to Harvey and a pass. All failed. Land was peeved at his own playcalling in that situation.

So the Freedom finished at 5-7. The Xplosion went 11-1.

And you heard it here first: The Freedom missed the playoffs, even though it's tied with Muskegon record-wise. This gets down to the third tiebreaker, which is victory strength. Fort Wayne has a percentage of .407. Muskegon's percentage will be affected by a game elsewhere, but the worst the Thunder could do would be .417.

Even though fans in several cities are awaiting playoff information, the Continental Indoor Football League is either unwilling or incapable of announcing it at this time.

Regardless, it seems the Freedom played with a lot of heart in this game, against the league's best team. Now we must determine what the future will hold -- this was the sixth season of Fort Wayne indoor football, with four different leagues and three different ownership groups.

That doesn't look good for anyone.

Speaking of which: Click here to read a good column out of the Kalamazoo Gazette, critiquing the CIFL's problems to date. Of particular note to local readers will be the writer's chastising of the league for allowing former Freedom owner Todd Ellis into the league.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Bragging rights, redemption on the line

When Fort Wayne Freedom coach Matt Land got to his office this week -- the one at his paying day job as head football coach at Tri-State University -- he found it redecorated.

And not exactly to his liking.

There were some signs with words like, "You're going down," and other words that aren't really fit for print. Land promptly destroyed the verbiage and began plotting his revenge in the form of Xs and Os.

He knew exactly where the graffiti came from -- two of his Thunder assistant coaches, Dan Musielewicz and David Gater, who happen to double as players with the Continental Indoor Football League's Kalamazoo Xplosion.

The Freedom (5-6) take on the Xplosion (10-1) on Saturday night at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Musielewicz is a wide receiver. Gater, who hails from Kendallville, is a defensive back.

It's possible the teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs, too, though the Freedom is far from having a postseason berth secured.

The best hope for the Freedom would be to win its game Saturday and get a loss from Muskegon tonight against Saginaw.

Anything else and there will likely be a tie between Fort Wayne and either Muskegon or Rock River, the teams vying for two playoff spots, and it'll come down to victory strength or strength of schedule. Those numbers will drastically change over the weekend and the CIFL sadly can't promise the playoff teams will even be available for public consumption after the games Saturday.

Click here to see the playoff scenarios, diluted as they are.

Meanwhile, the Freedom were actually able to practice this week, something it didn't do before last week's victory over the Chesapeake Tide. The theme was the team's chance for redemption, in a tumultuous season that has seen changes in ownership and coaches, players not getting paid, and plenty of roster changes.

Remember the 2005 Freedom team, which won the United Indoor Football regular-season championship then lost in the first round? Several players from that team, and Land, are back with this year's Freedom and hoping they can make up for that disappointment.

Meanwhile, quarterback Eric Hooks is already feeling redeemed, after he was benched five games into the season. He has been at the helm during the Freedom's recent 2-1 surge, which coincided with Land's return to the team.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Another storm could be on the horizon

A source close to the situation has confirmed that former coach Willie Davis -- you know, the one who was fired the day of a game last month by the Freedom -- will likely soon file a lawsuit at the team alleging $4,800 in owed salary, plus other monies including rent.

Filing of the suit could come within the next two weeks.

In more pressing matters regarding the Freedom's finances, it turns out you can thank the folks over at Memorial Coliseum for the last home victory, May 17, against Muskegon. In order to make payroll, the Coliseum drew from the Freedom's $50,000 letter of credit. Brown said the funds must be "replenished" by the team, but that certainly seems like an ominous sign from a team that's looking to stay afloat.

OK, now onto more fun but equally laborious information. The Freedom (5-6), which is 2-1 since Matt Land took over for Davis, does have a shot at making the playoffs, even if it loses. Click here to read the playoff scenarios. Now, it's likely there will be some sort of complex tiebreaker utilized, like strength of victory or strength of schedule, and those numbers could change drastically come Saturday night.

The Freedom's best hope, though, is for it to win Saturday at Kalamazoo, Mich., and then get a loss out of Muskegon. Kalamazoo is 10-1, by the way, so good luck with that. Muskegon (5-6) is playing at Saginaw (9-2) in its Continental Football League finale.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette