The Stampede are moving
It may be the biggest move for the two year old league this offseason. Ironically, the league, based in Dallas, TX, only had one team from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. According to the MPFL website, the North Texas Stampede are coming on board.
The Stampede is usually a major player in semi pro football. Just two years ago, the Stampede made an improbable run through the TUFL playoffs knocking off the number one and two teams on the road before losing in the Northern Conference Championship to the Fort Worth Avengers.
Last season, it was Stampede owner Patrick Porter scrambling to keep the Tarrant County Hazard and the Weatherford Bulldogs from jumping ship to the MPFL. Porter, along with Avengers owner/coach Darrel Brummett, started their own talk-show similar to Saturday Night Lights which is operated by Dewayne Gordon and Commish Kimey from the MPFL. It seems that now, Porter has changed his mind.
When I visited with Porter last Fall, he was impressed with the use of media by the MPFL including the videos, etc. He did his best to try to help the TUFL to improve in that area.
The Stampede has always been a mainstay in the TUFL. One can only wonder how this will effect the league. The Stampede has always had a friendly/hate rivalry with the Avengers, and those games will not be played this year. Maybe the teams can play during the preseason.
Gordon and Kimey have accumulated some of the best teams in Texas, and some are among the best in the country. Teams like the Landsharks, the Drillers and the Warriors gave the league instant credibility and the emergence of the Wichita Falls Vipers have added more depth to the league. Now, Gordon and Kimey have convinced Porter to move the Stampede over.
The Spring of 2011 just got a little more interesting.
