By now, you know that we have started doing previews for the 2010 Fall football season.  Chase Rader has begun our preview of the University of North Texas.  We still have to cover TCU and SMU as well as that professional football team in Arlington.

Hopefully our previews will serve to help you in your preparation for the upcoming season.  Some of you will play fantasy football, a college football pickem, or simply play the odds of  NCAA football betting.  Whatever your need, we hope to be your source for DFW football in 2010.

By the way, I want to say thank you to Chase Rader.  Chase will be covering UNT for us this Fall.  I will include more info about Chase in the coming weeks, but we are glad to have him on board.  Anyone else who might be interested in writing for Dfwfootball can contact me.  We have need for someone to cover TCU, SMU and the Cowboys.  All that is required is one article per week.  The pay is not good, but you have a lot of fun and get a chance to test your writing skills.

Finally, I want to make another push for the CFTT Pickem contest.  You will be able to sign up in August, but I am trying to remind my readers as often as I can.  This will be our third pickem, and we will have prizes for some of the top finishers in the contest.  Now, I am just wondering how many of you are good at picking a college football game!

My Two Cents

First, I want to make a disclaimer.  I love semi-pro football–the idea.  I love the fact that the guy down the street, my friend, is a firefighter, a salesman, works for a freight company, whatever, and then goes out to put on a show on Saturday night.  That story is compelling, and in an age where guys are being paid extraordinary salaries to play football on Sunday resulting in overpriced tickets in overpriced stadiums, it is very refreshing.  It reminds me of dirt track racing.  These guys do it because the love it, and you will see them around town all week and cheer for them on the weekend.

It humanizes one of the greatest sports–football–again.  I think there is a market for it, but it continues to get dwarfed by other sports.  I am saddened to see so few people in the stands.  People don’t realize that they can watch guys who were playing college, or in some cases, pro football just a few short years ago.  Ask a football fan in the Spring if there is a place to watch football, and they simply won’t know.

I have been to outdoor semi-pro football and I have been to indoor, arena football.  All of them would be classified as semi-pro, that being, not professional.  You might say a team is professional if they are paying their players, but in most cases, if you have to have another job, the pay isn’t enough to warrant being called professional.  Therefore, semi-pro is accurate.  Of course, most outdoor teams don’t pay players anything.

Let me tell you, I can make a pretty good evaluation on the operations of  many different football organizations.  I have worked with the run-of-the-mill outdoor teams and a well respected indoor team, but I have also worked with a Division I College Football program.  I have listened to an owner of an indoor team complain about the lack of coverage of his team compared to the vast coverage of the college team.

I am not sure that semi-pro teams can ever get as much coverage as the popular, local college team, but it can be better.  Simply put, Division I College athletics are on another planet compared to semi-pro when it comes to the operations.  I am not comparing the play on the field because the college teams practice almost every day whereas the semi-pro teams do not.  I am talking about the operations of the programs.

Don't play in an empty stadium

It starts at the league level too.  The leagues are horrible when running its operation.  Some are better than others, but when you compare it to Division I College athletics, it’s not even close.  Do we really think that just because we exist people will find us and come to the games?

What?  You say, “It’s not fair to compare semi-pro football to Division I athletics?”  You have to have a standard, and if you ever want media coverage and fans in the stadium/arena, then you need to watch and learn from the athletic media relations directors like Mark Cohen at TCU.  That is where I learned about how to run a media operation.  I received emails from TCU, and I watched and observed as I covered TCU football games in the Fall of 2008.  If you are going to compare your empty stadiums to TCU, or some other Division I athletic program, then you should compare the operations and media relations.

Right now, in this part of the country, semi-pro and arena football crowds don’t even compare to high school football games.  What exactly are our goals in having a semi-pro football team or league?  Has anyone ever stopped to ask that question?  If you just want to play football, then form an amateur league and play in your city.  You will get just as many fans.  However, if we want, as a goal, to be somewhat professional, albeit semi, then we are going to have to break down and market our product.

What?  You say you are running your team on a shoestring budget and you don’t have money to spend on marketing?  Well, expect the same old same old.  That is the truth!  Truth is a team–or and especially a league–probably shouldn’t be formed without raising some money to run the organization.  That is called capital, and it is what businesses normally do when they start.  There is an exception, and that is when someone is starting their business on the side or freelancing.  However, at some point, money (capital) has to go back in to the organization.

It is going to take spending money to market and handle media relations properly.  Let me say that again.  It is going to take spending money to market and handle media relations properly.  We probably should be hiring somebody to do it for us.

There are two things that are nonnegotiable for doing this.  First is developing a relationship with the media.  The media might come around when you first start or by chance, but if you don’t have some kind of relationship (two way street) with the media, they will forget about you.  They have a lot of news competing for their attention.  You need to do the hard work of contacting media outlets and find out who to talk to you and get email addresses and phone numbers from.  Then, as a team, you should send out press releases often–several times a week.  Tell them when you win; tell them when you lose; tell them who the player of the week is, and tell them when you help a charity.   Make sure you write the press releases properly with good grammar.  There are several tutorials on the internet.  Find all kinds of media from newspapers (big and small), TV stations (big and small), radio stations (big and small), podcasters, websites, bloggers, etc.  Compile a contact list, and send your release to all of them.

The second thing that is nonnegotiable is your online presence.  You should set up a well-done website, and don’t cut corners here based on cost.  A website that is optimized for the search engines is essential as it will be your news hub for fans and the media.  I highly recommend getting a website built on a WordPress platform.  I do not recommend anything else.

We can learn from teams like TCU how to run a football organization.

WordPress is the most search engine optimized platform for websites on the planet.  Your low cost and free solutions are cheap.  They can be hard to use, and you simply don’t have a good content management system in place for publishing news.  Further, these types of sites just don’t give you the best effort in the search engines.  Do a search for dfw football on Google and you will find this site at number three and four.  The sites that mine is behind are older than mine and run by the two local, big newspapers.  My site has been up for 15 months.

This is not a search for anything specific, this is a search for a general term.  WordPress has allowed me to do that.

The second part of the second nonnegotiable is social media.  If for no other reason, social media will improve your search engine rankings.  However, if you can use it effectively, you can put together a group of followers that you can use to help spread the word about your games and events.  It can be used as a public relations tool in this manner.

Social media is simply social networking profiles such as facebook, twitter, and Linkedin.  Other sites include, digg, stumbleupon, Delicious, flickr and Youtube.  A blog is also considered social media as well as an email newsletter.  If you need help putting together a strategy, I highly recommend the book by Dallas’ own Shama Kabani, The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue.

Now, of course, you have to have an overall strategy.  You need to make sure that you have branded your team well.  That is another article.

My Two Cents

Today, I continue what I started on Monday. I hope to address the issues I raised then in today’s article.

Suggestions

1. Overhead–Overhead will always exist. Prioritize what needs be met first and then work down the list. Ask yourself if you should be using a stadium or arena in which you will not fill more than 1/4 it’s capacity. You may be spending unnecessary money. You may have little choices about where you can play.

2. Media Exposure–All teams should have a process for submitting game write ups. There are a number of online outlets that routinely publish scores and write ups of games. Create an email list and send off your scores and write ups. Many of them will publish your write ups without exception. Further, make sure your write ups are “publish ready.” By that I mean, make sure your grammar and spelling is correct. Better yet, if you have access to one, sign up with a press release service and let them send them for you.

Create your own media savvy network. Many teams have already taken advantage of www.blogtalkradio.com. Also, make sure that your website is well designed and that your regularly publishing content to the site. All of those write ups should be posted at your site too.

Use social media. Semi pro football teams have to use some other techniques to build a fan base because the local media will not help. Therefore, as many teams have already done, set up a facebook fan page and a twitter profile. Spend a few hours a week updating and responding to comments.

If you have the skills do your own web TV show. It can be a simple coaches show and you can post it at your website and on your social media channels. The show can be like a video podcast. Find someone to interview the coach and/or key players. You can use a flip video recorder which is rather inexpensive and made for video blogging. Upload it to Youtube and then post on your website, your facebook page and link to it through twitter.

Send your press releases to the local news media. Most likely, they will not use it, but they surely will not if you do not send it. Build a list of emails of local news sources–newspapers, radio, and TV channels. When you get a chance, build a relationship with any of them you can. Send them a jersey or some merchandise. You never know when one of them might take a special interest in your team. If you there are smaller newspapers in the area, make sure you include them. They are always looking for content.

Make connections with bloggers, especially the ones with good traffic. They struggle to find things to write about too, and your team could become a weekly content for them. Email them and ask them how you can get some coverage from them. Offer them a free ticket to the game so that they can blog about you. Bloggers get more traffic on the web than most newspapers do anyway. Do a little research and you can find out who has the most visited blog.

Semi Pro Specific Websites

OurSportsCentral.com

MLFScout.com

MLNTheRawFeed.com

Minor League Football News

Semi Pro Football HQ

3. Personal Agendas–Build a network. I have started one on Linkedin and any of you who are a part of Linkedin are welcome to join. It includes coaches, owners, players and other professionals from across the country. Networks can be crucial in getting more media and fan exposure to your teams and leagues. The truth is if we don’t work together we will be isolated and not really have enough fans to support our business.

4. Marketing–It’s time that teams start looking at themselves as a business, or at least an organization. Teams, and leagues, need to generate revenue to meet the operational expenses and then continue operating. There are a number of ways that you can do this. To know where you are going, you need to sit down and think about where you want to go. Marketing is making a plan to get your product in front of the people that you think will pay for the product.

You can talk to the marketing departments at the various universities near you to find out if students can credit for helping you with a marketing plan. You can hire somebody who knows how to do marketing plans for sports teams. There are really a number of ways you can go about it, but you should go about it in a responsible manner.

I have two pieces advice however. First, make sure you put in place multiple ways to generate revenue. You will never make it on ticket sales alone. Bring sponsors on board, sell merchandise, and ad space on your website. There is really no limit to what you can do. Second, make sure that your marketing includes an online marketing element. That is not an option. It goes back to generating media coverage (see above).

5. Organizational Structure–You need to have a structure. It starts with the owner and moves down to the players. Obviously, the bigger the organization, the more people you have to do tasks. You can get interns or volunteers from the colleges who would love to participate for the experience. They can handle things like media write ups, marketing, ticket sales, etc. Build a relationship with the closest college in their business department. They can even help you map out an organizational structure. You can’t do it alone. Always make sure you compensate people with something for their work. It might be with an ad spot on your website or in your program if they are a photographer. Make sure you, at least, barter with someone for their services. Volunteerism wears thin when someone feels uappreciated.

6. Economy–Wait for it to turn around. That is all any of us can really do. Nevertheless, position yourself for a strong business when it does turn around. Make sure you build some reserve to help the next time things are tight.

As I have said, these are not the only answers or the end-all of helping semi-pro football teams make money. I am sure there are people who have a better handle on making money with semi-pro football than I do. There are teams that are doing well, and if you are interested, you should contact them and find out how they are doing it. You also need to understand that their market is different than yours.

Do you have any ideas? If so, leave comments below. We are all learning from each other!

My Two Cents

I know, I know, I kind of suckered you in with my title. That’s good! I don’t have all the answers, but I have seen some of the stumbling blocks to making money and have a few suggestions. These stumbling blocks are by no means an exhaustive list, and my suggestions are far from perfect. However, I have attempted to take a stab at the problem of money and semi-pro football.

There are several other variables to be considered such as the structure of the league. For instance, does the money run from the top down like in the major leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) or does it run from the bottom upward like most of the minor leagues? Having investors behind a league like in the United Football League can help with the success. Most of the semi-pro football leagues don’t have that luxury.

Further, what it all comes down to is the BIS factor. The what? The Butts-In-Seats factor. One of my favorite columnists, Jennifer Floyd Engel, talks about the need for teams need to focus on putting “butts in seats,” and this is what I am referring to. An empty stadium or arena has multiple ramifications, not just low gate revenue. Sponsors dry up with empty stadiums and arenas. Sometimes it is better to have cheaper tickets for the purpose of filling the stands. More butts-in-seats mean more eyeballs to look at a sponsors’ banner. Empty stands also cause a depressive atmosphere. Players notice; they do.

Here is some of the stumbling blocks that I have noticed.

Stumbling blocks

1. Overhead–The overhead is often too much for semi-pro football. There is the cost of the stadium or arena which often reaches in the thousands of dollars. There is a league fee that also contributes to a team’s expenses. League fees range across the spectrum from a few hundred dollars to the hundreds of thousands of dollars. You might also have to rent a facility to practice. If you add team equipment and scoreboards, yard markers, etc., and, maybe, a payroll, you can find yourself in the red real quick.

2. Media exposure–For most teams, there is no media exposure. If you are the only semi-pro team in a smaller town, you might get some exposure from the local newspaper. You are extremely fortunate if you make the evening TV news. Teams in a larger market like Dallas-Fort Worth have little or no chance making one of the big newspapers or getting any TV coverage.

3. Personal agendas–It’s tough enough to run a semi-pro football team, but personal agendas will kill your efforts faster than an egg frying in the Texas heat. Refusing to cooperate with other team owners and coaches causes isolation and drowns out any kind of communal effort to receive exposure for all the teams. Be a rival on the field, but don’t let it get personal off the field.

4. Lack of marketing–Whatever you do with your team, you will have to market if you plan on having fans. Otherwise, you will play in front of a few dozen of your closest friends and family. Marketing is not easy and it often costs money. Most teams simply do not put much thought in marketing their team. They use “hope” marketing. They throw out a few pieces of information about their team and “hope” people will show up.

5. Organizational Structure–One of the biggest problems with teams is the reality that owners are often either players or coaches. I know you love the game and you can still play, but when you are a coach or a player, you think like a coach or player first. If you are going to be an owner, you need to think like an owner first. For your next game, you need to be thinking about h

Don't play in an empty stadium

ow to get more fans in the stands rather than how you are going to counter the other team’s spread offense.

6. Economy–The economy is tough right now. People don’t have as much discretionary income, and that is w

hat they use to go to semi-pro and arena football games. Keep your games as affordable as often and offer specials to entice p

eople to the games. Utilize local bands to perform halftime shows. Have halftime shows! Create a family and income friendly environment now and people will be willing to come even more when the economy improves. Curb your expectations of revenue during this time and adjust accordingly.

These are stumbling blocks, but the are not fool-proof barriers. I think that teams need to “think outside the box” if they want to make progress. Today’s market is different than 20 or even 10 years ago. There are a lot of options for fans. College baseball and women’s basketball are much bigger today, and that is direct competition to Spring semi-pro football. Golf is much more watched now. Many more sports are being televised now, and it is easier for a fan to just stay home and watch the local college baseball team on TV than go to a semi-pro football game. Teams have to give fans a reason to come watch them play.

Stay tuned for the follow up article on Wednesday.  I will offer some suggestions.

What other stumbling blocks do you know of? Feel free to leave comments below.

My Two Cents

come to the week of Christmas, it is good to know that we will have lasted one full year.  I appreciate everyone who has come to the site and participated through comments or just reading the articles.

Christmas conjures up a myriad of emotions for me.  For the past seven years I have worked in retail, and that has meant the biggest time of the year sales-wise for our company.  Therefore, we have a blocked out time in which employees do not get off any extra time around Christmas.  Thankfully, we do have Christmas off.

Because of that time off restraint, I have not been able to visit my family for Christmas in some time.  Therefore, if you are fortunate to get that opportunity, please be grateful.  Fortunately, my parents are visiting me this week.  I will get to see them for Christmas although I will miss my brother and his family and my aunt and uncle.  I hope that in coming years, that will not be the case.

2009 has not been a kind year for me personally.  Much of my personal life has taken a major change.  I have had to adjust in many different ways.  I am thankful to have been able to attend Christ Chapel in Fort Worth to help with some of the transition.

This website will see some changes next year, many of which I am not completely sure about.  I have a vision–some ideas–of what I would like to see happen.  Thanks to Mele Watts of the Lady Avengers, I have decided to launch a cheerleader/dancer of the month segment.  This should start in either February or March.  It is my hope to feature these ladies even more as they deserve some promotion for the hard work they put in.

I hope to add a team of reporters and photographers.  That is a little bit of a challenge, but I have an idea I think might work.  We will cross our fingers.  I have been pleased with the help of Michael Rettig in the area of photography in the past couple of months.  Michael allows us the opportunity to have some better quality pics for the site.  If you see Michael at a game next year, give him room and welcome him to dfwfootball.net.

We have a new social network through Ning.com.  If you get a chance, go to the network site and sign up.  You can create your own profile or group and post pics, etc.  We are committed to using social networking to build our fan and reader base.  Don’t forget we have a Facebook page and you can follow me at Twitter.  All of our social networking profiles are at the top right under the heading of “Keep in Touch.”  The interest in semi pro will only grow through a “grass roots,” social networking kind of process.  The big newspapers have become convinced there is no market for non-NFL football.

Times can be tough, but just when it is darkest, God breaks in to our lives–Emmanuel, “God with us.”  I hope that you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!  God bless you.

Todd E. Jones
founder, dfwfootball.net

If you notice on the front page, a lot of stories were posted on Thursday night/Friday morning (October 9, 2009).  Teams are announcing tryouts, dancer tryouts, Spirit Girl tryouts, mergers, schedules and location of games.  We are getting stories and press releases from teams that we have never heard from before.  Dfwfootball.net is becoming a major player in semi pro and minor league football, both indoor and outdoor, men’s and women’s .

I have had the pleasure of meeting players, coaches and owners all over what some have called the best sports area in the country.  Further, I know that the DFW area is a great place for other kinds of sports as well.  A few weeks ago I met a member of the staff for the Texas Outlaws of the Professional Arena Soccer League.  And who can forget the recent success of the hockey Brahmas, and the Fort Worth Cats and the Grand Prairie Airhogs baseball teams?

Keep us bookmarked.  We are trying to do our best to offer major coverage for the semi pro football teams.  We have plans for a new e-newsletter which some of you have already signed up for.  It will be called the Last Yard, and you can sign up by clicking on this link.

I have talked to at least two owners about helping them sell their season tickets at Dfwfootball.net.  We are going to set up a directory with all of the teams’ information so that when someone wants more information or learn how to try out, it will be easily accessible.  We are also going to set up a “classifieds” section on the site which will also help connect teams and future players as well as give folks a chance to advertise any jobs that they need filled.

For you business owners, more advertising opportunities will be available beginning in January of 2010.  This site is more visitors every week!  You don’t want to miss the opportunity to reach a growing audience within a unique niche.

For now, I urge football fans at this site to be ready to watch the UTA Mavericks football club play.  They will have two home games on the 17th and 24th of October.  Let’s get out and support them!  They travel to Alabama this weekend to take on the Concordia Hornets.  Go Mavs!

One of the authors I read was a guy by the name of Jeffrey Marx.  He wrote a very inspirational book about a former Baltimore Colts football player-turned volunteer coach, mentor and minister.  My story about reading it was almost as compelling as the book itself!  Check out my reviews here and here.

Now, Marx has written a new inspirational book about a New England Patriots deep snapper who was teaching seventh-grade Bible Study when he got the call to snap for the Super Bowl bound Patriots.  The player eventually won a Super Bowl ring on a last second field goal in which his job was critical to the outcome of the game.

I am a fan of what Marx is doing with his books.  I highly recommend fans picking up a copy of his book and reading it, especially as we are approaching the football season.  We all could use a little inspiration in a world in which it seems that the bad dominates the day in sports.  We need heroes who display courage and provide inspiration.

The book is available to buy on Tuesday August 18.  You should be able to find a copy at your local bookstore, however, you can help out this site and buy a coy from our bookstore at the same time.  Simply navigate to the bookstore, and look for the Jeffrey Marx books.  There is a regular copy and a large print copy available in the store.  To make it easier, here is the link.

Be sure and let everyone you know that likes football about the book.  Feel free to pass along this article if you would like.  You can use the addthis button at the bottom of the article to send it via email, Twitter, and other social media outlets.

About the Book

“In his first book since his New York Times bestseller Season of Life, Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Marx tells the remarkable and true story of one man’s odyssey from seventh-grade Bible teacher to Super Bowl champion.”

The Long Snapper: A Second Chance, A Super Bowl, A Lesson for Life

“Don’t we all long for one last chance? Don’t we all dream to do it over again? Anybody who has ever had those pangs will love Jeffrey Marx’s beautiful and uplifting story about a guy who had opportunity dropped into his lap. Do yourself a favor and read The Long Snapper.”
– Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated

“Jeffrey Marx has done it again, only better than ever. Thoughtful and inspiring, The Long Snapper is quite simply a joy to behold.”
– Rick Telander, Chicago Sun-Times

Brian Kinchen was a thirty-eight-year-old husband, father of four, and seventh-grade Bible teacher whose professional football career had been over for three years when the New England Patriots called on December 15, 2003. With the Patriots riding a ten-game winning streak and the NFL playoffs only a few weeks away, they needed a fill-in for the obscure but vital job of snapping the ball for their punter and kicker – a long snapper. Brian was hesitant because he had received similar invitations to tryouts that yielded only disappointment – the teams always went with a younger guy. But could he really turn away from the chance of a lifetime?

The Long Snapper chronicles Brian’s remarkable odyssey as he and the Patriots – led by head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady – seek the ultimate trophy. Unfortunately, the dream come true turns into a personal nightmare as Brian struggles both on and off the field, and the pressure to perform on the biggest stage in professional sports nearly causes him to walk away. Seven weeks after leaving the classroom, however, Brian overcomes his greatest fear and snaps the ball on the historic game-winning field goal with only seconds left in the Super Bowl.

The Long Snapper is the story of a man who finally achieves the success he has always wanted. Brian Kinchen’s championship ring is a powerful status symbol for all to see. But his journey forces him to reexamine what really matters, and he realizes the true measure of a man has nothing to do with status: life is not about prestige, it is about passion and purpose. It is about impacting the lives of others.

I have met both Cohen and Patterson, and both are very likable and honorable men. Cohen has been the consummate professional in his relationship with me. I began blogging college football about three years ago, and last fall I was invited to write articles as a content partner for Pegasus News. Further, I asked for and received press credentials to two TCU football games, and Mark was very generous to me. It was almost as he invited me to come on in to the media community, and I am grateful. And yes, I am defending him.

First, Smith, the student-journalist, was invited to write about his experience for the Star-Telegram. I don’t begrudge that; they can do what they want. Then, however, Jim Reeves, a premier columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, chimed in.  I’m glad he decided to lecture us all about how TCU should behave. That being said, Reeves made some great points and, further, had a fairly balanced article except for his conclusion and the headline.

It struck me as odd that Reeves wrote that article. I was expecting someone like, say, Gil Lebreton, who has covered TCU games before and also who has offered “feedback” to Gary Patterson regarding a past case of the information about former TCU star Tommy Blake. I guess, Lebreton wasn’t available. Reeves is usually writing articles about the hapless Rangers.

What followed was a small wave of reactions throughout the blogging community, which, I must say, surprised me a bit. Bloggers tend to take sides with athletes and coaches. That is because bloggers, such as myself, are fans first.  However, they sometimes fail to think things through. We need journalists to ask the hard questions and get information that fans and bloggers aren’t able to find. That need will never go away.

The story seems to go something like this. Smith, a TCU student-journalist, was invited to participate in a show called On Campus Cam produced by The Mtn., the official network of the Mountain West Conference, in which TCU is a member. It was a round-table kind of television show in which various student-journalists are asked to give opinions about their teams.

Instead of flying students to Denver, they simply asked the athletic departments to use their equipment to provide a telecast feed. Smith, during the show, his fifth appearance, stated his opinion that incoming private work setting, employers have the right to take action in how they see fit in regards to defaming speech by anyone under their authority. And Smith’s opinion, was defaming to the TCU football program as well as Andy Dalton. It was defaming because it implies that Coach Patterson and his coaching staff are not competent enough to see that Dalton should be benched in favor of Casey Paschall.

To make a note of comparison, many companies have policies against these kinds of actions. Companies, such as the one I work for, have policies about a worker’s personal blog and what is said about the employee’s company. And, according to an article at noted legal expert Nolo’s website, it is not an uncommon policy. Freedom of speech is limited to certain things in a private work setting, but it does not include publicly criticizing your employer or divulging insider information. If you think that this is harsh, you might want to talk to members of President Obama’s administration who aren’t allowed to use Facebook .

All Patterson and Cohen were doing was what any other employer deals with in the society we live in today. And, like it or not, Patterson is in charge of a company, even if it is a football team. Maybe they could have handled it differently, that is true. However, maybe the Mnt. Network might want to rethink who they get to supervise these student-journalists in the production of their show. I just think it is a little rash to make Cohen and Patterson out to be the bad guys.

I am not a traditional sports journalist.  I didn’t get my training in journalism the traditional way.  I kind of learned it through (don’t tell anyone about this) blogging.  I urge you to keep quiet about this.  I can’t have people believe that I was a blogger.

I chuckled Saturday night when a member of the Weatherford Bullets‘ coaching staff referred to me as media.  Who do they think I am, Mac Engel?  Come on; I’m just a guy who runs a website.  I have accumulated enough “points” to count as media, maybe.

I have had the opportunity to receive press credentails to football games including the Armed Forces Bowl and the dirt races at Texas Motor Speedway.  Heck, they even let me go to the TMS annual media day.  They’ll let anyone in those things, huh!

The best I can tell, most journalists try to find something good to write.  They are looking for stories.  We (me) are always looking for stories to post here at dfwfootball.net.  Whether it is a game write-up or scores, we (me) are always trying to find something to keep the site fresh.

The big guys, you know, the Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News, hire guys, maybe more, to do nothing to but write about the Dallas Cowboys.  Of course, that is what people want, Cowboys coverage 24-7.  Not me.

I get tired of hearing these same old gossip-like stories from Valley Ranch.  I mean, all you hear is, “Did Jerry say that, or did he really mean this? What does it mean that Coach Wade can’t talk to the media?  Should Jerry still be the GM?”  Blah, blah, blah!

Have you heard the latest of the non-sense coming out of Valley Ranch?  I don’t know how you couldn’t have unless you haven’t listened to sports news in the past week.  I listen to Galloway and Company on my way home, and that seems to be all they have talked about this week.

Apparently, Terrance Newman hates Tony Romo.  Did you know that?  Maybe he will hate Jason Whitten next.  With any luck, maybe Newman will be the new Terrell Owens.  Fireworks make for better news, right.

No less than four articles have been written about this.  It seems that Newman questioned Romo’s focus in regards to his relationship with girlfriend Jessica Simpson in an interview with WFAA, channel 8.  Man, that Dale Hansen can stir up anything!  But wait, our good friend Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram tells us that his comments were “misconstrued.”

Just in case we don’t believe him, Mac’s wife Jennifer reminds us that There’s no trouble brewing between Terrance Newman and Tony Romo.  After closer inspection, and there’s always a closer inspection, it seems that the two played golf together Monday and that Newman is behind Romo 100%.  That’s good news, now can we just move on!

Now that that is cleared up, let’s move on with the point.

Sometimes, I think we go overboard on our coverage of the NFL, particularly the Cowboys.  What, you say you want Cowboys 24-7?  Why?  Do you really want to read/hear those little off-handed remarks and rumors?  Then Vince McMahon was on to something with the XFL.

Big city newspapers are struggling to be profitable, but they are willing to spend money to employ several people to show up at the team headquarters and search for some juicy story for their adoring public.  Really?

What if the public don’t want to read about those juicy stories?  What if they would rather read well written stories about the team and evaluations of off-season moves?  Do we really need to send six to eight members of the media to the Cowboys headquarters at Valley Ranch every day?

I am not saying that we don’t need to cover the Cowboys, but maybe we suffer from “Cowboys Overexposure.”  As big city papers seem to struggle, is it possible that smaller papers might be doing just fine, thank you very much.

There is nothing else sports-related to report on.  Is there?  Of course not.  Well, I have counted almost 20 football teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that play in independent minor league and semi-pro leagues.  Actually, I know I am leaving a few off.

The interesting thing is that it seems that maybe people still want local news.  Websites like Topix.com and the local PegasusNews.com have customized portals for readers to find news about their own neighborhood.

There is only so much I can hear about the Cowboys.  The Cowboys need to prove themselves on the field, not on the six-o-clock news.  I don’t need a “sound-bite.”  I need to see them win on the field.  It is my wish that the media would simply “shut up and let them (the Cowboys) play.”

Besides, their is a whole bunch of other teams that are playing right now.

Coach Kris Hogan, the head coach for Faith, and his wife have been invited to attend the Super Bowl by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  I originally heard this on Galloway and Company, the ESPN radio show hosted by Randy Galloway.  Hogan was interviewed by Galloway, Brian Estridge and Matt Mosely in what was being hailed by one listener as the “GAC Gospel Hour.”  The good folks at GAC were using the story to contrast the story of  how the Covenant school beat Dallas Academy 100-0 in a girls high school basketball game recently.

The story was originally written by David Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in November after the game was played.  What followed was a sunami of support and praise for the school, the players and the coach.  The game and experience seems to have made a positive impact on the students from the Gainesville State high school, which is a hard core detention facility for juvenile defenders.

The Grapevine Faith football team hosted a game against Gainesville State in early November in which was expected to be an easy win for Faith.  Coach Hogan and his staff decided to focus on something other than beating Gainesville by as many points as possible.

Faith arranged to have roughly half of its fans to cheer for Gainesville, sitting behind the team in the visitor bleachers.  Faith also had several of their cheerleaders to cheer for Gainesville.  Parents and fans learned the names of Gainesville players and their numbers and cheered for them by name.

Following the game, Gainesville players joined Faith for the post-game prayer ritual where one of the Gainesville players prayed.  When the team left to travel home, parents of faith distributed a sack dinner for the Gainesville players to enjoy on the way home.  So much more was involved in the experience than I can recount here.

Following the article by Thomas, the story picked up steam.  First, Rick Reilly of ESPN wrote an article recalling the story.  Radio interviews followed, and Troy Aikman apparently saw Reilly’s article on the story passing it along to Goodell.  The result has led to national attention for the school, players and Coach Hogan.  Now Coach Hogan is being honored by Goodell and being awarded with a trip to the Super Bowl.

There is something about playing hard to the finish that we all admire.  Competition is the cure to mediocrity.  No one will chastize a coach for instructing his or her players to play hard until the final horn.  However, sometimes, teams are completely overmatched.  The coach has to decide how to handle the situation.

It is natural for a coach to not be as concered about “running up the score” if he or she has been on the other side.  All coaches have.   It takes a great deal of compassion to let up on an opponent as well as the ultimate display of sportsmanship.

Here’s hoping that Coach Hogan enjoys the Super Bowl!