FB: Northwest Conference

[CamCat]

Thomas Ford's Championship Spirit leads the Alaska Wild closer and closer to wiinning their first game

Linfield's Thomas Ford, despite having a great season personally is having his frustrations as you can see in getting the team in the victory column.  Anyone care to shed some light on the Anchorage Wild situation?

[Gig Harbor Cat]

Lindy  who dat ?

[speedybigboy]

Thomas Ford's Championship Spirit leads the Alaska Wild closer and closer to wiinning their first game

Linfield's Thomas Ford, despite his having a great season is having his frustrations as you can see in getting the team in the victory column.  Anyone care to shed some light on the Anchorage Wild situation?

The Alaska Wild are a first year expansion team in the Intense Football League that has 6 teams in Texas, 1 in Louisianna, and one in Alaska.  The team has struggled on and off the field since before the first game. 

First it was supposed to be an Arena2 franchise, then they were going to wait a year and join some other league and then all of a sudden they were in this league and preparing for the season.  A coach was hired during the winter and quit or was fired, another coach was hired and he put together the team, including Thomas Ford and convinced some players to come to Alaska and play.  He coached the first game which was a loss and was fired the next morning.  A long time retired local high school coach was the defensive coordinatoor at that time.  He quit citing concerns with management.  Another retired, well respected, local coach was the director of football operations.  He took the head coach job and then quit days later without coaching a game saying of the owner, right idea (indoor football in Anchorage), wrong guy! 

That left the current head coach to take the job.  He was the defensive line coach at the time.  He had been a volunteer assistant coach at two of the local high schools over the last decade or so. 

It appears the management of the team is less than stellar!  At 0-8 the talent on the field is probably less than what it needs to be and/or the coaching is not up to par.  That being said the two games I've been to have been fun to watch.  Ford is, IMO, the best offensive player on the team.  He catches everything thrown near him.  He runs hard and gets in the end zone on running plays.  The first game he hardly got anything thrown to him.  Now they go to him a lot and have designed plays to get him the ball running.  Unfortunatley, for THE WILD it will probably be hard to keep quality players like Ford in Alaska, especially if they continue to lose.

I hope they can get a few wins so the fans keep going to the games and the team doesn't fold.  We don't have a college football team in Alaska so except for youth and high school the WILD are it for live football.  On the plus side the players periodically continue to get good press with their outreach into the community, once again, Mr. Ford is a good example of that.

Of course this has little to do with NWC or d3 football but it is the off season and CamCat did ask.

Perhaps, Wildcat64, has some observations?

[Wildcat'64]

Speedybigboy,

Good assessment of the Alaska Wild.  Anchorage would be as good of an indoor football town as hockey........but they have to start winning.  I remember when the Alaska Aces were a loosing team and the crowds were small and the franchise was in big trouble.  Now they are contenders each year for the crown and draw 5-6,000 fans game after game in a 40 game season.  Clearly if the Wild starts winning, and Thomas will be a big part of that formula, they will max out the arena at 6,600 fans for the 6 home games in the season.  I talked with Thomas a couple of weeks ago and know how disappointed he is that they just haven't put together the right combination to win a ball game......pretty tough environment when you are used to wearing the Purple and winning game after game and competing for Championships.

p.s.  I seriously doubt the Wild QB would be starting in the Catdome on any given Saturday.  He's OK from what I've seen but not of the calibre of the Field Generals we have seen at Maxwell Field over the years

[swede]

Has anyone else heard that ex-cat Gary Thorsen has joined Linfields coaching staff?

[criswyly]

Swede,
There is a good possibility that I will make it to the Hardin Simmons game if all goes according to plan....I will be ready to take you to Alf's.

[criswyly]

Bluenote,
I hope you are doing some serious diggin for that Northwestern game broadcast tape...I am really hungry to see that one in color with the play by play....In fact I'd like to get a copy of the radio broadcast as well. 
Anybody else out there have a copy of the Northwestern game?

[wildcat11]

Linfield Video of the week: The Road To The Stagg Bowl (2004)

2004's Road To The Stagg Bowl

***Next Week: Top Ten Honorable Mention 2004 Stevens Point***

[D O.C.]

Life goes on, brah.

That 2004 season seems so long ago now. Perhaps I did not enjoy it as long as I could have.

[Tuxguy]

Criswyly,
alf's after the game, the tailgate before the game should be one of the best in recent memory.
Rumor has it Big John will be doing his seafood extravaganza.  Should be a real treat!!

88 days till 1st kick off.

GO WILDCATS

      .....THE ROAD TO THE STAGG BOWL BEGINS 9/8/07........

[Wildcat'64]

Tux,

Is the annual HS football camp due to start next week at the Catdome?
I see on the website that Coach Locey is going to be conducting the camp along with Coach Powell....suspect it might be a typo but it does say the 2007 camp??

[criswyly]

Tuxguy
I hope to be there.

Wildcat11 & others
I found a new video website service....check it out.
videopile.com

[spiritof86]

Criswyly,
alf's after the game, the tailgate before the game should be one of the best in recent memory.
Rumor has it Big John will be doing his seafood extravaganza.  Should be a real treat!!

88 days till 1st kick off.

GO WILDCATS

      .....THE ROAD TO THE STAGG BOWL BEGINS 9/8/07........

Tux- Me and the wife will be making a triumphant catdome return for homecoming....just got my plane tix today. I was a miserable 0-2 last year (saw live @hsu and vs whit), so I am excited to get back to the old tailgate grounds. The purple flag will be flying extra high on that day! There are rumors that the original purple flag may be coming in from London-town for the game as well!

I am so excited for the season that I just pee'd in my pants- but only a little bit.

[bluenote]

Man...this is somewhat strange. I went looking for the '84 Tape. I finally found several VHS Tapes I knew I had buried somewhere....they were under the Easter Baskets and decorations in a box. Anyway, I started pawing through the stuff as soon as I gleaned the tapes....first I found the '86 Game...then I found the "82 Game....then.....I can't find the '84 Game! I have no idea now if I even had it! I think I did but I'm getting old and can't remember, either that or it's in the box with the old trombone music I kept from grade school . There were a couple of tapes that didn't have labels so I have my fingers crossed....the only problem is, I don't have a VCR anymore! And besides I'm not really sure what I'll find on those tapes....   I'm not sure I really want to find out!

[Pat Coleman]

Perhaps the world's definitive collection of L.A. Law episodes.