my 2 cents
Morgan,
I believe its a reality check. Travelling to play is near impossible for both cost and time's sake (for me time is the killer). People WANT to do it, but the reality is that leagues are much easier when it is local...the problem most facd is the lack of "numbers" for a local league. Heck, add on for you that the shootout rules need a ref and the time commitment is enormous. I really think tournament style is much more suitable to travelling to play. Having said that I am very committed to the Mid Ohio league struture and that is mainly because I do enjoy the league aspect and this league fits my personality very well so I am willing to make that committment. Also, as a "road warrior" per say, I feel I have a plan to successfully play my games and that involves a few major outings for games follwed by some various matchups against coaches who are closer geographically to me. Bottom line, road warriors bite can easily bite off more than they can reasonably chew and many times it makes no practical sense to travel that far to play.
Alternate format to league play...
Instead of pure league play, one thing we are doing in Chicago now is having kind of a "heavy weight tile mixed with Stanley Cup" trophy for the champion of each of our Game dates. The games are set up as a 3 possession round robin format and we call it "king of the hill". For example, since I won the round robin in our first meeting last Saturday I get to take home the trophy, but next meeting someone else will likely step up and win and then they will get the trophey. Playing the game with friends for a very prideful trophey, open to all that want to join us. The trophey is a football and is labeled "Chicago Miniature football: King of the Hill". This format allows us to be less rigid about who shows up, how often we can meet, etc., etc. and just lets us get back to the basics of enjoying the times we do get together and playing for our local trophy. We also feel it will let new combers join easier with less upfront committment, and we will always be welcoming of others in the region to come join us when we set our next game date.
Joe
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"Ask not what the MFCA can do for you, but what you can do for the MFCA"
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