The end of the NEFL?

From an outsiders perspective:

The NEFL started heading downhill two years ago, when the league began to believe that it was "elite" compared to all other leagues and teams in the area. Same problem with the IFL. The truth of the matter is this: unless you have the idea in your head that you need to work harder than anyone else, prove yourself day-in and day-out, and are willing to sacrifice more than others, you will eventually decline. It's true on the field as we all know, and it's true off the field in business.

Resting on one's laurels will get you a spot on the bench.

I've heard from numerous folks that there were several organizations within the NEFL that sort of "forced" out the old guard because they believed they were better, but were never willing to put in the work. If so, it's a shame, because this league had so much going for it.

And whereas I defended this league in years past as being the best in the state, I can't say that this year. Even something as simple as updating your website can't be done. Don't give me this "the web company is the one who dropped the ball, blah blah blah." Sorry, the buck stops with the leadership. Fire the company, find someone else, start up a blog, do SOMETHING.

My $.02. It's sad to see. Really, it is.

Sorry, but I look at leadership as being part of the issue on this one. I watched as too many people that were passionate about their organizations and the league, walked out the door because they couldn't take the BS anymore. I was there for the board meetings as electing new league officials seemingly turned into a game of who could say "not it" the fastest; with the loser being the one elected, because people saw what a thankless pain in the ass the job could be. I find it really hard to believe that it is just a coincidence that the league has slipped a little in the absence of some of the individuals that have departed from its ranks (Blair and Al just to name a couple).

I don't see the NEFL going defunct. It still has its establishments. There is enough fan bases that support it, that want to continue.
Whats at a premium is sponsorship, and in this economy where there are cuts, there is less money to work with and so it is more important to budget accordingly.

Bring back Al Johnson and Tery Fawcett. Those were two guys that were into it for the love of the game and not the MONEY.

Thanks Blair for your insight, as always intuitive and informative.

I would love to add a couple of comments to the mix. I am glad to see some constructive posts. Too often there is just complaining and whining without any offer of a solution to an existing problem or an offer to help resolve a dillemma.

I would like to start by saying that I am now a fan and am not actively involved with the league or any of its teams. However, as one of the people who helped form this league and helped run one of its teams for four years, I have the following to offer: keep in mind I have no more clue as to actual discussions in the meetings than anyone else so some of what I may say can be seen as speculation.... I apolgize to the board in advance if I overstep here.

Decisions of the NEFL board: The board has taken some flack this year as they do every other year. First of all, everyone should please keep in mind that we are NOT in the "need to know" category for the details of all the decisions that this group of volunteers makes. ALOT of discussion of the pros and cons of everything they decide occurs before decisions are made. Furthermore, the big decisions that are made are made with an equal vote from ALL teams in the league. This was the most important premise that this league was founded on. In fact, most BIG decisions need 2/3 or 3/4 majority to carry. It is very difficult for a small group of malcontents to move the majority to a selfish view of a few. These decisions were made by ALL of the teams. There were times that I disagreed with another team or team reps view point but NEVER did I feel that my team was being called to task by the majority of teams because of a personal vendetta or hidden agenda. What is fair or unfair is governed by the league by-laws and the votes of the overwhelming majority of teams in the league.

Objective league government: It has been suggested by some to have the governing body of the league consist of people with no ties to any team in the league. This is a fine suggestion and looks great on paper. However, the reality is that you cannot FIND qualified people who are willing to volunteer their valuable time and deal with the headaches that come with this. This was actually tried for the first 2 years when Al Johnson was president. He valiantly gave of his time until the stress showed him it was not worth it. As it stands, the league is doing the best it can in these regards. It rotates its officers every year and each team has an opportunity to take this bull by the horns. For those of you who have not been a part of this, this is a thankless task that nets you no money, thousands of complaints, and one or two thank yous.

Thanks
Blair

This is one of the smartest and most positive post I've read so far, and you hit it dead center on what has to be done to help keep this game family friendly, and fun. Start at the top and I mean at the very top. Board members need to be made up of a body of impartial people and not those that are either Owners and Coaches of teams in this league. But rather fans, and or city officials in which teams are formed. As it is now people can say and have the right to say that the board as it is, and has been in the past to be of bias, and conflict of interest, when it comes down to making important calls on teams, and it's players. But as it sits now, yes the Board needs to implement all new rulings at the beginning of the season and not 2 week from play-offs. If a team needs to travel because of Bad-Standing do it during the regular season games. Never have I heard of or read of a Semi-Pro or Pro Team made to have to travel because of Bad Standing except that of the Dallas Texans (Now the Dallas Cowboys) in the early 1900's and that was for Illegal betting. And they had to travel for all their regular season games for 2 years. High School Teams and College Teams fall under different By-Laws then Semi-Pro and Pro Leagues do. As to Trash Talk, and taunting it would be nice not to hear it on the field or read it on the web but that won't ever happen because it's instilled in us at an early age (and is still going on in all forms of sports at an early age). But if we were able to stop the trash talk and taunting on the field, we would than have to look to the stands of fans also, we have the 3rd down and going for it on 4th down bantering, yelling, foot stomping, taunting that would also have to stop and I know that's never going to happen either. But like I said yours was a great post to get the point across in helping to change things..


"Touch Down"

Wonder12 wrote:

I couldn't agree with you more. I do believe that the overwhelming majority of people involved with the league are passionate in one way or another. I believe that if you've been around the league at all, you realize that it all starts at the top (or at least it SHOULD). Finally, I also believe that most of the players are well behaved and play hard and clean. But, some guys act like thugs because they are allowed to. Taunting and trash talking happens because it is allowed to happen. It can be a powder keg out there with all the Alpha Male stuff that goes on. But instead of trying to reinvent the wheel at the league level, go with what works. If you want to be "elite," get rid of all the things that make the NEFL look bad. Don't stop the brawls by giving a team an over-the-top punishment to show that you have had enough, stop the things that lead up to the brawls. Get the officials to strictly enforce the penalties for cheap shots and extracurriculars that lead to fights and horrible behavior, and don't start in July, start on day one. Make sure the officials throw flags for anything that isn't part of the game, and make sure they set the tone immediately that none of the garbage will be tolerated. Keep the games clean. No one wants to see one player taunt or shove another because he caught a six-yard pass or made a tackle. Congratulations, you're a football player....
If the league was really, really interested in a family-friendly environment and an increase in repeat customers and long term fans, they would provide an atmosphere where parents aren't nervous about bringing their kids (the probable future of the league in either fan base or roster spots or both), make the game family friendly. No amount of marketing, fancy T-shirts and hats a team can generate can ever make up for a bad experience at a game. Entertainment dollars are up for grabs, and it's easy to find something else to do if the product is tainted by even a few grown men throwing tantrums.
I've heard excuses for years that football is an emotional game, and that is the main reason given for grown men acting like idiots from time to time on the field. It's a bad excuse and it happens because it is allowed to happen in the NEFL.

Well said.

I couldn't agree with you more. I do believe that the overwhelming majority of people involved with the league are passionate in one way or another. I believe that if you've been around the league at all, you realize that it all starts at the top (or at least it SHOULD). Finally, I also believe that most of the players are well behaved and play hard and clean. But, some guys act like thugs because they are allowed to. Taunting and trash talking happens because it is allowed to happen. It can be a powder keg out there with all the Alpha Male stuff that goes on. But instead of trying to reinvent the wheel at the league level, go with what works. If you want to be "elite," get rid of all the things that make the NEFL look bad. Don't stop the brawls by giving a team an over-the-top punishment to show that you have had enough, stop the things that lead up to the brawls. Get the officials to strictly enforce the penalties for cheap shots and extracurriculars that lead to fights and horrible behavior, and don't start in July, start on day one. Make sure the officials throw flags for anything that isn't part of the game, and make sure they set the tone immediately that none of the garbage will be tolerated. Keep the games clean. No one wants to see one player taunt or shove another because he caught a six-yard pass or made a tackle. Congratulations, you're a football player....
If the league was really, really interested in a family-friendly environment and an increase in repeat customers and long term fans, they would provide an atmosphere where parents aren't nervous about bringing their kids (the probable future of the league in either fan base or roster spots or both), make the game family friendly. No amount of marketing, fancy T-shirts and hats a team can generate can ever make up for a bad experience at a game. Entertainment dollars are up for grabs, and it's easy to find something else to do if the product is tainted by even a few grown men throwing tantrums.
I've heard excuses for years that football is an emotional game, and that is the main reason given for grown men acting like idiots from time to time on the field. It's a bad excuse and it happens because it is allowed to happen in the NEFL.

I think it is fair to hold the board, an owner, and/or a coach (somewhat) accountable for the results of what took place. Yes, I 1000% agree that the players actions were totally wrong and any punishment is deserved. However, they are not the only at fault. In the end the buck stops at the top and the ones in charge either condemn or condone these actions and allow a player(s) with "questionable behavior" the platform to play. And I TOTALLY AGREE and have seen the passion and numerous hours that the board, owners, and coaches put in to make this an ELITE league....it's a shame that with all of that work and volunteered hours have all gone to waste just because an owner/coach allowed a player(s) with these "thug-like" attitudes a platform to conduct themselves this way. And I know EVERY team has a player or two like this. If the league wants to take a stronger ELITE status and make this a more family-oriented game it all starts at the top and works its way down.

Same with the website, I think it is fair to hold the board or whomever was involved with tthe decision to go with the website providers. Apparently enough research was not done to see that the website creators had a history of not following up after its creation. Again the buck stops at the top.

Last I checked, there are still six regular season games and six playoff games being played this year. If it's the end of the NEFL, not a single team got the memo.

While the circumstances (and publicity) are unfavorable, I think that most (if not all) teams in the league have someone of high character in charge of their organization. People with high character have overcome more significant incidents than anything that's happened in this league this season. That's why I'm pretty sure that most (if not all) teams will look to bounce back from this and work on continuing to improve the quality of the league (on and off the field) this offseason, just like they have since forming the NEFL in 2008.

Since the vocal majority on Facebook and this forum seems to be pessimistic about the future of the league, count me strongly on the side of the NEFL continuing to be one of the premiere adult amateur football organizations in the country. It's about time for the people taking their shots at the league when it's down to realize that the NEFL is about much more than anything that happens on the field. It's time for them to recognize that most of the players, coaches, and staff in this league are part of this because they love football and enjoy working within their communities to provide a unique form of entertainment. Over 900 messages, texts, DMs, tweets, Facebook posts, and phone calls have gone through me, someone not even part of the NEFL, and I've done my best to remind everyone of the facts: that the people that run the league are members of the league, that ultimately everything has to be agreed upon by the teams, that nobody would take a selfish stance to benefit one team over the other because everyone in charge of their organization realizes that a strong league makes every team better.

I encourage everyone that is currently part of the league, or wants to be a part of it, to stay positive and work on constructive ways to improve upon an organization that gives teams in 11 communities the opportunity to take part in a fun, competitive, and rewarding sport. The impact of what these teams do goes beyond any forum, Facebook page, power ranking or Youtube highlight. Every single team has given their time or money to charity this season. Every single team has had children attend their games. There's way too many good things that go on in this league--things that were previously behind the scenes, but I've tried to promote--to dismantle it. How has your team impacted your community? If your players, coaches or staff have ever signed an autograph or worked at an event to benifit your town or city, or even just talked to a kid after a game, you've already impacted one person positively. Thousands of people go to NEFL games every year. The positive impact this league has is too much to ignore for the common naysayer.

Again, I don't think this is the end. If it is, I'll be disappointed, but I'll understand that the already-hard work that goes into running a team and spreading the word about the positive aspects of the NEFL is going to be even more difficult for a short period of time. This is a good league. I'm grateful for the opportunity to promote it, the teams, and the communitiies involved for as long as I can.

I gave up telling other fans about this League half way into the season.

Second that amen....might have to look at changing the E in NEFL.

Amen to that.

This season had taken a HUGE step back from what it ended on last season.

This is a league that can't even have a working website.

There is bad press made by fighting during the games and arrests while the NEFL and all the teams claim that it's a "fun family event".

Someone better wake up and take the bull by the horns to turn the NEFL around before it's to late.