AFA President, Dave Burch On ESPN OTL AFA President, Dave Burch Participted In ESPN's Outside The Lines Program Segment Discussion On Semipro Football | | ESPN Outside The Lines I had the pleasure of being invited by ESPN to participate in a panel discussion August 29th on their Outside The Lines program segment. This program covered the topic "The World Of Semi Pro Football. Focusing On Who Plays And The Death Of A Player In A Game". As this was a rather short noticed program participation request, I solicited comments from some of you last evening regarding your thoughts surrounding this topic. I thank you for your feedback and I did integrate it into the discussion today. However, I must say that this segment was quite an eye opener when ESPN shared their perception of semi pro football based upon a featured team from the Crossroads Football League. If you did not have an opportunity to view the broadcast, the podcast can be downloaded by clicking....http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8314700 Because we were time constrained and did not have the opportunity to hear more perspectives on this issue, I would like to solicit your feedback after you've viewed this segment. Below are the comments from the San Diego Enforcers Football of the National Public Safety League (AFA Members): "We work very hard to bring a high caliber level of football to our fans and our players are all athletes. More important than that, the players are also police officers, firefighters and public safety personnel. These guys risk their lives every day and still find the energy to train in the off season and play tackle football. What bothered me about the ESPN piece wasn't so much the topic, it was the representation of this particular team as a semi pro team. There are a lot of teams out there that call themselves semi pro, but they are neither professional nor are they even close to semiprofessional. We have a medical staff and our rules are clear when it comes to player safety. ESPN is merely covering the trending story right now, which are concussions and player safety. Our league, and our team, are very careful about player safety. If people think we are a league thrown together like the one represented on ESPN, it makes fundraising even more difficult. I have sent ESPN letters and emails because I think the angle of police officers, firefighters and public safety playing football for charity, and doing it the right way (safely), was a good story...so if there is a way I can spread that word, my thinking is that it will show that there are true semiprofessional teams out there doing it the right way. Yes, we are AFA members. We won the National Championship against FDNY, June 23rd, in the last play of the game. We also played in front of 5,000 fans and raised money for charity. We have a great opportunity to really showcase semi pro football Jordan Mirakian Sergeant, SDCCDPD Fullback/Vice President San Diego Enforcers Football Anyone else out there have any ideas about improving our image and solving some of the issues presented during this broadcast? Do you think this is a fair representation? http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8307997/why-men-dave-coleman-jr-willing-risk-much-play-semi-pro-football http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8310941 |
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AFA News & Media Clips Concussion news worries parents ... at a Crossroads." Outside the Lines, SportsCenter, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine examine health issues surrounding football at all levels of the sport, from youth football, high school and college football, through semi-pro and professional football..... American Football Association Hall of Fame Listing We have gotten a lot of requests from folks confused about membership in the AFA's Hall of Fame recently. We've even encountered an altered/doctored press release listing someone we've never heard of in an attempt to purchase our ring. It appears that after 32 years, a few folks are still a bit confused regarding hall of fame membership. As a result, we have edited and published a more readable copy of our inductees from day one at American Football Association Hall of Fame Listing American Football Association Hall of Fame Jackets - Now Available !!!....we are pleased to announce that AFA Hall of Famejackets are now available for purchase directly from Chicago Knitting Mills.....and yes, they do have the plus sizes 2X -- 5X! Just send an email to amerfoot@aol.com to obtain an order form. AFA Hall of Fame Blazers ....because of the positive feedback from our Hall of Fame banquet, we are now making Hall of Fame Blazers available to all current hall of fame members. Please email amerfoot@aol.com if you are interested. Note: Hall of Fame Patches are available upon request for those who would like to update their favorite blazer with this memorable item @$15. Just send an email to amerfoot@aol.com........ Wilson NFL Footballs... New Wilson Footballs are now in stock. The price is $65/ball or $390 per case for new balls plus $20 shipping and handling for a total of $410 per case of six... AFA Broadcast Channel Goes Live The AFA's live broadcast channel capability for video webcasts is now available for PCs, iPads and, Smartphones. Featured video includes weekly vintage and live video webcasts of events such as the Pottstown Firebirds Super Bowl Special, Kalamazoo Tornadoes AFA Championship, Past AFA Hall of Fame Inductions, AFA Member Game Broadcasts and special announcements. These weekly broadcast will accessible directly from our website and in additional to performances by some of our hall of famers, will also feature AFA sponsors. These broadcasts can also be accessed at...... http://www.steveweedproductions.com/AFA.html AFA Membership Programs | 2012 AFA Alumni Club Membership - Are You A Card Carrying Member? AFA Membership is open to anyone and everyone that, at one time or another, had been (or still is) involved with a semi-pro team and/or league. Semi-Pro Football Alumni Club is co-sponsored by the AFA National Association and the Members of the AFA Hall of Fame Alumni. Membership packages are on their way to all active members loaded with fulfillment items!
2012 AFA Team & League Membership Membership applications are now being accepted for the 2012 season. We are proud to have the Elite Football Association, Empire, National Public Safety, Mason Dixon and, Ironman Football Leagues as members. The annual membership fee to join the AFA remains $100 "per team" which provides a benefit package that is easily 10x this fee. Team membership applications can be downloaded by clicking: http://www.americanfootballassn.com/resources/team-membership-application.html American Football Association Benefits, Inc The America Football Association recently established major partnerships with insurance companies to make comprehensive coverage products available for all AFA Alumni. AFA Alumni and where applicable their spouses and dependents, can now apply for insurance at competitive group rates. It's now easy to join the AFA and apply for affordable insurance coverage with a special discount for being an AFA Alumni. For more info, please call 877-624-4485 or email AFABenefitsInc@americanfootballassn.com. | About the American Football Association: The American Football Association is a national 501(c) (3) non-profit, tax exempt corporation in its 32nd year of operation and is dedicated to the advancement of adult (semi-pro) football from coast-to-coast. Our slogan is Semi Pro & Proud®. We are not affiliated with any other national semi-pro/minor league organization (Minor League Football News, American Football News Today, American Football Hall of Fame, Minor Pro Hall of Fame, etc). The AFA, Hall of Fame, American Football News™ and AFA logo design are registered trademarks of the American Football Association. All other AFA-related trademarks are trademarks of the American Football Association. | | | | | |