Bad Economy Not Hurting 9Man

 

 

BAD ECONOMY NOT HURTING 9MAN

by: Jey Jones   

The USA Summer Championships in Williamsburg, VA will feature 27 of the nations top 9v9 Ineligible teams competing for 650 pts and positioning themselves for the 9v9 Ineligible World Championships in Miami, FL next January.  This will then be followed by the 1st annual Atlantic City NIT on July 24-25, which has already matched the USA Summer Championships in total team registrations and is on pace to surpass 30 total 9v9 Ineligible teams! 

Earlier this season, the annual St. Patrick’s Day NIT in New York saw an increase in total team participation close to 40%, while the Charlotte NIT experienced a 250% increase in comparison to the previous year!  Other tournaments expecting larger turnouts in 2010 include the Albany NIT, Atlanta NIT, Maryland NIT and of course the New York National Championships on Columbus Day Weekend.

During these tough economic times, flag football tournaments of all styles have experienced lower numbers.  Understandably; travel expenses for adult recreational sports are (for the most part) the last things budgeted for in most households (falling well behind kids camps/sports and family vacation).  The MCFFU first experienced the effects of a poor economy during the 2008 World Championships in Dallas, TX when numbers dropped significantly at almost 300% before rebuilding back to normal in Las Vegas, NV the last two years.  That year, we witnessed lower numbers in all of our events forcing necessary changes to adapt to a slow economy.

With this being said, just about every month this season 9v9 Ineligible teams are religiously purchasing airline tickets, car rentals and lodging to compete in National Championships and NIT’s on the newly formed USA Circuit.  There are teams that have made it a goal to make it to as many sanctioned events (if not all) that they possibly can because of the increased level of competition, purpose in the circuit and their goal of obtaining a solid position in the 9v9 World Championships in Miami, FL 2011.  Amazingly, as with Wal-Mart and McDonald’s, as the economy dipped - the 9man stock rose!

One must understand that the costs involved in fielding a competitive 9man team can be expensive; fielding a competitive 9man team continuously can be down right ridiculous.  4man and 5man teams are of course the least expensive to fund and can be sponsored by a teammate if need be.  7v7 and 8v8 can get away with low numbers in a major tournament with a quirky scheme, which in turn can reduce overall expenses. 

However, with 9man you have to field a complete team as often as possible in order to compete consistently, which means all of your components must be in place.  Missing one key lineman or a strong kicker can be the difference in winning the tournament and not winning a game. 

Over the past year, 9man has individuals and organizations desperately attempting to catch its eye, while those who abandoned it or declared the style dead are left scratching their heads in disbelief.  9man has taken us all aback by its overall unity, dedication, commitment to “big game hunting” in national competition and its sudden growth spurt.

Unlike the 8v8 Eligible style, which is as segregated as a Mississippi public school in 1960 and the 7v7 Screen style, which is experiencing an "identity crises" and can’t decide if it’s a collegiate sport, an competitive adult sport or both - 9man has bonded together and has collectively created a national synergy that has driven up total team participation, national interest levels and total prize earnings throughout the circuit and in some cases, off the circuit.  No other style is consistently having top-tier teams participating from more areas each month than does 9man Ineligible.  Just about every flag football tournament (outside of a traditional event here and there) has slowly become a local tournament as travel has slowed to a crawl. 

But what’s keeping the 9man tournament numbers consistently going up in this economy, while other style like 8man and 7man are stagnant or dropping?  Does 9man have a higher income per captia than other styles?  Are there more 9man Ineligible teams to compete against?  Or is it that 9man enjoys competing more than other styles?  No, hell no and doubt it.

Maybe it’s because unlike other styles, 9man is as close to traditional American football as you can possibly get without the pads– and maybe this explains the highly competitive nature and mindset of the Ineligible teams and players who continually seek out major competition (sometimes at any cost); unlike other styles.  While most styles seem to look for reasons not to compete, 9man is constantly searching for reasons to compete. 

If you don’t have a “football mentality” to begin with then playing 9man Ineligible is not for you.  And if you have not experienced traditional football in a highly competitive environment or posses a highly competitive spirit, then it may be difficult for you to understand the competitive nature of 9man and the need to feed it.  9man is definitely the most competitive style in flag football today and the increasing numbers during a poor economy makes it self-evident – 9man is growing bigger and stronger with each passing tournament.

 

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