Norman Einstein's
ISSUE 04 (09/09)
"No Such Thing As Semi-Football"
by Jason Clinkscales
[Jason is a staff sportswriter for the New York Beacon, an African-American weekly in New York City. He is also the schizophrenic mind behind a Sports Scribe. Follow him on Twitter to glimpse the rapid-fire method to his madness.]
Whenever news breaks of an NFL player threatening to hold out from training camp over the terms of a contract, a large section of fans cry out about today's athletes whose sole motivation for playing is to get paid. Football is no longer a game to them, but a business that has sapped any child-like enthusiasm from their minds, bodies, and souls. Would these fans believe that someone still loves the game so much that they'd play it for free?
Yet there are men and women out there who do a bit more than believe in that cliche. In fact, these men and women live out that very passion every weekend on high school and community college football fields across the country in semi-professional football leagues.
Semi-pro teams are a mixed bag. Some players have high school experience. Some even a bit of college. Some have never played anything more than rough-touch ball on concrete playgrounds as kids. What makes these players unique is that many have full-fledged careers, families, and responsibilities. Playing football is in their blood, even if they lacked the talent or opportunities to make it to that next level.
Paul Grenada is one of these players. Grenada writes for the New York Amsterdam News, the famed African-American weekly. He also plays left tackle for the Brooklyn BullDawgs.
Growing up, like many young kids, Grenada played a number of sports. And, admittedly, his introduction to the game of football in the third grade was embarrassing. In a blog post for New York Amsterdam News's website, Grenada wrote, "On the kick off, I took the ball and preceded to run around in circles as teammates yell at me, 'Run that way, you fat dummy!'" Yet from the first, something about the gridiron, more than any other sport, just stuck with Grenada.
Grenada stumbled upon the chance to play for the BullDawgs. He admits to having no clue semi-pro teams practiced for years a mere two blocks from his home. The truth is, though, you can find a semi-pro league almost anywhere there's a high school football field.
Grenada's 'Dawgs are finishing their second season in the Regional American Football League. The League is home to thirty teams scattered throughout New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The RAFL is one of many leagues around the country playing under the collective umbrella of Minor League Football. Rules vary by league, governed by either high school, NCAA, or NFL rules. Some leagues even use modified versions of those rulebooks.
The term "semi-pro" is flexible, too, as it implies some sort of compensation. Some leagues are adamant about being labeled "semi-pro" because their players are not paid. While the designation is hard to shake, the reality is that many of these leagues do not pay because college eligibility of its younger athletes would be threatened by compensation. Even leagues that do pay their players may not always have the money to do so. A lack of resources is common. It's not unheard of for teams to win by forfeit because opponents can't pay their league dues.
Yet, the peanuts some semi-pro players get paid is just a bonus to putting on helmets and pads to play full speed ahead while the rest of us are content being nothing more than Monday morning quarterbacks.
Some play because office pools and fantasy football aren't enough to satiate their hunger.
Some play because there's no sense in weighing 275 pounds if they can't do anything with that bulky frame.
Some play because there may be that one dropped pass or turnover or missed tackle from senior year that they would kill to get back, even if they cannot recreate the exact time, place, and movements frozen in their psyches.
When initially coming up with this article, I couldn't help but think of something close to home. My father played semi-pro football when it was still considered a viable option for former college athletes to refine skills in hopes of playing in the pros. I always envisioned him as my family's version of Al Bundy, only he never spoke of his playing exploits until I asked about them in the months before his passing in 2001. Much of the reason for his silence was because, as my mother would tell me over the years, he was light in the ass.
A tall but rather skinny two-way player, my dad lined up at tight end and defensive end. In his time, he played against a few guys who were able to catch on with more lucrative outfits, if not the big time. A car accident shredded his knee and effectively ended his playing days -- along with being married with two daughters to support on a meager income from his burgeoning construction career. Yet it was a personal thrill for him, a young man managing to play the game he loved into his mid-twenties.
Semi-pro these days is relegated to extending that high school career. Grenada would be in his prime if he was a pro. But at 27, he has only two years of organized football under his belt. "I walked in knowing I don't really know much about playing football," Grenada says. "I can watch it with the best of them, but actually getting dirty, that's something someone has to teach you."
While Grenada's gridiron aspirations are to become a coach at some level, his teachers essentially just finished puberty. Despite the age difference between the younger veterans and an older second-year player, there's much for him to learn about the game. "I figured no matter how old they were, if they knew the game, I'd listen," Grenada says. "That, and football players tend to be know-it-all's so someone's bound to tell you something."
Regardless of the era, most semi-pro players were never playing because they still had dreams of playing Sundays. In fact, the NFL all but abandoned the adult amateur pipeline as its relationship with the NCAA became perhaps the most seamless in all of sports. With the glut of teams at the college level, coaches floating between the professional and collegiate ranks, and the financial investments made into personnel, sending pro scouts to semi-pro games wouldn't provide much of a return on investment.
Despite the lack of attention, or financial stability for that matter, semi-pro football is filled with unique experiences for its players, coaches, and managers. Borrowing players from the opposing team because the right side of the offensive line quit over pay. Buses breaking down on the highway while en route to the game (one could only hope there's a mechanic on the roster). Practices held with most of the players hungover from last night's barbeque... well, maybe that's not so unique. Grenada says that the stories you hear about the NFL happen on a smaller scale in semi-pro.
"Last year we had a teammate with a doctor for a girlfriend. She would help out from time to time as there are numerous untreated injuries at the semi-pro level. One day, she saw me wrapping my hands, like a boxer, to protect my wrist, and she asked why, as she wasn't taught that method in school."
You'd think a doctor has seen it all, or at least seen enough to know people will attempt any number of methods to avoid seeing a professional.
"I explained it to her, and she thought about it. After a few moments she says, 'You know, that makes sense compared to half the crap I've seen you guys do to take care of yourselves. Some of that stuff...' And her eyes take on a far-away frightened look to it. We all had a good chuckle."
The instability of semi-pro leagues and the dearth of elite talent have kept the semi-pro game out of the football loving public's eye. When you consider the fate of all challengers to the NFL since it merged with the American Football League in the 1960s and the enduring popularity of the college game, semi-pro might as well be beer league softball to fans.
Yet, when these fans clamor for idyllic "play for nothing" ideals, they might want to consider taking that drive to the nearest football field in town. There, a few guys like Paul Grenada are doing just that.
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