THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508060156
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Minor league football in the United States is many things to many people.
For some, it is a stepping stone to bigger and better things. For others, it is a chance to still play the game that took up so many youthful hours.
Whatever the case, minor league football is popular in towns across the country.
South Hampton Roads is one of those places. Here, the Sharks compete in the Mason-Dixon Football League - an affiliate of the American Football Association.
The AFA is the governing body of minor league, or semipro, football. With more than 250 teams competing in 25 leagues, the AFA has had a national champion every year since 1980 - pitting league champs in a nationwide playoff system.
The AFA is broken into two divisions, Double-A and Single-A, with AA being for the better-quality, better-organized teams. A third classification, Triple-A is reserved for when, or if, the NFL affiliates with the league as a farm system. The Sharks are an AA team.
In 1982, the Minor Pro Football Hall of Fame was founded. It currently has 189 inductees, and every year the Chicago-based AFA holds an all-star game.
``The all-star game attracts quite a few pro scouts,'' AFA president Ron Real said. ``And every year, we have several players who are invited to tryouts (for the NFL, the Canadian Football League and Arena Football).''
The most notable player to come from the minor league ranks is Eric Swann of the Arizona Cardinals.
But Swann is an exception.
``We attract people who don't have any other outlet to try and get to the top and we attract people who realize they just aren't going to make it, but still want to play quality football,'' Real said.
Scott Cohen, Scouting Administrator for the Washington Redskins, said most NFL teams don't have time to scout minor league players. The best chance an AFA player has, he said, is to climb the ladder to the CFL or possibly Arena Football.
``With the exception of people like Eric, minor league football isn't a real hotbed for talent,'' Cohen said. ``We honestly don't pay that much attention to it. We do, however, find a couple of guys in the CFL who played in the minor leagues and moved up.
``But it's very unrealistic to think that we'd have the time to scout people in the AFA.''
Cohen quickly points out, however, that there are some athletes playing in the minor leagues.
And that, said Real, is why minor league football is popular.
``For the ticket price, it's great football,'' Real said. ``There are a lot of good blood-and-guts stories out there and they are as good as it gets. There's no money in it, so the fans know the guys are playing because they love it.'' by CNB