Football, Sorta Football, Not Quite Football, Not At All Football, And Rugby
Today is Wear Your Hockey Jersey Day, so I have my Tampa Bay Lightning shirt on.
Knoxville is getting their second soccer team in their history--The Force. They had another team called The Impact that must have not had much of one because I never heard of it before they had folded. The Force will play in a league that's Fourth Tier--three levels below Major League Soccer, and two levels below the league that's home to FC Tampa Bay (the would-be successors to the Rowdies).
Meanwhile, the indoor football team that was founded as the Topeka Knights and played three seasons in Knoxville as the Tennessee ThunderCats and the Tennessee Riverhawks is being reorganized as...the Johnstown Generals. Yes, they moved out of town, and Knoxville did its best not to miss them, even though in their first year in Knoxville they won their League's championship!
Knoxville seems to hate anybody who isn't the Vols. Their pro baseball team skedaddled to Sevier County because the field in Knoxville was getting decrepid and the city refused to find a new home for them where the fans were.
The Knoxville Hockey team, the Ice Bears, are still going but the press doesn't cover them worth diddly and I doubt they have good attendence because of that. Besides, the Arena isn't such a hot venue itself.
There have been semi-pro football teams in Knoxville over the years, but when football season is going all the press wants to talk about is THE VOLS. Ugh.
But suddenly, I'm becoming a fan of Rugby Sevens--the Olympics version of footballTM. I watched as much of the action from the tournament last week that I could (unfortunately I had to switch off with the golf coverage for Mom) and wish I could see more. While I wouldn't mind if someone came up with an American Pro R7s League, with the state that Soccer is in America, Rugby Sevens would have an even tougher time getting a fandom and support from the powers that be.
Knoxville is getting their second soccer team in their history--The Force. They had another team called The Impact that must have not had much of one because I never heard of it before they had folded. The Force will play in a league that's Fourth Tier--three levels below Major League Soccer, and two levels below the league that's home to FC Tampa Bay (the would-be successors to the Rowdies).
Meanwhile, the indoor football team that was founded as the Topeka Knights and played three seasons in Knoxville as the Tennessee ThunderCats and the Tennessee Riverhawks is being reorganized as...the Johnstown Generals. Yes, they moved out of town, and Knoxville did its best not to miss them, even though in their first year in Knoxville they won their League's championship!
Knoxville seems to hate anybody who isn't the Vols. Their pro baseball team skedaddled to Sevier County because the field in Knoxville was getting decrepid and the city refused to find a new home for them where the fans were.
The Knoxville Hockey team, the Ice Bears, are still going but the press doesn't cover them worth diddly and I doubt they have good attendence because of that. Besides, the Arena isn't such a hot venue itself.
There have been semi-pro football teams in Knoxville over the years, but when football season is going all the press wants to talk about is THE VOLS. Ugh.
But suddenly, I'm becoming a fan of Rugby Sevens--the Olympics version of footballTM. I watched as much of the action from the tournament last week that I could (unfortunately I had to switch off with the golf coverage for Mom) and wish I could see more. While I wouldn't mind if someone came up with an American Pro R7s League, with the state that Soccer is in America, Rugby Sevens would have an even tougher time getting a fandom and support from the powers that be.