Semipro Opinion: Repairing The Damage Early

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For the better part of a decade, the APDFL prides itself as an elite league. The league gained a well-earned reputation for fielding some of the better teams in Semipro. Moreover, the organizations themselves serve as a standard for football at this level. Meanwhile, over the past couple of years, what started out as smaller issues snowballed into a larger one. Without a doubt, I hold many of the league’s teams and players in the highest regard. Yet, you cannot discount the fact the league itself has taken its share of recent lumps. With these concerns, I hope to provide reasonable solutions.

Too Many Teams

If you look at the league website and glance at the standings, instead of a who’s who, you’ll find a who’s this. Quite simply, there are too many APDFL teams. As a result, the quality of the overall league competition suffers greatly. Now, you’ll hear people say that competition and more teams are great. Yet, without any factual evidence, you will see a league with weekly blowouts and humiliating beatdowns. For example, through Week Four, the APDFL saw seventeen games decided by twenty or more points. Last season, the number for the same time period stood at fifteen. Meanwhile, the two previous, non-Covid years saw nine blowouts during the same frame. On a personal note, covering games that are non-competitive serves no purpose. Additionally, a couple of teams quit after halftime. Overall, that remains a black eye for the league and screams why contraction must occur going forward.

Split Decision

When you look at the lopsided score and location of some of these teams, one important factor slides into the conversation. A few of the newer, struggling teams formed from perennially decent squads. Granted, the inner workings of a Semipro franchise can look rather intricate. However, if teams cannot shelve the ego, in order to merge, the luster of the APDFL will continue to tarnish. Ego, in this sense, starts with the coaches and owners. Better together supersedes awful apart. Wearing a new uniform will not insulate your new team from suffering devastating losses.

No Dawgs Allowed

In the midst of the downturn in competition, some of the fault must reside with the players. When did competition become a dirty word in Semipro? Football, at its purest level, thrives with competition, whether intra- or intersquad. Players now want to leave a team because they feel like they’re not being used properly. While that does exist on some level, others want a guaranteed starting spot. In my opinion, leaving a poorly constructed franchise works, while leaving because you can’t beat the person ahead of you on the depth chart does not. Apparently, preening and posing on social media matters more than practice and putting in the work to improve. The APDFL is a results-driven league.

Selling The Dream

Now, be honest, some coach or owner will promise a player the world, pouring him an industrial=sized cup of the Kool-Aid. Anyone that jumps in your inbox, explaining about their connections, without a scintilla of hard evidence is straight-up lying to your face. To paraphrase Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop, players continue to fall for the banana in the tailpipe. Honesty in this league remains a rare event. Athletes, if they don’t choose wisely, will forever fall for said fruit. Maybe not showing up higher than Yao Ming’s eyebrows would also help. True coaches and owners would never tolerate some of the sideline nonsense that appeared on the sidelines in the past two seasons.

Good Teams Work, Bad Teams Fail

In the APDFL, the chasm between good teams and also-rans remains vast. One unnamed team pays nearly ten thousand dollars for five home games, full officiating crew, and the chain gang. Not to mention, they will travel just about anywhere to play any team, without complaint. On the other hand, two teams played a Semipro game in the APDFL without goalposts. Yes, without goalposts. What in the 1930s is this? This occurred as a surprise to many. In all honesty, the signs of subpar franchises sit in broad daylight. Choosing to ignore them is a personal problem. The league suffers due to a lack of professionalism. Every team an APDFL team steps on the field, they should represent what the league stands for. The true number of elite teams in this league falls because the number of unprofessional teams rises, throwing off the ratio. From uniforms to ensuring a roster of at least twenty players participating in each game. On a couple of occasions this year, teams could not meet these basic standards. That should be disqualifying.

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The Little Things Matter

For my entirety as a writer that covers Semipro, you will hear players voicing unhappiness. Take last season for example, a quarterback set league records at every conceivable category. Strangely, he didn’t win a single award. As someone who voted for him, that snub irritated me. Film and stats aligned and the greatest single-season passing performance in the history of the APDFL. To this day, I still would like to see who voted how and their justifications. Athletes risk life and limb to play a game they love for free. Respect that. Next year, ensure opening voting. Attach names to ballots and make the voters justify their vote. If they fail to, take the vote away.

Fixable

The APDFL maintains advantages that many leagues don’t. As such, they can easily fix the above-mentioned issues. First, limit the number of teams to sixteen to twenty. Doing that limits the number of nonsense forfeits that plague this league. Next, heavily vet the teams attempting to enter. All money isn’t good money and the league can afford to be scrutinized, weeding out applicants that fail to live up to its previous standard. Additionally, establishing a strong culture in the league prevents field mishaps and a lack of players for a roster. If teams need to merge, fine. Just make sure that bring a working, competent business plan to the fold. The P in APDFL stands for Professional. Fine teams that don’t keep quality stats or declare their players from postseason awards.

Morale Improvements

Morale in the APDFL, waxes, and wanes like the tides. With this in mind, gestures that become permanent will mend fences. For example, according to sources, the turnaround of receiving championships rings remains a rather sore subject. Instead, make the ring ceremony a big deal. Conduct it at the champions’ home opener. To a man, the players that spoke to me are proud of playing in this league. The APDFL should reciprocate. Next, create an open dialogue with the players that is not a trash talk page. Instituting public communication will start an era of openness. If not, the current trends will continue, and stagnation will undo all the good.