Arena football finds a home in the Valley

July 26, 2005 — George Halas may have disagreed, but to me, there’s just one way to describe arena football — it’s a lot of fun to watch.Designed for fast-paced action on an indoor, artificial surface, arena games are high-scoring duels with footballs flying through the air on almost every play. It’s 8-on-8 played on a 50-yard field.Back in his time as an NFL coach, I think "Papa Bear" liked to see those low-scoring, grind-it-out battles on "the frozen tundra," where the players’ uniforms always got dirty and they did their "trash" talking on the field by flattening the guy from the other team on an end sweep. And if there was blood on your jersey by the end of the game, all the better. - NFL Football -
For the most part, those old pro football days have given way to the arrival of flamboyant teams such as the Rio Grande Valley Dorados of arenafootball2.This is the Dorados’ second season in the Valley and they’ve become quite a hit.With a playoff berth on the line Saturday night, the showdown between the Dorados and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz attracted 5,519 fans to Dodge Arena in Hidalgo. Even though the Dorados lost 71-40, they found out later that night that they had clinched their first playoff berth because the Central Valley Coyotes lost to the Memphis Xplorers 69-57. Now the Dorados (9-6) will attempt to secure their first 10-win season and a possible home date for the first round of the playoffs when they play host to the Bakersfield Blitz (6-9) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Dodge Arena in their final regular-season game.No doubt a number of Dorados fans will arrive early at Dodge Arena on Saturday afternoon to stage tailgate parties like the ones they had prior to last weekend’s game. "The Dorados do a great job of selling a lot of tickets and getting their fans to come out," said Yard Dawgz quarterback Craig Strickland, who completed 17 of 22 passes for 260 yards and six touchdowns to highlight Oklahoma City’s win on Saturday. - NFL Football -
"The smaller the arena, the louder it’s going to get, so when you come in here (Dodge Arena), you expect it to be a real dogfight because of the (strong) fan base the Dorados have."Yes, the Dorados have found a home in the Valley.It helps a lot that they’ve having a successful season and that the players come out to meet fans and sign autographs after their home games. It’s a nice gesture that can only add to the team’s already strong fan base. - NFL Football -

The Herald.