Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Lakeland Raiders Arena Football

I was born a New England Patriots fan. And I married a HUGE Alabama fan. I do watch games occasionally but I have to admit I'm pretty much one who only watches the bowl games. So when one of our local magazines did an article about Arena Football I was curious. And they had a really cool skull and crossbones logo, lol. So Hut and I decided to check out a game. That was all it took. I am HOOKED!!

These are the Lakeland Raiders Dance Team. There are actually 10 of them, but these 7 were nice enough to post for a picture with Hut.
And the dance team is getting ready to welcome the team on to the field. I have a really awesome video of this, but for some reason FB or Blogger won't let it upload.
Some of the players warming up.
Done with warm-ups the team is getting ready to kick some Mississippi Hound Dog Tail!
These two pictures are the team shield and the team mascot logo. These symbols were both taken from the WWII Marine Corp bombing battalion. The logo is the exact replica. Out of respect for the Marines, at the beginning of each game they have Marines come out in battle gear like they are ready to strike. And then they have a Marine in dress blues come out with the color guard. As the players come out on to the field they all run up to the Marine and salute him. It's very moving. And I have it all on a video I can't upload.
This is the final score at the end of the game. We kicked butt! And I guess I should mention that the game is played on a 50 yard field. Tons of action. And if the football should end up in the stands, the lucky catcher of the ball gets to keep it. Even when they kick field goals. The End Zones are a good place to sit, lol.The coolest part is after the game, the players and the dancers stay on the field and then the fans are allowed down there to get up close and personal. Photos and autographs, some ball tosses with the kids (big kids, too), it's great fun for everyone. We decided to pass on going on the field because there were alot of fans.

If you ever have a chance to see an Arena Football game, I suggest you go. I've never had so much fun. I can't wait to take the kids and the grandkids. And the tickets are not expensive at all.

3 comments:

Missy Glave said...

That looks like alot of fun!! And to have local teams too ... that is just awesome!

Granny Annie said...

I'm not much of a sports fan. Maybe if I understood the games... But so happy you have fun with it.

Bonnie said...

Annie, I'm more of a baseball fan than anything because I DO understand how that games goes. However, this arena football is very fast paced and fun and the rules are similar to regular football so I am learning, lol.