How unfortunate that Saturday's Torii Bowl, Yokosuka at Misawa for the U.S. Forces Japan-American Football League title, was postponed due to transportation problems.
Yokosuka's flight from Naval Air Facility Atsugi got diverted due to a schedule change, the Seahawks couldn't secure ground transportation and had no other way of getting to Misawa Air Base this weekend.
Now, follows the question: When can the game be rescheduled?
Misawa said as long ago as the preseason coaches' meeting, they would not be available to play after Aug. 30 due to the base's annual Air Show on Sept. 6-7, followed by military commitments that would reduce the team's roster by half.
Yokosuka in good faith attempted every which way to find a way up north and could not do it.
Instead of pointing fingers at one another trying to assess blame for what happened, might it be possible for both sides to work out a solution?
Perhaps officials at Misawa can be convinced a football showcase between two squads of big, beefy American military teams banging heads with each other might attract a goodly number of guests on the base.
I predicted a crowd of more than 2,000 surrounding Hillside Stadium for the Torii Bowl. A game played on the same day as the Air Show might quintuple that number.
Whatever happens, neither team wants the season to end this way; I know that. The last time the league title game was called off, in 2003, the arguing via e-mail descended into such name-calling and insults that the very existence of the league was threatened. How about finding a solution instead?
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Play the game
As much frustration that has gone into my small OL brain as well as the coaches, we have GOT TO play this game. We played an open base game here, and the support was incredible. I don't speak for everyone on my team or for the coaches, but to have a paper champion is not the answer. There is no other way to settle this rivalry, and if this is indeed the end of this league, don't let it go like this. You know we would travel. We've done it twice. It's obvious to me that there were other real world events that canx our flight, and there was no bus. IF anyone has the idea that we were scared and didn't want to travel, I seriously hope you are kidding. We want to play. We need to play. I know the support of these teams is light at best on some bases, but we have got to find a way to go up there and play on the gym parking lot if we have to. We have all worked too hard, given up too much, and taken this to a new level... There has to be an open field that we can play this game on. It will be huge for the league to have 2000 people watch. Next year, we make our own money, pay for our own travel, and we do what we have to do. Misawa, I know you want to play this game against us. Don't leave it unsettled. For the love of the game!
Sam
All I want 2 know is when
All I want 2 know is when did they find out that they wouldnt be able 2 make it up here cause of their plane? As someone that works on jets, I know when something is wrong. I just think that is an excuse 4 them 2 have us come down 2 Yokosuka and put it on their @$$!!! I ***** that we have 2 wait 4 them 2 play 4 the championship. Yokosuka Turkeys should be ur team name,
Re: All I want 2 know is when
When I began this thread, I specifically asked people not to point fingers at one another and find someone/something to blame, and to engage in dialogue aimed at real solutions to this pressing problem. Accusing somebody of being scared and calling them names is not only wrong, it's unproductive.
To the best of my knowledge, here is the timeline of events that prevented Yokosuka from traveling north:
The flight in question was not disabled, but diverted elsewhere due to "real-world" mission requirements. The Seahawks found this out on Thursday. When it comes to fighting the global war on terror on two fronts, most military bases and services don't carry spare aircraft to carry a football team from place to place.
Yokosuka next planned to check out a bus and a van and drivers for each for ground transportation to Misawa. They were scheduled to depart Yokosuka at 8:30 p.m Friday. But when they checked with the public works center at 4 p.m. Friday, they were told, "Sorry, we have no vehicles and no drivers available." (unlike the Air Force, the Navy doesn't permit just anybody to drive government vehicles).
No rent-a-vans were available this weekend due to the Labor Day holiday.
Yokosuka tried in good faith to make the journey. A month earlier, the Seahawks spent $1,500 out of pocket to rent vans and brought half its roster to play Misawa.
A solution what we need. Let's find one.
Solution!
Dave,
Like you said... find a way to play it during the open base. We played an Xleague game here and made it a centerpiece of the day. We had players walking around, we had pamphlets at the gate, and we had a good crowd to watch it. I know there is a limit because of the lights situation and the space for all the booths. There's a week now to work on that. There can be a game on a field up there. The other idea that I don't personnaly like is play it somewhere in November or December when the Misawa deployment cycle is over. That's a reach. I'll play in it, but it's so far down the road. I say we either play it there during open base, or play it here as a last resort. It's Misawa's decision. They wanna play just like we do. They just need someone on that base to help their football team and realize how big of a deal this is. We have a commisoner... is there anything he can do?
Re: Solution!
To be fair, Misawa Air Base's long-standing policy re: the annual Air Show has mandated that all hands contribute to their unit's booths/displays/activities, to include the football team, at least since the old Marauders were founded in 1997.
Whether anybody has brought up the notion that the team could contribute to the Air Show in its own way (a football game) at its own booth (Hillside Stadium), I have no means of knowing.
I keep thinking back to the first interservice football game I ever covered in the Kanto Plain, October 1982, the Yokota Raiders beating the Yokosuka Seahawks on Friendship Day at the old Berkey Field (site of the new George I. Purdy Fitness and Sports Center).
The crowd numbered closed to 3,000, mostly football-curious Japanese watching American behemoths in helmets and pads crashing against each other so loudly, the Richter Scale readings went off the chart and they had to shut the runways at Narita and Haneda to examine for cracks (KIDDING! *LOL*)
Imagine the crowd they'd get for an Air Show football game at Misawa? Once base elders saw how popular an attraction such a game would be, they'd change whatever policy that prevents it. Forever. Count on it.
STOP
You can not be serious. Are you saying we went out of our way to avoid this game? Are you suggesting that we didn't want to travel? I showed up yesterday with my gear ready to go. I said bye to the family, I ran my chit, I did everything I was told to do to be able to go up and I feel just as let down and frustrated as you do. Yesterday at 1630 is when this became known to me. I work in Atsugi. I have seen these planes leave all week bringing supplies to Singapore, and there's nothing we can do about that. There was no broken plane, there was a plane that was taken from us. We have always made our games. We have always made our commitments. We don't want you to come down here. Or at least I don't. Again, I don't speak for everyone. I want to travel to you so there is no excuse. It's not like you are around the corner, and BIG NAVY decides who gets the planes, and so on. We went to get a bus... there wasn't one. Don't blame us. Turkeys? Nice. 3rd grader. I fully expect to go to practice, and be told that we are going to pay our way up there and play the game on Saturday infront of your open base. I wanna play now. If you come down here, I don't want to hear any excuses about the league loving Yokosuka... that has been proven time and time again not to be true. This brand new field has our name on it, but we can't even get our lights turned on for practice. I don't care where we play. I just wanna play.
Transportation
Why is it that yall always come up with excuses come game day as to why you cant make it up to Misawa? The Jets travel to twice as many away games as yall, and you never see us miss a game. You also fail to realize that we NEVER have a plane for transportation. We come out of pocket each and every away game. The base was suppose to provide us with transportation via bus, but they failed to do so...We end up renting vehicles, and spend hundreds of dollars every away game, and you complain about the few that you have to pay for?! Open your eyes, grow a pair, and quit making excuses and just get up here and play the game!!!
Keep my mouth shut
Ya know... if I say what I want to say, Dave will shut this down. I am really trying to keep my mouth shut because I am obviously dealing with someone that just doesn't get it. We DID TRAVEL. TWICE! We aren't looking for an excuse, we all were ready to go, and we didn't have a flight. You traveled to us... ONCE. So as the 2007 champs, we had to travel to you twice. Being on and AFB, you know, or should know how that works. We never ducked you, we never found a way to not play. We bared down, and we did pay our way to you. Remember? Or are you just someone that doesn't play? We came up there with 16. We lost our plane last time, and still had a bus to fall back on. This time, the bus wasn't there. There aren't any vans to rent again, becaues it's a 3 day wekend, and everyone took them. It's really an easy thing to understand. We never complained about anything, and aren't complaining now. We're upset at the situation. We never complained about a single problem. We were upset that the Navy let us down in the sence that they used our plane for a war, but I really think you are either misimformed, or just don't wanna see thereal reasoning. Either way, you need to re-evaluate what you're talking about.
GENTLEMEN....
Please see Dave's Comments,
I have been working with Coach Ellis and Coach Sanders since transportation fell out from under us. Matter of fact,I was at Haneda Airport because I needed to go up ahead of time on Friday when I was called and told that the bus fell apart and to not board the flight. So take that as we were comming.
I was a player for many years and all I had to do was go to practice and work out and not worry about the logistics, but I trusted my Coaches, guys if you have a question ask us before going public here. Please show some restraint, this is not about anyone being scared to play you, far from it. This was the best we looked all season, including when you came down here. This is about no transportation, period... our plane was taken for real world ops leaving only had 24 hours to come up with a bus then that bus not being available when we were trying to get drivers. We were at PWC transportation all day Friday trying to work this after our flight fell apart. Our decision to not travel was made at about 1530! I immediatley callled your Coaches.
We are working on tentative dates and may have this worked out.
I have absolute respect for your Coaches, and I am asking my players to keep their mouths closed when discussing travel, since we do not burden them with the specifics, so they dont know the facts. They just need to show up and get on the bus/plane or whatever.
No one that knows the whole story thinks we are scared. We do not like reschedules or cancellations we have been up three times this year and will make the fourth trip. Coordinating travel with people from seriosly 15 different commands is not easy so we would rather travel light than do this over. But we were not light, we made 30+ reservations at the Navy barracks there.
This crap is counter productive, we need to play football. We are working a plan and will execute it.
THE MISAWA AIRSHOW IS A NON STARTER, SEAHAWKS CALL ME IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR THIS!!!
SEAHAWKS If you want to talk about football.... fine. I am asking you to stop talking Logistics or anyones commitment to play from our side of the ball.
Thanks,
Coach Price
jp21001@yahoo.com
I Agree 100%
Jets and Seahawks, Coach Price is right. Bashing each other over something neither of us had control of is not going to solve anything. Fact, the Seahawks transportation problems is true and us Jets need to get over it. Fact, us coaches have a resolution for the Championship game and should be getting word on Tuesday. Like Coach said, we have been on the phone in the past 48 hours more than you could imagine looking at every possible way to play the game.
Seahawks, on behalf of the Jets, I apologize for our unsportsmanlike attitude toward you and this will cease. I know you guys want to play the game just as much as we do and try to understand the fustration our players are going through. Our players attended the Edgren high school and middle school school assemblies this past week and hyped the game up. Our players went to each squadron Commanders and First Sergeants. We also invited the Japanese Self Defense Force. On top of everything, we had the high school booster club set to do the concession stand, a live DJ, we were constantly on the radio station advertising the game, we had a punt pass and kick competition for the kids during half time show, and finally, two announcers set for the game. Just from the feedback we were getting from the community, we were set to break 2,000 plus fans for the game. So imagine all of the hard work off the field my players sacrificed for this game just to turn around at the last moment and cancel everything and it sure doesn't feel good meeting all at the field for an hour turning them away.
The importance of this game has been stressed and the bottom line is, "What's the point on playing a season with no Championship game". That is somethng us coaches have been discussing this whole time and believe us when we say, "We have a plan". So let us handle the logistics portion of the game and you players execute during the game.
Roger Aye!!
I have faith in the coaching staff of the Jets and Seahawks to get things handled. Until then, I'm gonna get some practice in.