Bobby Lewis
OKBlitz.com Mobile JournalistTULSA, Oklahoma – The days of sitting down in your seat, sipping a beverage and watching a ballgame in peace are a thing of the past.
Watch out!
Arena Football League games are half ping pong, half sumo wrestling. Add in playing quarters comparable to a racquetball court, and fans are always in play. Stray footballs can put out an eye, or make your day.
The problem is AFL footballs cost around 40 bucks a pop. The league was losing loads of money every weekend when players tossed balls into the stands for screaming, souvenir-hungry fans. So, the league took action.
Any visiting player who throws a football into the stands gets fined fifty dollars. NO questions asked. Any home player who lofts a keepsake into the seats, may or may not get hit in the wallet. The home team has the option to pick up the tab on balls intentionally lobbed to a fan.
Steve Enlow, the
Tulsa Talons’ equipment manager, says the record for balls lost in the stands this season was 27.
“Normally we go through about twenty,” he smiled. “I understand on certain plays, record breakers and stuff like that, (fans) want to keep them.”
Despite the fines, players haven’t really stopped giving away footballs. For players that earn around four hundred dollars per paycheck, a fifty dollar fine is a substantial hit.
By comparison, the Wilson brand footballs used in the National Football League cost roughly 80-90 dollars.
