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AAFL Offers Another Chance To Play Football

By ANDY STAPLES The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 5, 2007

ORLANDO - By the dozen, they entered the Citrus Bowl wearing T-shirts advertising their alma maters - Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Furman. Name the school. An alumnus probably paid his own way to this tryout.

They came here hoping to prove they can play in a league that may or may not kick off next spring. Organizers of the All American Football League envision a six-team league that will play in college towns across the nation. Each team will carry 42 players and pay an average salary of $100,000, they say. Marcus Katz, the student-loan-company millionaire who will bankroll most of this endeavor, predicts his league can sell 80,000 tickets at 90,000-seat Florida Field.

History suggests fans will not support the league in such numbers. American fans have shown little interest in 11-man football played on 100-yard fields in the spring. But with a few notable exceptions, the 400 or so players here aren't concerned with the league's business model. They'll go almost anywhere if they have a chance to get paid to play football.

Love of the game draws some. The money draws others. For many, the chance that their affiliation with the league could land them in the camp of an NFL team outstrips any other motivating factor.

But they all have their own reasons for being here.

Pitchmen Are Former Gators

AAFL organizers know that whether you cheered for or against quarterback Shane Matthews and wide receiver Travis McGriff when they played at the University of Florida, you probably remember who they are. That's why their names have been plastered on the league's promotional materials, despite the fact that Matthews, a 14-year NFL veteran, said he probably wouldn't play beyond his stint in a seven-on-seven exhibition on Tuesday night.

McGriff, recruited essentially to be the face of the league, hopes to play. A veteran of the NFL (Denver Broncos) and the Arena Football League (Orlando Predators), McGriff seems to believe in the concept of a professional league that taps into the loyalty of college fans.

"If it's done right - and I'm convinced that the people involved are going to do it right - I think it's a wonderful concept," said McGriff, who can run a slant route and quote from the market research AAFL honchos commissioned earlier this year. "There are just so many people that love college football."

Waiting For An Opportunity

After capping his career at Florida State, defensive back Kyler Hall attended the rookie camps of the Detroit Lions and New York Giants last summer. The safety didn't get into a training camp, and he suffered through his first year away from the game since childhood.

"It's definitely been frustrating sitting out," Hall said. "It's the longest I've ever sat out from football. My faith has definitely kept me strong during this time. … I've been waiting on the opportunity."

That opportunity popped up on Hall's computer screen a few weeks ago after he returned from his honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico.

"I checked my e-mail," he said, "and I had an invitation."

Leagues Can Fold Any Time

After almost four years trying to earn a second NFL camp invitation, Greg Cole believes he still can sneak into the NFL through "the back door." The San Diego Chargers signed and cut Cole, a former Kansas defensive end, during the summer of 2003. Since, the Miami native has played in an alphabet soup of leagues - the Canadian Football League (CFL), af2 (the AFL's minor league), the National Indoor Football League (NIFL), and the United Indoor Football League (UIFL) - and he understands that at this level, a team is as likely to fold as it is to play a full schedule.

Earlier this year, Cole thought he had struck the perfect balance between keeping his dream alive and putting food on the table. He signed with the Miami Vice Squad of the NIFL, which meant he could get paid to play ($200 a game), he could teach as a substitute, and he could build his new business, a speed camp where - for a small fee - he guarantees parents he can make their young athletes faster.

Cole estimates his Ford F150 pickup swallowed about $500 in gas as he shuttled from his south Miami home to Plantation for the Vice Squad's preseason practices.

"We played one game," Cole said, "and we folded."

Cole, a newlywed, knows time may run out on his dream. This week, he is giving it one - possibly final, but maybe not - shot.

"My wife got tired of me leaving her," he said. "But Orlando is not too far from Miami. She's going to let me slide."

Seeking A Change Of Venue

Ryan Clement loves football, but he doesn't love it enough to play for the $200 a game most small indoor leagues offer. And why should Clement play for such a pittance? Clement, who threw for 6,004 yards as Miami's quarterback from 1994-97, earned a law degree from his alma mater and now serves as in-house counsel for a Denver lobbying firm.

But when Clement learned about the potential six-figure salary for about four months of work, his passion reignited for the game he hasn't played since a 2001 XFL stint.

"If I'm fortunate enough to be invited to participate in this league," Clement said. "I'm getting a few months' vacation."

A Chance At Redemption

Dock Pollard knows how Florida fans remember him, and he wants desperately to give them a better impression.

Pollard's Gators career ended with one game remaining in his junior season in 1998 when Coach Steve Spurrier booted the defensive back after learning that Pollard had taken money from a runner representing aspiring sports agent Sean Alfortish. After leaving Florida, Pollard played a little minor-league baseball and a little indoor football. He also made several trips to the Alachua County courthouse, he says, because he listened to the wrong people.

Pollard, now 30, decided to get his life in order. He finished his degree at Florida in 2005. He works at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, and he is scheduled to finish emergency medical technician school in August.

Unless, of course, he becomes a movie star first.

Pollard played running back Terry Gardner in the 2006 film "We Are Marshall," and he played Willie Randolph in the upcoming ESPN miniseries "The Bronx Is Burning." He is in the market for a theatrical agent and welcomes future parts, but the role he truly wants has nothing to do with Hollywood.

He wants to earn a spot on the roster of the AAFL Florida team, which is scheduled to play at least three games at Florida Field. If he can take the field at The Swamp one more time, Pollard hopes, he can erase years of regret and prove to everyone how much he's changed.

"It would be," Pollard said, "the perfect storybook ending."

Reporter Andy Staples can be reached at (352) 262-3719 or astaples@tampatrib.com.