thedrifter
08-11-07, 07:52 AM
Why these men are chasing their football dreams
August 11, 2007
By DARREN DAY dday@scn1.com
When John Burns finished his tour of duty in Desert Storm with the U.S. Marines, he set his sights on a new dream -- playing professional football.
While the 1988 Carmel High graduate did suit up for the semi-pro Lake County Chiefs for the past 15 seasons, he never did achieve the goal of making to the pro ranks.
Now, he might get that opportunity and it could be on a team in which he is a part-owner.
Burns, a Gurnee resident, is one of three co-owners with local ties at the controls of the Milwaukee Bonecrushers, who will begin play in March of 2008 in the Continental Indoor Football League.
The Bonecrushers will play its home games in downtown Milwaukee at U.S. Cellular Arena, formerly the Mecca and currently the home of the Milwaukee Wave indoor soccer team and the successful University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball program.
The last time Milwaukee played host to indoor football was from 1994-2001 when the Mustangs played in the Arena Football League and averaged more than 14,000 fans per game at the Bradley Center.
"Since the Packers quit playing home games in Milwaukee and the Mustangs disbanded, Milwaukee has been hungry for a local football team," said Burns. "It's a great sports city, and I'm sure it will support our brand of indoor football."
Besides being a co-owner with former Lake County resident A. A'ron Williams and Waukegan's Shaun Totulis and the team's director of information, Burns, a 6-foot-2, 305-pound nose tackle who earned national semi-pro awards for his play while with the Chiefs, hopes to suit up for the Bonecrushers on the field as well.
"I'm 37 now, so I don't know how long I'm going to hold up, but I'm going to give it a shot," he said. "We are going to have a lot of players from this area try to make our team. I sure wished there was something like this around for me when I was getting out of the Marines."
The 12-team Continental Indoor Football League -- which also has a team in the recently opened Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates -- is generally considered a talent level below the AFL or the AFL2 leagues. The Rochester (N.Y.) Raiders recently captured the two-year league's title over the defending champion Port Huron (Mich.) Pirates.
"We definitely view our team as an opportunity for some players to get noticed and maybe move up to the AFL or CFL (in Canada), which has happened before with players in our league," said Burns.
Two players who competed with Burns on the Lake County Chiefs -- strong safety Kendrick Bell, a Waukegan West graduate, and offensive lineman Laurence Ancahas, a former Warren High player -- have already signed on to play with the Bonecrushers and their head coach Mike Tumbleson, a former AFL2 assistant.
More players were looked at during the team's first tryout session last weekend in Milwaukee.
"We've received feelers from players all over the country because our Milwaukee market is going to be one of the biggest in the league and it's a chance for some more exposure for the better players," said Burns.
It's a market Burns hopes will be kind to the Bonecrushers in their first season.
"U.S. Cellular will hold around 9,500 for indoor football, and this is an owner talking now, but I think we have a good shot to fill the place for all six of our regular season games, one pre-season game, and, of course, some playoff games," said Burns. "I think we will put a very good product on the field which be entertaining even in our first season."
The CIFL is happy to have Burns' team on-board for the 2008 season.
"We are pleased to be welcoming another team to the league, especially one that has an ownership group as dedicated and hard-working as this one," said CIFL co-founder Jeff Spitaleri. "Milwaukee is a great city and the Bonecrushers will be a welcome addition to our stable of teams in this league."
Ellie
August 11, 2007
By DARREN DAY dday@scn1.com
When John Burns finished his tour of duty in Desert Storm with the U.S. Marines, he set his sights on a new dream -- playing professional football.
While the 1988 Carmel High graduate did suit up for the semi-pro Lake County Chiefs for the past 15 seasons, he never did achieve the goal of making to the pro ranks.
Now, he might get that opportunity and it could be on a team in which he is a part-owner.
Burns, a Gurnee resident, is one of three co-owners with local ties at the controls of the Milwaukee Bonecrushers, who will begin play in March of 2008 in the Continental Indoor Football League.
The Bonecrushers will play its home games in downtown Milwaukee at U.S. Cellular Arena, formerly the Mecca and currently the home of the Milwaukee Wave indoor soccer team and the successful University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball program.
The last time Milwaukee played host to indoor football was from 1994-2001 when the Mustangs played in the Arena Football League and averaged more than 14,000 fans per game at the Bradley Center.
"Since the Packers quit playing home games in Milwaukee and the Mustangs disbanded, Milwaukee has been hungry for a local football team," said Burns. "It's a great sports city, and I'm sure it will support our brand of indoor football."
Besides being a co-owner with former Lake County resident A. A'ron Williams and Waukegan's Shaun Totulis and the team's director of information, Burns, a 6-foot-2, 305-pound nose tackle who earned national semi-pro awards for his play while with the Chiefs, hopes to suit up for the Bonecrushers on the field as well.
"I'm 37 now, so I don't know how long I'm going to hold up, but I'm going to give it a shot," he said. "We are going to have a lot of players from this area try to make our team. I sure wished there was something like this around for me when I was getting out of the Marines."
The 12-team Continental Indoor Football League -- which also has a team in the recently opened Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates -- is generally considered a talent level below the AFL or the AFL2 leagues. The Rochester (N.Y.) Raiders recently captured the two-year league's title over the defending champion Port Huron (Mich.) Pirates.
"We definitely view our team as an opportunity for some players to get noticed and maybe move up to the AFL or CFL (in Canada), which has happened before with players in our league," said Burns.
Two players who competed with Burns on the Lake County Chiefs -- strong safety Kendrick Bell, a Waukegan West graduate, and offensive lineman Laurence Ancahas, a former Warren High player -- have already signed on to play with the Bonecrushers and their head coach Mike Tumbleson, a former AFL2 assistant.
More players were looked at during the team's first tryout session last weekend in Milwaukee.
"We've received feelers from players all over the country because our Milwaukee market is going to be one of the biggest in the league and it's a chance for some more exposure for the better players," said Burns.
It's a market Burns hopes will be kind to the Bonecrushers in their first season.
"U.S. Cellular will hold around 9,500 for indoor football, and this is an owner talking now, but I think we have a good shot to fill the place for all six of our regular season games, one pre-season game, and, of course, some playoff games," said Burns. "I think we will put a very good product on the field which be entertaining even in our first season."
The CIFL is happy to have Burns' team on-board for the 2008 season.
"We are pleased to be welcoming another team to the league, especially one that has an ownership group as dedicated and hard-working as this one," said CIFL co-founder Jeff Spitaleri. "Milwaukee is a great city and the Bonecrushers will be a welcome addition to our stable of teams in this league."
Ellie