Quan’s Kitchen
VENOM SLIDE INTO PIFL CHAMPIONSHIP
Nashville Arena Football Will Play For Championship Cup This Saturday
NASHVILLE (July 10, 2014) – This summer, at a facility in Downtown Nashville there are stars on display, music blaring, people singing, there is dancing and you could go home with a prize. No, we’re not talking about the CMA Fest. We are talking about one of the best kept secrets for a family friendly atmosphere. The Nashville Venom Indoor Football Team.
Unlike the NFL, the PIFL allows celebrations like this after TDs.
The Venom is in their inaugural season and they play their home games at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Because they had the best record in the Professional Indoor Football League, the Venom earned the chance to play for the championship at home. This past Saturday, in front of an announced 2,113 fans, the Venom defeated the Columbus (Ga.) Lions 44-39. This Saturday they will take on the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Steelhawks. The winner will be the PIFL champions.
Former Vanderbilt University and Whites Creek High School star Jamie Graham is one of 12 players on the team with local ties.
Arena football is one of the most exciting games there is. It is played on a 50 yard field and the fans are right on top of the action. In a season with a team with the best record (11-2) with only one loss at home, you would think there wouldn’t be a problem drawing fans. On the contrary, this team has struggled getting people to come see them play. The Municipal holds about 9,000 people. Having about 2,000 makes it not look good on camera. The game Saturday will be televised on ESPN 3 and CSS. The team hopes people will get the word, come out and enjoy it.
Will Johnson is a former star at Pearl-Cohn High School
“I have only missed one game this season,” said WTNTribune Radio Sports Commentator Jason Sales. “The team is exciting and I love the Coach Billy Back. We interviewed him a few times and he has been extremely candid and intense. The team plays hard and they are winning. It puzzles me why people aren’t coming. Their loss though. My wife and I have lots of fun.”
: Former University of Texas player Brian Ellis is one of many Venom players that played at a major college.
The sparse crowd doesn’t diminish the enthusiasm. The Venom have nicknamed the Municipal the “Snake Pit”. The fans are loud and into the game. A group of young fans sit in the north end zone and somehow gets the attention of Venom players and opponents alike. They dance to the music that plays and lead the crowd in cheers. The team also has a mascot. His name is “Freddy Fangs”. Freddy is a portly looking reptile that loves to harass the visiting team’s players and fans. He also has attracted the eye of Venom Head Coach Billy Back a time or two.
Venom mascot Freddy Fang makes another young fan happy
“When we look for players we don’t get the guys with a body by Hostess frame,” said Back who doubles as the Venom general manager. Freddy is an exception. He is little out of shape but that’s OK. The kids love him and his antics crack the team up. We are doing all we can to get more butts in the seats. The product on the field is top notch. The music is great and the fans that are there are extremely. I can only imagine how loud the Snake Pit would be if it was packed. Heck, I’ll take half full. We worked hard to get to the championship. Our goal has been the same all year; win the conference, get home field, win our playoff game and win it all in front of our fans. We are right at the door to reaching that final goal.”
Venom GM/Head Coach Billy Back talks with his team.
After each game for 20 minutes, fans are allowed to come on the field, take pictures and get autographs from their favorite players on the team. This allows the fans to have an insight on the guys without the helmet. Last week the Venom even invited the media to come to see them practice. The team goes out to community events and they honor current and former members of the Armed Forces before every game. Some faces in the crowd this season has been Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry, Councilman Tim Garrett and former Vanderbilt QB Jordan Rodgers just to name a few. Some of the newer fans have also enjoyed the game and vow to come back.
“I really enjoyed myself and I don’t really know football,” said Nashville resident Cydnee Lynae. “My dad and brother go all the time. My stepmom likes them too. I asked if I could go and they brought me. It reminds me of hockey. I became a Preds fan because my dad took me. I didn’t know anything about either sport but I love the atmosphere. This game has something for everyone and the guys are easy to look at if you know what I mean. I plan to be back on Saturday and hopefully watch them win the championship. That would be cool to see.”
JaQuan Johnson is a local chef that loves sports. For more of Chef Quan you can find him on Twitter @ChefQuan
Nashville Venom players salute the fans at the beginning of the fourth quarter by putting up four fingers.
The Venom Cheerleaders, the Snake Charmers entertains the crowd throughout the game.
Nine Venom Players Named All PIFL
Nashville gets the most players named
NASHVILLE, TN (July 7, 2014) – Based on voting conducted by the teams and league officials, the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) is proud to announce the members of the 2014 All-PIFL 1st and 2ndTeams.
Ending the regular season with the best overall record, comes as no surprise that the Nashville Venom lead the way with nine overall selections including landing a league-high five first-team nods. The receiving tandem of Phillip Barnett and Jordan Jolly earned slots on the league’s top team combining to haul in 47 touchdowns and ended as the only receiving duo to both go over the 1,000 mark in yards. Other first-team Venom notables include C Chris Thompson, LB Cobrani Mixion, as well as DB Scooter Rogers.
NG Walter Thomas making a tackle.
Noticeably snubbed from the team was Venom NG Wayne Thomas. Thomas leads his team in QB hurries and was the key to stopping the running game of each Venom opponent. Local stars Stanlee Bradley (Antioch High School) and Corry Stewart (Father Ryan) were named to the second team.
Corry Stewart
Stanlee Bradley
POS. 1st Team 2nd Team
WR Phillip Barnett – Nashville Jarmon Fortson – Columbus
WR Mico McSwain – Alabama Johnny Lester – Georgia
WR Jordan Jolly – Nashville John Harris – Georgia
FB Kendrick Perry – Columbus Melik Brown – Trenton
OL Dion Small – Columbus Stanlee Bradley – Nashville (Antioch High School)
OL Chris Thompson – Nashville Kynneth Moses – Richmond
OL Aaron Wheeler – Georgia Lavon McCoy – Trenton
QB Warren Smith – Trenton E.J. Nemeth – Harrisburg
KR Dwayne Hollis – Lehigh Valley Leroy Vann – Columbus
K T.C. Stevens – Richmond Craig Camay – Columbus
Iron-man Melik Brown – Trenton Charles McClain – Alabama
DL Devin Jones – Richmond James Frazier – Nashville
DL Gerrard Bryant – Trenton Wayne Daniels – Nashville
DL Amara Kamara – Harrisburg Darian Barnes – Alabama
LB Adrian McLeod – Georgia Jermaine Thaxton – Harrisburg
LB Cobran’i Mixon – Nashville Gus Tyson – Richmond
DB Scooter Rogers – Nashville Damian Daniels – Columbus
DB Dwayne Hollis – Lehigh Valley Armar Watson – Harrisburg
DB Roshawn Marshall – Columbus Corry Stewart – Nashville (Father Ryan High School)