Winning the Heisman Trophy and having a Hall of Fame career in the NFL weren’t necessarily more challenging for The Arena League Commissioner Tim Brown. But when compared to his new challenge, they sure were different. “It’s not as physical, thank God,” said Brown, with a laugh. “But still you try to do all you can.”
And so far, doing all he can has meant increasing the number of teams in the league from four to six in year two.
So maybe eight next year? The former Raiders great is thinking bigger. Much bigger. “We’re trying to go to ten or 12 next year,” Brown said. “We’re really trying to put in four to six teams. Our owner wants to spread this league across the country.”
In many ways, it’s similar to what the nine-time Pro Bowl wide receiver did on the gridiron: Changing the route.
Like when they added one more player on the field this year. “When you say 6-on-6, people say, ‘What?'” Brown said. “But when you say 7-on-7, people get it.”
And when the Kansas City Goats needed to move to St. Joseph they got an investment from Travis and Jason Kelce. “You know I don’t want to be in Kansas City anyways,” Brown said, with a laugh. “I don’t know if they’d had too much to drink or whatever but they [the Kelce’s] wanted to be a part. Any part of the team with those names is going to go a long ways.”
Those are some big NFL names. And he sees Lunkers touchdown leader Brandon Mackey as one of this league’s biggest names, and an MVP candidate. “There’s no doubt in my mind at this particular point he is one of the top guys on the list,” Brown said. “No doubt about it.”
Also on the top of the list? The Lunkers as a franchise. “Look, there’s nobody in the league that does it better than the Lunkers,” Brown said. “When you walk into the building you can feel it. From the young kids who do all the video stuff, to all the people who greet you and meet you. I don’t know how they’ve picked it up so quickly.”
Hopefully this franchise and this fanbase can help the next four to six teams pick it up quickly too.
