With the current clashes both in the courtroom and in the news, the current situation with the National Football League has never been more shaded in uncertainty. The debate between the highly paid players and the rich owners has left a rift in the minds and hearts of the fans who have supported their teams through it all. With this struggle, many people have turned their attention to the college scene, where the players play for the love of the game and not for the love of a dollar sign. However even the college teams have recently found themselves in the news as accusations of cheating and illegal recruiting practices continue to surface. So where can people escape the drama of the national and college teams to enjoy the love of football again? Enter the Pacific Football League.
The PFL was founded in 2011 under the guidance of commissioner Ipo Ross, Secretary Heath Wharton, and President Chris Raffelson. It's goal, to bring together the best managed and hardest hitting teams from many of the scattered leagues in the Pacific Northwest into one dominating league. The Oregon Football League along with the NAFLNW decided to merge together and bring in the best teams they could from other leagues in the area. With the number of teams reaching 16, the standard for Minor League Football in the Pacific Northwest was formed. Divided into two divisions, with 8 teams in each division, the PFL features the best teams of the Pacific Northwest. Games are played under the NFL set of rules and feature full contact, hard hitting football.
The teams of the PFL are:
PFL North:
Clark County Vipers
Kitsap Bears
South King Colts
Gray's Harbor Bearcats
South Sound Shockers
Yakima Mavericks
Snohomish Vikings
Bellingham Bulldogs
PFL South:
Portland Monarchs
Southern Oregon Renegades
Portland Raiders
Oregon Outlaws
Springfield Buzzards
Rogue Warriors
Klamath Crusaders
High Desert Lightning
To the great fans of football who reside in the Pacific Northwest, grab your families and go check out your local teams in action. These guys are not playing for money, they are playing for the love of the game and to represent the areas they are from. You can check out the official PFL website by heading to www.pacificfootballleague.com where you can check out the schedule, statistics, as well as get links to many of the team's websites. If you have any questions for myself, the Vipers, or ideas for topics that you would like to see covered, please feel free to email me at brandenshealy@gmail.com.
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