Blissful Times

Sorry for the cheesy pun of a title for this.  I can't help myself sometimes and even if I could, I probably wouldn't.

The Chicago Bliss of the Legends Football League won their third LFL title in the last 4 years.  I covered the team through the first 2 titles, including accompanying them to Los Angeles for the title game.

It was a lot of fun and I thought it was a unique sport I could cover.  The team was always good to me, granting me lots of extra axcess.  I enjoyed talking to Coach Keith Hac, his assistants and the players (and not just because they were attractive young women).

The LFL itself, though, is a bit of a strange beast, confusing me to this day.  The Powers That Be (TPTB) decided to take all the media coverage and bring it in house.  Suddenly I was not part of the credentialed media.

Why a relatively unknown leage (sport) wouldn't want as much coverage as possible is  beyond me.  How many of my readers heard of the Bliss before I started covering them?  If you did know of them, how many people really knew anything substantial about them?  Yet TPTB decided they didn't need my extra coverage.

For full disclosure, I know of only one other "media" outlet covering them back then and they treated the Bliss mostly as a joke.  Regardless, they were also ousted from the coverage.

I still occasionally write about the Bliss.  I have no hard feelings towards the Bliss.  I don't want to come off like a bitter person, because I'm really not.  I have plenty of other stuff to cover, if I am not wanted somewhere.

In the end, it was a great ride while it lasted.  I had a lot of fun.  Jack and I went to Milwaukee and Los Angeles because of the Bliss.  I met a lot of great people, like Photographer Norm Cook.  I thought this would be a long run of expanding coverage.

I think TPTB have a different agenda though and I have no idea what it is.  Maybe they want to keep it as their little secret.  It's a shame, because the product is good.  The women are tough and skillled athletes.  In addition, they are very fan-friendly.

Next season, I'll probably check out a game (they only play two home games) and reconnect with some of my old friends.  It's hard to be "just a fan" after being so close.  It might be even harder to be sort of an insider/outsider like I am.  We'll see.  Until then though, I look back on the experience and remember the good times.

Norm Cook, Jack Keenan and me in Ontario, CA-September 2014.