Football in the Mall

I am a supporter of arena/indoor football and think the sport is awesome but sometimes I wonder what thinking goes behind some of the decisions that are made to "promote" the sport.  Recently, the Indoor Football League (IFL) - which is considered to be the premier indoor league - had something they call the IFL Cup which was played at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

In case you missed it, they played this in a SHOPPING MALL.

The IFL Cup was dreamed up to be a midseason tournament which does not count in the league standings to promote the league.

I have been to the American Dream Mall.  There is an area to play the game but it is near the food court and hardly a place to accommodate spectators.  

The semifinal games were played on May 18th with the Arizona Rattlers defeating the New Mexico Chupacabras 61-15 and the Vegas Knight Hawks trounced the Orlando Pirates 73-33 to set up the championship on Memorial Day weekend.

This isn't the first time that an indoor league has played in the American Dream Mall.  A few years ago the Arena Football League which struggled through the season decided to play their championship game at this venue.  The Billings Outlaws beat the Albany Firebirds 46-41 to win ArenaBowl XXXIII - at the MALL.

Arena football does not need to be played at the mall.  Yes, the American Dream Mall is an awesome place and wonderful place for shopping and entertainment but not for serious football games.

Come on guys!  You can do better than this!

If you are going to promote the sport, do it by playing in REAL sports arenas or even play the game outdoor venues like the National Hockey League (NHL) does for their winter classics.  

I'm all for unique promotion ideas to grow the sport but please stay out of the mall.