Raptors 2006 Home Field

The Tennessee Raptors will be playing our 2006 home games at West Greene High School in Greeneville, TN. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 8/11/06 at 3:11 PM.

Saturday's Practice - 7/22/06

Saturday 7/22/06 - we will be practicing from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM at our current practice field, South View Community Park, located off of Rock Springs Road in Colonial Heights. Posted by Randy at 10:00 AM on 7/21/06

New Practice Field

We will resume practice on Thursday evening (7/13/06) at South View Community Center in Colonial Heights. Practice begins at 6:30. See "Locations" on our site for a map.
Directions:
- East on Rock Springs from Moreland Drive.
- Right, Just past and behind Andover Condominiums at Park Sign.
Address: 401 Rock Springs Road, Kingsport, Tennessee 37663

4th of July Parade

The Raptors will be participating in the 4th of July Parade. The entire team (including cheerleaders, players and staff) in full gear, will meet and organize at 8:00 AM at the parking lot at Commerce and Sullivan in downtown Kingsport near the historical Church Circle. From there we will travel together down to Sullivan and Center where we will enter the parade at 9:00 AM.

Congrats AFL!

AFL 13 - MCFL 9 Hats off to a great victory for the Alliance Football League! Saturday's game was everything it was billed to be, a hard hitting, tough battle between two of minor league football's best leagues... The MCFL team was a big, talented team, that played with class and a lot of heart. In the end, the AFL just got it done. The Raptors' All-stars contributed solidly to the AFL victory. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 5/30/06 at 5:48 PM.

Practice Saturday 5/20/06 - Cancelled

Coach Mitchell and Coach Steffey will be attending the All-Star practice in Abingdon, Coach Wilcox and Coach Carroll will be out of town. See you at Sunday's meeting. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 5/19/06 at 3:45 PM

Team Meeting

There is a MANDATORY MEETING this Sunday (5/21/06) at 1:30 PM at Bailey's in Johnson City. This meeting is for all staff, coaches, players & cheerleaders. If there are any questions please call the office. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 5/19/06 at 10:00 AM

Practice Field

Beginning Thursday 5/18/06, we will be practicing at the Holston Institute field (see "locations" for directions). Practice (on Tuesdays and Thursdays) now begin at 6:30 PM. Start time was pushed back 30 mins. to give everyone more time to get to the field. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 5/17/06 at 7:15 PM

All-star Pracitce

will be on the 20th on saturday @ 2:30 pm at highlands community college interstate 81 to abingdon take exit 14. You will go right at bottom of exit, then you will turn right at mcdonalds and follow road to the college field will be on the left,, please dont be late, show up early and be ready to go at 2:30 thanks! (Posted for Bo) by Randy Ferrell on 4/11/06 at 11:41 PM

Lookout Tri-Cities...

Our Jammin' Raptor Girls are going to look smokin' in their "new custom uniforms" ... coming soon! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/30/06 at 10:45 AM

Practice on Saturday, April 29

We are practicing as scheduled on Saturday, April 29th at 12:00PM at Blountville Middle School. Going forward, please follow our published practice schedule. If there are any changes or cancellations, we will inform you here... Posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/29/06 at 7:17 AM

Practice on Thursday, April 27

We are practicing as scheduled on Thursday, April 27th at 6:00PM at Blountville Middle School. posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/26/06 at 4:12 PM

Practice on Sat, April 22

We are practicing as scheduled on Saturday, April 22nd at 12:00PM at Blountville Middle School. See you there! posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/21/06 at 6:17 PM

New Message Boards are Live!

We just went live with our new Message Boards. See the "Boards & Blogs" button, on the left navigation. There is a general board for all, a board for players & fans, and a board for the Raptor Girls & fans. Enjoy! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/18/06 at 6:40 PM

Practice Thursday April 20th

We will be practicing as scheduled Thursday April 20th beginning at 6:00 PM at Blountville Middle School. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/18/06 at 6:37 PM

2006 Practice Season Begins!

This Saturday, April 15th all Players, Coaching Staff and Cheerleaders are to converge on Blountville Middle School's football field to begin our 2006 practice season. For directions to the field, please see "Practice" in our Schedule section for directions to the practice field. See you all there! On behalf of the team, I would like to thank Sullivan County Schools District Maintenance Director, Joe Mike Akard, Blountville Middle School Principle, Larry Hall and Blountville Middle School Football Coach, Coach Fox, for greatly assisting the Raptors with our mission here in NE Tennessee. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/13/06 at 4:40 PM

Practice on Sat, April 8th - Cancelled

We will not be practicing on Sat. April 8th. Please check the site for updates as to when practice will begin. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/7/06 at 1:13 PM

Voice of the Tennessee Raptors...

We proudly welcome the addition of News Channel ll's Kasey Marler to the Raptors family. Kasey has followed, covered and supported the Raptors since our beginnings in 2004. Kasey, the new "Voice of the Raptors" will be announcing at all of our home games this season. Kasey recently accepted the position of Game Day Announcer and also has a seat on our Board of Directors. Please join me in welcoming Kasey to our family... Posted by Randy Ferrell on 4/5/06 at 10:00 PM

2006 Practice Season

Practices will begin Saturday, April 8th. I am working with Sullivan County on a new location. See "Practice" in our Roster section for directions to the new practice field. I should have confirmation on this by th 1st of April. Please check the site for updates. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/25/06 at 7:50 AM

Introducing the 2006 Jammin' Raptor Girls!

We are very proud to introduce the Tennessee Raptors Cheer & Dance Team, the Jammin' Raptor Girls! The girl's pictures are now featured in our "Cheerleaders" section. A special thanks goes to Pam Curd from Revma Media" for an outstanding job on the photography... Look for new pics of our girls in their new custom uniforms in April! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/19/06 at 8:35 AM

Congrats Players!

Our coaches met on Saturday and reviewed and discussed the stats from the tryouts. After careful consideration, cuts were made, and the rest were invited back to this weekend's mini-camp. The list has been posted in the "Signings" area. Congratulations! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/13/06 at 8:45 AM

2006 Tryouts Video

Video of our 2006 Tryouts held at the Boys & Girls Club of Johnson City on March 4th is now available to to view by visiting our "Photos" section. Enjoy! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/12/06 at 9:50 AM

Tennessee Raptors Reality Series!

We just partnered with an outstanding local production company that is going to produce and broadcast a new reality series based on the Tennessee Raptors. Filming actually begins today at our coaches meeting and will continue throughout the year at all of our practices, meetings, games and more. The focus of the show is really all about the ups and downs, and challenges of every aspect of our team from the coaches perspective, to the players and cheerleaders. It's a behind the scene's look at local professional football. It will be broadcast regionally through Elixir (Charter & Comcast) and could be picked up nationally. In addition, the series will be available to view via streaming media from our site. This is very exciting and represents yet another way that we are bringing minor league football to the national stage. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/11/06 at 9:00 AM

New 2006 Mini-Camp T's

Our brand new 2006 Mini-Camp commemorative T-shirts are available now in our super store. Click here and enter the "Men's" section to view the new shirts. There is a standard T, and a sleeveless version. Enjoy! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/10/06 at 11:50 PM

Welcome New AFL Teams!

The AFL (Alliance Football League) recently added two outstanding teams to the league... The Tennessee Pioneers and the Georgia X-Treme. The Raptors welcome these two great franchises and look forward to the additional, high quality competition. Two get a brief look at the Pioneers and the X-Treme via their AFL site, click here. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/10/06 at 7:40 AM.

2006 Tennessee Raptors Mini Camp

With the tryouts behind us, our attention is now on our upcoming mini-camp. All former AFL players in the Tri-Cities region are required to attend. All 2005 Raptors players are required to attend. Those that do not attend will be cut from the the 2006 Roster. For all former AFL and former Raptors players, there is a $25 fee for attending the 2006 mini-camp. Athletes that attended the 2006 tryouts and make the signed list, are invited to attend the mini-camp. The fee that you paid at the tryouts covers the mini-camp as well. The mini-camp will be held at the Boys & Girls Club of Johnson City, beginning at 9:00 AM on Saturday - March 18th, and 12:00 PM on Sunday - March 19th. It is only required that you attend one of the two days. We are holding the mini-camp for two days to make it possible for all to attend at least one day. The general public and the local media are invited to come out and enjoy the event. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/6/06 at 10:45 PM.

Congratulations 2006 Jammin Raptor Girls!

30 Girls from all over the region pre-registered. 10 were selected to represent the Tennessee Raptors and lead our fans during the 2006 season. The names of the girls can be viewed on our "Cheerleaders", photos and more will follow soon! Congratulations girls and welcome to the Raptors' family! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/6/06 at 10:30 AM.

2006 Tryouts

I am very pleased with our turn out for the 2006 tryouts. We had over 60 new prospects and former AFL players attend. Not only was there a large number attending, there was speed, strength and skill everywhere. It was great to see some of our players from 2005 attend, even though it wasn't required. I was also very pleased with the performance of our coaching staff, who lead the group of athletes through each drill. Our 2005 team had a lot of talent. The combination of last years performers with the talent that was at our tryouts is going to result in one very exciting football team for 2006. We still have a few questions to answer, but those will be handled by the mini-camp in March. The Jammin' Raptor Girls tryouts were equally succesful with 10 girls making the team out of over 30 that pre-registered. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 3/6/06 at 10:24 PM.

AFL vs MCFL All-star Game is On!

The 2005 Alliance Football League All-stars will play in a Memorial Day Weekend game against the Mid Continental Football Leagues 2005 All-stars. The AFL All-star team coaches are as follows: Head Coach: Bill Dudley (2005 League Champions), OC: Greg Campbell (2005 Runner-ups), DC: Shane Yost (2005 League Champions), Assistant Defensive Coach: Sidney Mitchell (Raptors), Assistant Offensive Coach: Myron Steffey (Raptors), ST: John Caudle (2005 Runner-ups). The 2005 All-star players are listed here: 2005 AFL Allstars The game will be played in Bluefield, WV at the AFL Bluefield Barons home field, Mitchell Stadium on May 27th (may be changed to May 13th). This game provides an excellent opportunity to showcase our leagues talent and should be very entertaining. Considering last years attendance at the Barons' home games, there will likely be thousands in attendance... Posted by Randy Ferrell on 2/24/06 at 9:30 AM

Our New Home

I am very excited to announce that our long search for a home in the Tricities has finally come to an end. It looks like we will be building a new 10,000 seat stadium in Sullivan County across from the Tri-Cities Airport see: http://www.tennesseeraptors.com/newstadium.html The details will be released soon... Posted by Randy Ferrell on 2/22/06 at 7:00 AM

Saturday's Workout (2/11/06) is Cancelled

Our workout planned for Saturday the 11th has been cancelled due to the potential for significant snowfall in the region. We have a family member flying into the TriCities this evening and she informed us that her flight was re-routed through Atlanta, due to the fact that the Memphis airport received 5 inches of snow in an hour... posted by Randy Ferrell on 2/10/06 at 5:35 PM

Welcome Kimberly Sams!

Former ETSU Cheerleader Kimberly Sams is now a Tennessee Raptors, Jammin' Raptor Girl! Raptors' management met with Kimberly yesterday afternoon after our team workout. Kimberly welcomed the opportunity to cheer for the Raptors, saying that cheerleading is in her heart and that she absolutely loves football. Please join me in welcoming Kimberly to our family. posted by Randy Ferrell on 2/5/06 at 6:21 PM

Momentum

Where to begin? If I had to sum up the past 10 days in one word, it would be momentum. We all know how crucial momentum is in a ball game, if you have it you can win, if you don't and your opponent does, you better steal it quickly. When you have momentum, giant leaps forward can be acheived. I have watched the Miami Hurricanes put up 21 points in under 5 minutes on sheer momentum. We have all seen amazing examples of this before. I will defer to Coach Mitchell to elaborate further on the importance of momentum in a game. The power of momentum is not confined to sports alone, and often impacts our lives in many ways. Our organization is currently experiencing dramatic growth due in large part to sheer momentum. It is one month into 2006, and here is a breakdown of all that has happened already... We have added several new employees to our management team. We have already, nearly 80 local athletes interested in playing for the Raptors this season. We have 12 highly qualified, pre-registered candidates for the Jammin' Raptor Girls. We forged an exciting partnership with the leading hip hop radio station in the region (Jammin' 92.3 & 103.9), to promote the Raptors. We have partnered with regional powerhouse Elixer Group to advertise and broadcast our games to the entire region, live on cable TV. We partnered with a local music/entertainment company to produce our own team Rap called "The Raptor Zone." We have the 2006 coaching and staff uniforms in hand. We have the new 2006 helmet decals in hand. They look very sharp and reflect the new branding see: http://www.tennesseeraptors.com/2006_helmets.html . We will be meeting with Ron Bliss Editor of Tricities Sports http://www.tricitiessports.com today to discuss launching a partnership with his leading online and print publication. We will be meeting with representatives from WJHL/TriCities.com on the 15th to explore a forming a partnership. From a league perspective, the mighty Tennessee Pioneers have officially joined the AFL. The Pioneers, in terms of talent and leadership, are one of the country's top teams, and will provide some very serious competition in our league in 2006. As exciting as all of that is, it pales in comparison to the fantastic news that yesterday, I met with a couple of gentlemen, local mavens, who are inspired to assist the Raptors with acquiring a stadium to call home. These two local prominant businessmen, will be working closely with Raptors management, providing funding and more to rapidly prepare our new home in the Tri-Cities. Stay tuned... posted by Randy Ferrell on 2/3/06 at 10:00 AM

Prospects, Signings and more

We are a week or so into player recruiting and Jammin' Raptor Girls promotions... So how is it going so far? Well you need only take a look at the Signings and Prospects areas of our Roster to see that we have already received a significant amount interest from area athletes. These numbers do not reflect those that will pre-register over the next 5 weeks, nor does it include those that will just show up on March 4th. I'd say things are going pretty well so far. That said, very soon, we will be launching our recruiting campaign in local print media and on popular local websites, to support our current efforts. On the Cheerleading front, we have also received significant interest in the Jammin' Raptor Girls. We are finalizing details on the Girl's custom uniforms and they are going to be smokin! There will be 2 different uniforms, one consisting of logo'd cloth boy shorts and an actual cut-off game jersey (similar to the picture), and the other (for games) will be a custom made design with lace up shorts and top. We will be providing the outfits for the girls that make the team. We have also just brought onboard the new Jammin' Raptor Girls Choreographer, Lori Paxton. Lori Brings many years of teaching Cheer and Dance and will prepare the girls for the 2006 season. Welcome to the team Lori! We have also received several outstanding applications staff positions, including one for the Statistician position, and another for the Media Director position. More soon... posted by Randy Ferrell on 1/23/06 at 10:00 PM

New Jammin' Raptor Girls

Jammin 92.3 & 103.9 has become the Official Music of the Tennessee Raptors! Jammin and the Raptors are launching our partnership with an exciting campaign to build the Jammin' Raptor Girls Cheer and Dance Team. We have gone live with a co-branded site with Jammin 92.3 which is located at www.jammin.tennesseeraptors.com . The new co-branded site is also the new Cheerleaders section. Jammin will be promoting the Raptor Girls Tryouts on March 4th at the Boys & Girls Club of Johnson City and will be on hand at the event to assist with judging, and passing out Jammin Packs to the girls that attend. Both organizations feel that Hip Hop and Football go hand in hand and that our new partnership will be fun and rewarding. Raptors management is excited about this fantastic new relationship with Jammin and looks forward to many opportunities to co-promote our brands in the future. posted by Randy Ferrell on 1/17/06 at 8:46 PM

Player update...

Raptors management heard from Tay yesterday and he informed us that he will be returning to play with the Raptors this summer. He said that as soon as he completes his schedule at the Lexington Horseman (NIFL), he will be back. This is great news for the Raptors, as Tay is an outstanding athlete and a great leader. posted by Randy Ferrell on 1/17/06 at 7:00 AM

2006 is underway!

I'd like to thank all of the players (and coaches) that braved the cold weather to attend the first official workout of the 2006 season. Your attendance, speaks volumes about your dedication to the team and our common goal of becoming the 2006 league champions. It was great to get outside and do some running, catch some passes and connect with fellow team mates. To those of you who are pretty sore today, remember one of Coach Mitchell's mantras, "the Pride lasts longer than the Pain" and maybe that will help a little... This afternoon, we rolled out with another upgrade to the Roster page which includes new Signings and Prospects pages in preparation for the upcoming tryouts in March. posted by Randy Ferrell on 1/15/06 at 5:00 PM

It's time to workout!

This Saturday, January 14th at 12:00 pm, all current and past AFL players are to meet at the Boys & Girls Club of Johnson City. The Boys & Girls Club is located at 2210 W. Market Street, see Locations for a map, and Schedule for more information. We are in the early stages of forging a partnership with the Boys & Girls Club that will benefit both organizations. A formal announcement will be made at a later date. This location is an ideal practice location for the Raptors, as it is central to Kingsport, Bristol and Greeneville. It is also lighted, to assist us with late practice sessions. Raptors' management extends a big thanks to the Boys & Girls Club for assisting our team. Players, drag out your cleats and see you there! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 1/11/06 at 7:40 PM

New addition to the team

We are very pleased to announce that Eric Vaughn has officially joined the Raptors Management Team. Mr. Vaughn accepted the position of Director of Communications with the Raptors and will assist us with reaching out to leading brands and local businesses, to grow team sponsorship, and develop relationships. Mr. Vaughn will also assist the Raptors with marketing and PR efforts. Vaughn is well known locally, for his outstanding athletic performance as Quarterback at Sullivan North High School, ETSU, WVSU, and others. Eric also played professional ball in the NIFL and in Europe. The addition of Mr. Vaughn is a big positive for the Raptors organization and further strengthens our rapidly growing management team. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 1/11/06 at 7:30 PM

Team Workouts

We will be announcing the location of our 2006 winter workouts by Thursday the 12th. Please check back for updates. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 1/9/06 at 7:48 PM

Marching Forward

This week we rolled out another site upgrade, this time to the Staff section. The area was re-organized, separating our coaching staff from our business management staff. The re-organization was done to prepare for, significant growth of our business management team. In addition to the staff divisions, we went live with the all new employment opportunities section. The new Jobs section lists current available positions within the Tennessee Raptors organization, along with their respective job description. All positions will soon be advertised to the Tri-Cities region, via local newspapers and more. Our goal is to grow and strengthen our business management team, by creating specific job opportunities that each address a unique and challenging sector of our business. Through job specialization, we will ensure that each unique and important area of our business, receives the attention that it needs in order to contribute to our overall success. Most positions are not initially compensated financially, however in lieu of pay, we are offering a seat on the Tennessee Raptors Board of Directors to those that both meet our criteria, and commit to the team. Board members will have the unique and exciting opportunity to help shape the future of the Tennessee Raptors and assist us with becoming all that we can be to the many fine residents of Northeast Tennessee. In less that 24 hours after going live with our Jobs section, we brought onboard our new Director of Corporate Sales & Sponsorship. We are proud to introduce Kris Cantu. Kris brings years of sales and marketing management experience with him and is an immediate asset to the Raptors organization. In addition, it is likely that we have also filled the Director of Marketing and Public Relations position, yet another critical addition to our business management team. More on that later. We also rolled out with a large update to our Cheerleaders section, providing indepth details regarding our upcoming Raptor Girls Tryouts in March, along with downloadable registration forms. We will be rolling out with a couple more site updates in the coming weeks... Posted by Randy Ferrell on 1/4/06 at 9:38 PM

Progress

Melissa and I met with the JCPR today. We greatly enjoyed meeting with Mr. Alexander, and left feeling assured that the JCPR shares our vision. We have the ok to hold our winter workouts at Indian Springs, pending sign-off from the school administration regarding the dates and times. We will hopefully have that in hand by the end of next week. With regards to Spurrier Field, we are continuing to work closely with the JCPR, discussing details and working towards an agreement. If we are able to finalize things with Johnson City early enough, then we might be able to hold our 2006 tryouts and mini-camp at Spurrier Field. This would be ideal, as then we could invite the public to participate at both events. In other news, we just completed and launched a significant upgrade to our promotions section, which includes all new imagery, as well as visual examples of our unique sponsorship opportunities for 2006. While I am on the topic of sponsorships, we are in talks with Sprint, GNC, Pepsi and many more leading national brands, as well as many outstanding local businesses. We are also communicating with management over at Jammin 92.3. They are interested in potentially becoming the Official Radio Station of the Tennessee Raptors. Hip Hop is huge, and we feel that their station aligns nicely with our young aggressive brand. Very exciting. There is significant interest in our team's sponsorship and partnership opportunities. We look very forward to providing our sponsors and partners with exceptional value, and to an exciting and rewarding year together. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/29/05 at 9:07 PM

Pre-Practice Season Events

I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas holiday... With children ages 5, 4, and 2, it was a truly special time for our family. On to business. At the coaches' meeting held last Wednesday, we ironed down the events and happenings for early 2006. We finalized plans for our Winter workouts, Spring Try-outs, and our 2006 Mini-Camp. We are working on the final details regarding our upcoming practice season, and should have things completed and announced soon. The details regarding our 2006 pre-practice season events, along with our new full year calendar, can be viewed in the newly upgraded "2006 Schedule" section of the site. We are meeting with the JCPR next week regarding Raptors home and practice fields. We will soon be issuing a press release regarding our pre-practice season events, along with the details regarding our upcoming practice season. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/26/05 at 6:50 PM

Preparations

On Wednesday evening, the Raptors coaching staff is holding a meeting to strategize for 2006. Topics of discussion will include the upcoming January workouts, the annual Spring mini-camp, as well as the official 2006 practice season. Head Coach Sidney Mitchell will be leading the meeting and providing his vision and plan for the upcoming season. Raptors management is spending this week, and in fact the next six weeks, forming partnerships for the 2006 season. Management is communicating with potential team sponsors, as well as holding discussions with leading advertising agencies in the region, with a goal of forming an exclusive partnership. We will be working closely with the ad agency to finalize and execute on our 2006 marketing strategy. We look very forward to delivering our message to Northeast Tennessee residents, building excitement as we progress through the year and arrive at our season opener in early August! posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/20/05 at 11:25 PM

The round table

An AFL meeting was held yesterday at Calhouns on the river in Knoxville. The meeting was held to discuss items on the agenda for 2006, and also to vote on the addition of two new potential expansion teams. I am happy to announce that the Loudon County Colts and the Tennessee Rattlers were both voted into the league. I had the pleasure of meeting Bobby Bache' Owner/Defensive Coordinator for the Rattlers as well as Terri and Chris Williams, the owners of the Loudon County Colts. Also attending were, Bill Dudley for the 2005 League Champion Bluefield Barons, Greg Campbell, League President and Owner of the Knoxville Knights, the AFL Secretary Fred Campbell, and Melissa Ferrell, Sidney Mitchell, Bo Wilcox, and Myron Steffey representing the Raptors. Representatives for the Sumner County Express were unable to attend the meeting, but will have another chance to address the league in the coming months. We also received word that the Asheville Bears are submiting an application in the coming days! So without including any additional expansion teams that may apply beyond this week, we have a total of seven teams in the league. Regional interest in the AFL should generate an additional expansion team or two. We hope to have around nine or ten teams in the league by start of the practice season in the spring. The meeting was enjoyed by all. Everyone enjoyed the comradery and respectfully took shots at each other, as a group of off season rivals will always do. Each shared thier own, humble, ahem, predictions for 06, except perhaps Mr. Dudley, who mostly refrained. I suppose he lets his 10-0 record speak for itself... posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/18/05 at 8:30 AM

Phew! What a day...

Yesterday, an article about the Raptors was printed in the Johnson City Press, as well as the Kingsport Times, and possibly others. We had calls and emails from cheerleaders, prospective players, potential sponsors and just plain ol happy local residents... A big thanks goes to the Johnson City Press, and more specifically Bob Robinson, for writing the very nice story about our team. Yesterday we received record traffic to the TennesseeRaptors.com site. This morning it is starting all over again. It appears that there is significant interest in our team. There were inquiries into our schedule, our tickets, where will we be playing and more. While we are working with the city to make Spurrier Field the Home of the Tennessee Raptors, we won't know the details of our schedule for some time still. It will likely be late spring before we have that information from the AFL. Raptors management is working at a break neck pace to keep up with all of this. One thing is certain, and that is that 2006 is going to be one heck of an exciting year! posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/16/05 at 9:00 AM

And now a word form our sponsors...

No seriously, so far several of the Raptors' major corporate sponsors have already come back and informed management that they would be onboard in the upcoming 2006 season, and given our success, will in fact, likely be deepening the relationship. I consider our sponsors to be more than just advertisers, they are indeed, partners in our success. They share our vision and seek to assist us with achieving it. They support every aspect of our team, right down to the individual players. They have been with us from the beginning stages, early adapters, on the cutting edge... Sure, they are benefiting from the rapid growth of our exciting brand, but we couldn't do it without them. So take some time to learn more about our fine sponsors. If your a Raptors' player or fan, give them your business, or at least give them a call and thank them. Open a bank account! Hungry? Order a pizza! Get one of those great new wheat roll, grilled chicken sandwiches. Go to your friendly neighborhood bar and grill and order an ice cold Coke! Look sharp in some new cleats, while you order yourself some new business cards, O and hey, get a room! ;) posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/13/05 at 5:30 AM

New Blogs!

The Raptors are very fortunate to have some of the best football coaching talent in NE Tennessee. Sid and Bo both have a wealth of knowledge about the great sport of football. Each have had years of experience as both players and coaches. Sid and Bo also have the respect and admiration of many people in the area. All of this, combined with their unique personalities, provides the groundwork for stimulating and educational editorial. So, with all of that said, we bring you "Sid's Blog," and "Bo's Blog." Both are live and will soon feature editorial for your enjoyment. You can access the new Blogs from the links provided above... posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/10/05 at 1:53 PM

The Big Move.

Sorry about the silence. We have been working very hard to complete our task of re-branding the Greeneville Raptors to the Tennessee Raptors. There is still some work left to be done, however we are far enough along to at least inform those of you who are not aware. Here's the scoop: Management collectively decided that it was in our team's best interest, to fully take advantage of the territorial rights to the Tri-Cities region. As the Tennessee Raptors, we are now Johnson City's, Bristol's, Kingsport's, and Greeneville's team. We feel that this move will enable our team to draw fan support from the entire region and assist us with the growth of our franchise. In addition to the re-branding, the Tennessee Raptors are moving the team to Johnson City. We are communicating with city officials in a sincere effort to secure Steve Spurrier field as the Raptors' new home. We feel that by relocating our team to Johnson City, we will be in a more centralized location to the entire Tri-Cities region. This positions the Raptors' games within a 30 minute drive of nearly everyone in the Tri-Cities area, including Greeneville. The move will provide the Tri-Cities area residents with close, affordable, quality family sports entertainment. We feel that this move is a very natural next step for our franchise and keeps us firmly on track towards realizing our ultimate goal of becoming Northeast Tennessee's Professional Football Team. More to come... posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/9/05 at 9:25 AM

The Roster

We have been working very hard to complete some new site upgrades. We just went live with a key upgrade to the roster. It includes photos of our players, and allows enlarging via pop-up, on click. We will be adding player bios and more soon. Enjoy! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/4/05 at 9:01 AM

The Off Season...

Ahhh the off season, time to relax, sit back and reminisce about the past year... Not! The "off season" whatever that means, actually means, it's time to focus on business. Time to strengthen the infrastructure, make adjustments, form new alliances, strengthen existing ones. Time to examine where you've been and refocus on where you are going. And just where is that? Well, we have a long way to go to become all that we can be to Northeast Tennessee. This area needs more quality family sports entertainment. More to do on a Fall weekend evening. What better than watching our own talented athletes, from our area high schools and colleges, proudly represent, on the gridiron, live. Ok yes, occasionally an exceptional athlete from our area catches a break and goes on to play NCAA or even NFL football. That said, many more choose to stay in this area, start careers and build families. This provides our region with a rich pool of very talented football players, many of which, we watched on Friday nights at the local high school. Sure we have Tennessee Pride and we should. There's the Titans and of course UT, but how about our area? Absolutely! We have great pride for our region! So then, when a team of athletes from other proud cities like Knoxville, Bluefield or Asheville invades the Tri-cites, are we going to pull for our team? You bet. The Raptors have several players that should be playing on Sundays, including Sanchez Releford (volunteer), Jeremy Graves (Dobyns-Bennett) and Octavious Latimore (Carson-Newman) to name a few. They just didn't catch a break. Yet. Having the opportunity to watch them do their thing, live, on the field, is fabulous. Having that opportunity for a ticket price of 10 bucks, and without having to drive for hours, is simply amazing. Simply put, a lot of area sports fans are missing out, and we aim to change that. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/4/05 at 8:51 AM

Whose house?

You can almost still here big ol Buck, as he leads the team with a bellowing chant from the sidelines... Sure miss that big guy. Maybe he'll be back in 06. The familiar chant has a far deeper meaning, as we head into the coming week. Exciting announcements regarding our 2006 season are right around the corner... Posted by Randy Ferrell on 12/4/05 at 7:59 PM

Raptors Team Meeting

We are holding a team meeting on Thursday, December 8th at 7:30 PM at Applebee's in Greeneville. The purpose of this meeting is to bring everyone together to discuss the 2006 season. We encourage all players to attend, including former Storm and Thunder players & coaches, and all others that are interested in joining the Raptors in 2006. Applebee's is located at 2771 E Andrew Johnson Hwy Greeneville, TN 37745. For more information, please call 423-967-1300. We are looking forward to seeing all of you again. Posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/30/05 at 8:51 AM

The New Minor League Football

Minor league football has been in NE Tennessee for some time now. Teams have sprung up here and there only to fade away not long after. The plight of minor league football in this area has made it very difficult for emerging teams to develop a significant following. However, what has been occurring is a very natural process. In nature, many seeds reach soil, but precious few germinate to become saplings, and even fewer go on to become mighty trees. It is the way of things, not only in nature, but in business, and it so it seams, in football... Natural selection it is dubbed. Only the strongest will survive. The cycle of emergence and failure repeated over and over... Enter a new breed of minor league football teams. Teams with vision, business savvy and funding. Teams with vital adaptations that ensure survival and in fact proliferation! Take for example the Bluefield Barons. A brand new team on the scene. On their very first game, the Barons packed over 6,000 fans into Mitchell Stadium. I feel that their remarkable success is due to the exceptional leadership skills of the Barons' staff headed up by Bill Dudley. Of course the availability of Mitchell Stadium played a key roll, but none the less, it was the flawless execution of Mr. Dudley's business plan, that delivered. Look out world, minor league football is coming out. Professional football is no longer limited to major cities like New York or Miami. Smaller, proud, thriving communities like ours, now have football teams too... Posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/29/05 at 5:19 PM

Alliance Football League Meeting

On Monday AFL board members are meeting to discuss the upcoming 2006 season. One of the topics of discussion will be expansion teams. The league has received numerous applications from teams in the region (Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia) and teams from Ohio to New York have expressed interest, and requested information. The AFL is growing. Other topics will include league and individual team promotion. The AFL will launch it's brand new site on Monday. I have had the opportunity to preview it, and it is simply outstanding. Greg Campbell, our league President, has done a remarkable job on the new site, and I am sure that you will agree. While I am on the topic of meetings, next week is a very busy week for the Raptors management and staff. We will be having many meetings with key VIPs, and the outcome of these meetings will have a significant impact on the upcoming 2006 season and beyond... Posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/26/05 at 11:59 PM

The New Black T's are here!

I have just finished putting the new BLACK T's in the Super Store and they are awesome! There are several to shoose from including the standard Raptor T (revised), the new Raptor Head T, as well as the new Raptor Helmet T. Also, we now have all white Raptor Swish hats available in the Super Store. Enjoy! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/24/2005 at 4:26 PM

Rumors are flying!

There is a buzz in the air. You can almost feel it. New Coaches? New Players? New Home Field for 2006? New Stadium for 2007? Player Compensation? So what's up? BIG changes are coming. That's whats up! R U a Raptor? R U Ready? Posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/23/05 at 2:51 PM.

Congrats AFL Allstars!

Congratulations to the players that made the 2005 First Team All-Alliance. The players selected are the 2005 AFL Allstar team. The players selected, were chosen for their performance and leadership on and off the field. The Allstars honors were decided by a combination of individual coach, and league executive recommendations. Again, congrats to all and good luck in 2006! Posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/23/05 at 9:35 AM

2006 began October 23rd...

the day after our 2005 season ended. Sure it will be more than 6 months till our next game, but our 2006 Spring mini-camp and the start of our practice season, is right around the corner. The time to hit the gym and work on strength and endurance is now. Focus on improving areas that you know you need to work on. If you would like assistance with an off season training program give me a call, and we'll provide one for you... posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/15/05 at 9:23 AM

What a Run!

The mighty Barons have fallen to the Virginia Hornets in the 2nd round of the EFA Playoffs. The undefeated streak ended with a 0 - 7 loss at the Hornets' home field. As usual, there appears to have been controversial officiating, resulting in two Barons touchdowns being called back. Hmmm, well, gotta hand it to Bill Dudley, as he took the loss in stride and simply acknowledged that they finally ran into a team that was bigger and stronger than they were (scary thought). Bill and his crew are a class act, no doubt about it, and I look forward to meeting them again in 2006... posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/14/05 at 9:44 AM

Practice Saturday at Noon!

and be prepared to run... Is that what we said? I am pretty sure that we said, "Party, and be prepared to eat!" So then, how is it that we had around 20 people (players, coaches and family) attend the party? The lure of free hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, cake, college football and comradery with our team mates, most of which we won't see again till Spring, simply wasn't enough, I suppose. It is hard to hide my disappointment. Through discussions with other team owners, and from my own experience, this is, from what I can see, one of the most common, and frustrating situations in the world of Minor League Football. Words like "team" and "family" are used frequently, but the depth of the words, often doesn't extend beyond game day. In other words, on Game Day, you can expect 99% of your roster to be on the field, however actual participation at other team events (practices, fund raisers, yes even parties) often sees less than 20% of your roster's attendance. I know, I know... there's the usual, I had to work, no gas, my socks have holes, but this is about politics baby, if you have other obligations, or stuff to do, just show up for 15 minutes, shake some hands, say some "can't wait till 06's" etc., and cut out. I could go on for hours. Grrrrr. But I'll leave it right there. For those of you that attended, thank you very much. We all managed to woof down 40 hamburgers and 30 hotdogs! We all enjoyed your company. I enjoyed surprising you with the 2005 Season MVP awards. We gave out an Offensive, Defensive and Overall MVP award. Ironically, the players that won the awards all attended the party, go figure... Pictures from the party are posted in the Photos section of the site. posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/13/05 at 9:14 AM

Build it and they will come...

What an exciting season it was. The 2005 season will always be special to me, as not only was it our actual first year as the Raptors, but It was just so much fun. Looking back, we all had such a great time. Sure the losses were tough, but hey that's football, or for that matter any sport. You take your losses, and learn what you can from them, and move on. Winning our season opener against the Knights was incredible. What an evening that was. Through out the season, each game was filled with emotions of virtually every kind. If there is one word that described each game, that word was Entertaining. There were crushing hits, long passes for touch downs, long kick off returns, great runs, shoe string catches, sacks, fumbles, pick offs, and blocked field goals. The games were intense, and filled with emotion, kind of a like a hybrid between College and Pro. An evening of incredibly exciting, live sports entertainment, and all for only the cost of a pizza! So where were the fans? Greeneville, TN has roughly the same size population as Bluefield, WV. There were nearly 6,000 fans at the Barons vs. Raptors game, but only 200 at the Raptors vs. Barons game. So, what gives? Trust me when I tell you that as the owner of the Greeneville Raptors, I have done a great deal of deep thinking about this quandary. Both teams are nearly identical in everyway, everyway except one, and that is Mitchell Stadium. The Barons enjoy the opportunity to play all of their home games in a 10,000 seating capacity, very nice stadium. Barons' fans get to enjoy the real experience of Minor League Football at it's best. In sharp contrast, Raptors fans have not had the opportunity to enjoy the full experience of the game, because the setting simply isn't as exciting, as a larger stadium offers. Even watching the Titans play the Dolphins, wouldn't be the same experience at a 500 seating field that the local high school team plays at. Now don't get me wrong, we are thankful for the opportunity to play period, the schools in Greeneville have been very helpful and we are very grateful, I am merely making a valid point from the fans point of view. Even the allure of watching and supporting local home town hero's doing battle on the grid iron, isn't enough to draw them out in droves. So, all of that said, one of our top priorities, as the leadership of this organization, is to acquire a stadium, a real home for the Raptors. We have worked very hard to build a top quality franchise, and put a quality product on the field. Our players are very talented and they look sharp! We have a lot of work to do yet, but I believe we have succeeded in building one of Minor League Football's top brands. In 2006, we will be communicating with Greeneville High, and if all goes well, hopefully, our fans will be able to enjoy watching the Raptors in one of the nicest high school football stadiums in Northeast TN. Greeneville High will be great. However, in order for the Raptors to truly become all that they can be to the City of Greeneville and it's fine residents, we need a home field, that is worthy of their presence. Our goal remains, to play our 2007 season in our own 5,000+ seating stadium. We are communicating with the City and County and are working hard to make this a reality. Stay tuned.
posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/10/05 at 11:48 AM

Got Kicker?

How bout those Barons! You know, it looks like the AFL Bluefield Barons could very well play in, and win, the EFA National Championship! They have to win a couple more very big games, but hey, hats of to the players, coaches, and staff for nothing less than a perfect season so far. Even more remarkable, is the fact that 2005 is the Barons' very first year as a team. We all know that in 2004 the Knights went deep into the EFA Playoffs, and now the Barons are doing their thing, representing the AFL. I think maybe, the EFA, just might begin to respect our little "renegade league" for the powerful, quality teams that the AFL produces. What is exciting, is that within the AFL, each of us know that we gave each other a tough battle. Often the difference between a win or a loss, really was all about who could kick a field goal and who couldn't. A great example, of the fierce competition in this league, is our last home game against the Barons on September 24th. By mid game, we know and the Barons would have to admit, that we had them on the ropes. Defensively, we had shut them down and we were moving the ball efficiently. A big punt return by Chez, set us up for an opportunity to go up on the Barons and maybe, just maybe get in their heads enough to dominate the rest of the game. Unfortunately, a few bad play calls (trying to run up the middle, on the Barons), a defended fade to the corner of the end zone, and finally, no kicker and a missed 2 point conversion, swung the momentum back in favor of the Barons, and we really didn't recover from there. Of course those that were there that night, will also have to admit that, that evening the Raptors were the victims of the worst officiated game in the history of minor league football. Consider the 2nd game against the Knights in Knoxville. We were in the Red Zone at least 6 times, 2 of those times, we scored touchdowns, but no kicker meant no extra points and no field goals. If we had, had the ability to kick field goals, we would have very likely won that game. And finally, and perhaps most ironically, the AFL Championship Game came down to the Knights inability to kick a 15 yard field goal to win...
posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/7/05 at 10:45 PM

Why we do it.

In the previous post, I made the statement that we love this sport. But why? For those not playing the game, this is a very good question. Why do we play minor league football? Do we make a lot of money? No. In fact, playing often takes time away from our work, which costs us money. Participation at practices and games means time away from our families. We also risk serious injury every time we step onto the field. Do we do it for the glory? Well, some maybe, but given that our games are in front of a small hometown crowd, the actual glory achieved is somewhat muted. Indeed some of us play with hopes of getting scouted and moving on to arena or the league, but only a few of us are young enough, and at a skill level that makes that a real possibility. I certainly can't speak for all of us who play the game at this level. I can though, at least say why I do it. I play the great sport of minor league football for many reasons. For one, I play simply because I can. Sure I am 38 years old, but I have been working out, eating right and staying in shape, ever since I was in my teens. In short, I am strong enough, and fast enough to play at this level, so I do. Also, playing ball ads another dimension to who I am as a person, I am a husband, a father, a son, an executive, an entrepreneur and a football player. I greatly enjoy the comradery with my team mates and the coaching staff. I enjoy the additional sense of purpose and contribution. I also of course, get a great rush from the battle that ensues with each snap of the ball, whether I am engaging a big Defensive End, or running a pass route, each play is akin to a sky dive, one after another, after another. It is exhilarating. As well, I suppose on some level, I feel a need, a primal urge for physical competition, one that win or lose, is satisfied by doing battle on the field... posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/4/2005 at 5:04 PM

We ain't playin tennis!

...to quote a quite humorous comment that was made by one of our more physical and animated players during a late season game. He had just layed a major (but clean) hit on one of the opposing team's players, who needed some help getting up and off the field. I recall this as I sit here typing with a broken left thumb, seriously sprained (and wrapped) right wrist, and yet another separated rib. I have been thinking a lot about the many facets of the 2005 season, and one thing that I can say for sure, is that it was definitely a season plagued with injuries. We had twisted ankles, sprained ankles, separated shoulders, torn ligaments, turf toe, broken fingers, busted lips (ahem), pulled muscles, concussions, unconsciousness and even a broken femur. All of this happened in spite of being completely covered in pads, wrap and protective gear. No, we ain't playin tennis, we are playin one of the most physically challenging, and brutal sports in the world, and we love it!

posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/4/2005 at 5:04 PM

Blue over Bluefield?

All together, the Knights and Raptors lost 5 straight games this season to the Bluefield Barons. A brand new team enters the AFL and steam rolls through it... Pain. The Barons are big, they're skilled, and they are for real. None of us like it, and one thing for sure is, that some new rivalries have definitely been created. That said, it is time now, to come together and support the league. The Barons are a shining new part of the AFL, and are an excellent representative of the quality franchises that we are building in this area. The Barons are the 2005 AFL Champions and without question, deserve to be. I for one, would very much like to see them go all the way and win the EFA National Championship. So with bitterness put aside, I ask all AFL players, coaches and fans, to join me in saying, Take it to em Barons!

posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/3/05 at 8:46 AM

2005 Raptors End of Season Party!

Our 2nd Annual Raptors End of Season Party will be held on November 12th at 12:00 PM. We will watch 2005 season game film, and give congrats where they are due and laugh at ourselves as well. We will be grilling hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone. Please bring a bag of chips and a 2 liter of soda. The party will be held at our home in Blountville. Most of you know where that is or at least know someone who does, but if not, call us and we will give you directions... We are looking forward to seeing everyone again and having a great time. posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/2/2005 at 2:40 PM

Top 100 Football Site

We are trying to stake our claim as the Top Football Site in the US. If you think we qualify, vote for us by clicking on the home page pop-up, or the link on the home page under the featured image. The rules are that a voter can click once per 24 hrs, so keep voting and help us get to #1.
posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/2/2005 at 2:18 PM

Welcome to our new blog!

This blog was created to communicate with, inform and even entertain our players, fans, partners and sponsors. Many various topics will be discussed, ranging from individual players, to specific games, plays within a game, officiating, league news, team events, recruiting and more. Thanks for visiting the home of the AFL Greeneville Raptors and Enjoy!

posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/2/2005 at 7:55 AM