Fairfax County Flag Football League

MESSAGEBOARD

subject: "THANKS FOR THE TIMELINESS ON THE CANCELLATION REPORT!!"

Pissed of Player

Sep 30, 2008
9:02 PM

;

On behalf of the teams playing at 8:40 at EC Lawrence, I would just like to inform the league on how terrible of a job it did handling this inclement weather situation. There were tornado warnings, hail, rain, lighting, and thunder from 7:30-8:00, but no game cancellation. So what do I do? Go to the website, nothing there. I call the hotline, and it tells me "Today is Sunday September 28th, and all games are on". Oh wow that was real helpful. So not only does my team show up, but so does the team we are playing. The storm stops a good 30 minutes before gametime, and everything clears up. Then at 8:35, 5 minutes before our game, we are informed the game has been cancelled, even though the storm was obviously over. Thank you for wasting the time of atleast 20 people who could`ve been doing a lot better things with their life instead of standing in a parking lot wondering if a ref was going to show up for our game. It was a great time.

I with you

Sep 30, 2008
9:10 PM


;	Same thing at Lake Fairfax. I have an hour drive each way. Made it to the field in the bad weather. Got there and called the rain line to find out games are called off. This needs to be improved.

come on now

Sep 30, 2008
9:28 PM


;	Oh yeah and Tom posting it at 9:13 was basically useless, obviously everyone had figured it out by then.

by the way

Sep 30, 2008
9:30 PM


;	and by 9:13 I mean 8:14

Tom

Sep 30, 2008
9:54 PM


;	We need better communication. What happened to someone driving to the fields to make game time decisions. Do you know how much time and gas was wasted tonight ?

Needs to get better

Sep 30, 2008
9:57 PM


;	For the amount of money we pay , things need to get better. And I mean by scheduling , communication , mowing the grass (on grass fields) , permits for field time and oh yeah , letting people know about cancellations BEFORE they driove an hour to get to the games .

This is a joke

Sep 30, 2008
10:25 PM


;	All this whinning!! The weather didn`t hit until 7:30! By the way, it wasn`t until 7:40 before a tornado warning was issued for the Burke area. For all of you who say they live an hour away, you were on the way to the fields before the weather ever got bad. How can you honestly blame anyone for your inconvience? If you want to blame someone, blame mother nature!

to joke

Sep 30, 2008
11:03 PM


;	The weather was clear once we got to the fields. It is easy for those of you who sit at home behind your computers and say stuff like that , but when it is you who gets caught up in a situation like this , then you will change your tune.

News Flash!!

Oct 01, 2008
1:30 AM


;	Well first off let`s get something clear. I too had a game tonight, so don`t for one second assume that I wasn`t in this situation. Also, it was still raining and lighting well past 8 pm. Please don`t have me assume that it was a stary night, just after the storms. To you few who fuss, apply some common sense next time before thinking that anything other than what happened tonight, could be any different.

To News flash

Oct 01, 2008
7:45 AM


;	We were at the field , so there was no assuming it was a starry night. Before you go get self righteous on here maybe you should listen to the people who were ACTUALLY at the fields. We played in high winds and a downpour last week , so last night was wet but otherwise clear.Also, our game was at 8:40 , so everythiing was past us by then.

Accountability

Oct 01, 2008
8:59 AM


;	Its time for Tom to become accountable. Stop hiding behind things. If you plan on taking 40K (minus field costs and refs) per season to manage a league of this magnitude you need to run it much more professionally rather than sitting at home on your recliner and not being on top of situations like these ones.

easy on tom.

Oct 01, 2008
9:03 AM


;	word is he`s not making a dime off of this league, just puting in tons of effort

news flash shut it

Oct 01, 2008
9:04 AM


;	Yeah News Flash, what the hell are you talking about. If we assume the game will be cancelled and it`s not, then we just forfeited a game and made it less likely we will see a playoff appearance, after paying $1000 to play in this league. It`s obvious it wasn`t just "a few" people complaining from the sounds of it both teams playing were at multiple locations and in the same dilemma. So stop standing up for a league that did a ****ty job informing people on what the deal was.

truth

Oct 01, 2008
9:12 AM


;	They are not making money off of this league, but for the money , the service needs to be upgraded. we have had several problems that need to be addressed.

To "truth"

Oct 01, 2008
12:33 PM


;	Not making money off this league????? Are you an idiot. You think Tom puts in all this effort for free????? Right! There are 74 teams in total between Fairfax and IFFL this fall. Roughly that`s 63K for both leagues- CASH! Now remove the refs and the field costs. You mean to tell me that he is not walking with something. PLEASE! Easily pocketing 20K. For 20K he could get off his lazy ass and let people know there is a cancellation. From what it sounds- that`s all that had to be done.

player

Oct 01, 2008
12:47 PM


;	Lets start off with the fact that it was a tornado warning issued at 7:40. I have played in several leagues and for the record this is the best one I have played in. People ***** about everything from refs to fields to teams.I`m sure that Tom would take anyone willing to help with this league or others. You probable haven`t played much of anything if this is the first time you have driven to play and it was canceled. So stop crying and get ready for the next game. Maybe you could get the # to mother nature and give it to Tom so he can call her every night to see if we can play!

No

Oct 01, 2008
1:06 PM


;	Hey here`s an idea, if there is a tornado warning at 7:40, cancel the games at 7:40, or 7:45, not 8:15, when everyone has already embarked upon a journey into the eye of the tornado because they don`t want to forfeit a game in a league that they paid $1000 for. I think that makes sense.

Agreed

Oct 01, 2008
1:17 PM


;	I agree .If the warning went out at 7:40 then cancel the games at that time and don`t leave people wondering and worse , driving to the fields. Again , how did the refs not show when the players from the teams that playing were there. Someone had to let them know beforehand because they did n`t make the trip. and to " player", maybe you should really think about what you are going to say before you write it.Obviously , you were NOT one of the people who drove an hour to show up and only to have the rainline updated 10 minutes before the game , telling us that it was postponed.If a tornado was in the area , think about the guys who would be on the road.

By the way

Oct 01, 2008
1:21 PM


;	I don`t care about the money thing. If Tom is getting paid to run this league , then so be it. That is a lot of work.Me beef is that the grass fields need to be in better shape and the league needs a little bit more organization and communication.

Grass?

Oct 01, 2008
1:37 PM


;	The hell with the grass, tell me not to drive to a game when there is a tornado in the area. I`ll play on any type of grass no matter how crappy as long as you do that.

Honest Question

Oct 01, 2008
1:41 PM


;	Is this the first time something like this has happened?

Honest answer

Oct 01, 2008
1:50 PM


;	Nope . It happens too many times. sometimes it is the county and sometimes it is the league , but all of the time the paying players take the hit of driving to the field to turn around and go home. No game, no call , no refund on gas and usually no decent explanation.

Question

Oct 01, 2008
1:55 PM


;	So what is the make up policy?

Drive

Oct 01, 2008
2:06 PM


;	If gas is such a problem then find a league closer to where you live...

Duh

Oct 01, 2008
2:20 PM


;	It would not be a problem if there was a game in between the trips to and from the field !

yea

Oct 01, 2008
3:05 PM


;	yeah sure I`ll find a league closer to where I live, since I live in fairfax and there are so many other leagues around here. that`s a great solution to this problem why didnt I think of that?? That`ll solve everything next time i drive into a tornado, hell i`ll just let the tornado sweep me up and place me back in my driveway since my new league will be so much closer to where i live.

buncha

Oct 01, 2008
3:29 PM


;	whiney baby`s on these message boards...makes for some good laughs at work

Jesus

Oct 01, 2008
3:34 PM


;	you guys make it sound like Tom himself forced you to drive straight into the middle of hurricae Katrina or something. Friggin relax, it`s all over now, the games were cancelled and noone died trying to get there. Christ! I`ve never heard so many people make a simple miscommunication sound like the world is coming to an end. GET OVER IT!

question

Oct 01, 2008
3:36 PM


;	Jesus is right....but why can`t Tom just answer one simple question...What is the make up policy as far as rescheduling games???

Now, I`m really confused

Oct 01, 2008
3:37 PM


;	On one hand, you have folks that are mad they didn`t play because (I quote) ..."after the storms broke, it was a stary night..." On the other, you got folks (prolly the same guy by the way) who is all defensive about driving through a tornado. To which I have not heard any reports that a twister touched down. NOAA issued a tornado warning as a classic hook echo was seen on doppler. So which is it? You can`t have your cake and eat it to... Here`s my recommendation....LET IT GO! It`s no one fault but mother natures!

To question

Oct 01, 2008
3:39 PM


;	I`m sure Tom has other things to worry about right now. ie. A full-time job! Relax peeps, he`ll get around to telling us the make-ups.

Let me guess

Oct 01, 2008
3:49 PM


;	You guys that seem to have all the answers are the guys who did not have a game last night and were at home watching the season premieres on TV. And today you are sitting in front of your computer being righteous. If you were one of the guys who showed up and saw the lights on but no refs and then found out the rainline had just been updated , you would have a different story.True , it was mother nature behind all of this , but the phones were still working and I don`t think the rainline was broken , so someone could have done something to put the word out.

Vet

Oct 01, 2008
5:01 PM


;	Yes, you are correct I was not one of those who got rained out yesterday, but I`ve been playing in this league for a few years as well as many more years playing a variety of other organized sports and I can safely tell you that this is not the first time this has happened nor will this be the last so deal with it. I do agree that the lines of communication should be a bit clearer for the future though.

Please

Oct 01, 2008
6:21 PM


;	delete this thread! No doubt Tom reads the board but never replies to idiots. I would say to all that were offended by the recent events should do this. 1. Have your coach or team rep (person that pays Tom) that has a direct contact with Tom to address your team concerns. This can be done by way of Coaches board, direct email to Tom or if your so worthy to have his phone number. 2. Make sure you show up to the coaches meetings prior to season start which is basically open to all players not just coaches and voice your concerns then. If you don`t then your forced to live with what we have today! I`m certain you would learn a lot about how the league is run and where the money goes. Ex. Tom has to pay Ins. for each team, county requires it. 20k just went to 0 3. If you not able to do either of option 1 or 2 just shut up!

hahaha

Oct 01, 2008
6:55 PM


;	I mean last night I was definitely pissed about the whole situation, in fact I was the one who started this particular post, but at this point I have to admit, reading all of these posts and complaints is simply hilarious if nothing else. Good job to everyone in this league for either standing up for their will to play or for standing up for the commissioner who gives us the power to play. I mean let`s be honest here, no one is losing sleep over this right? And on the other hand, no one thinks that the league did EVERYTHING it could to help inform it`s players, right? Both sides of the arguement are right, and it`s just awesome to me that so many people (or a select few that are making all these posts) have such a passion for this flag football league. All of you deserve credit in my opinion.

Pissed O-F-F Reader

Oct 02, 2008
1:25 PM


;	The funniest part about this lame ass post is that the dude titled it, "Pissed of Player"... I guess he must have been blinded by rage and forgot that `of` is actually a preposition.

HA

Oct 02, 2008
2:51 PM


;	hahahahah that is hilarious

TOM
admin

Oct 02, 2008
5:53 PM


;	Hello, I was out of pocket all day - did not see this until Rob called to tell me about it a few minutes ago. FYI, the County closed the fields on us and shut the lights off. Otherwise we would have left the games up to the officials discretion. I don`t have a recliner, and you can read the FAQ (think its on the IFFL site?) re: the tons of $$$ I rake in - For weeknights, officiating is appx $600/team avg, field use & insurance $140/team...then there`s awards, shirts, paying for games when cancelled the day of, merchant account, and a bunch of misc other stuff. That, and there are THREE of us who split the "wealth" ;) I`m used to seeing these posts every once a year or so. Rob (officials and fields) is going to post something else here re: the process of cancelling etc...

TOM
admin

Oct 02, 2008
5:57 PM


;	One more thing, its a lot better now with turf fields than it used to be as far as games cancelled and notification time - I don`t think anyone would dispute that.

To Tom

Oct 02, 2008
7:44 PM


;	you the man keep up the good work, those idiots don`t know what there talking about. I love this league and would never leave the league.

Play on

Oct 02, 2008
7:57 PM


;	Sunday`s...

Allen
Signal
coach

Oct 02, 2008
10:51 PM


;	I have been playing in this league for over 20 years (I hate to say that) and it is so much better than it used to be. Where were all the thank you Tom`s last week when we played in the rain on the turf fields. I am not calling anyone out I am saying that he has a day job too and he can`t possibly predict the weather nor can he be at every field to determine if it is ok to have a game. I was at Lake Fairfax and wanted to play, the guy from the county turned off the lights and told me as long as he sees lightning the lights stay off. I hated going there and not being able to play but all we can do now is wait for the make up schedule. Instead of writing here let us all write the county and have them add the ability to text everyone as soon as a game is cancelled.

the man, the myth, the legend

Oct 03, 2008
1:00 AM


;	well said signal coach. I got nothing but respect for Tom, I think he handled this as well as he could have given the circumstances.

Constructive Feedback

Oct 03, 2008
11:57 AM


;	Tom, I know you said in the other thread that the line was updated at 8:15, but a lot of players in the league are long gone from their houses by then, even for the 9:10 games. The lightning started much earlier and you had time to call the game. Please try to do this so people coming from Arlington, DC, and MD aren`t wasting a half a tank of gas next time. Thanks.

make ups

Oct 03, 2008
12:59 PM


;	and will there be make up games?

to Constructive Feedback

Oct 03, 2008
1:06 PM


;	Tom said in the post above that the COUNTY cancelled the game. If he had his way, the game would have been played, OR the refs would have called it once you all got to the field. So no matter what Tom did, communication of the final decision to play or not would have been made once you got to the field. TOM WANTED TO TRY AND GET THE GAMES IN. Quit b*tching...its getting old. you all sound like a bunch of women

When are the Games?

Oct 03, 2008
2:05 PM


;	Sure, it could`ve been handled better, but what I`d like to know is when are the games that were canceled going to happen?

good job TOM

Oct 06, 2008
10:29 AM


;	We had the first game and Tom was definitely involved in trying to figure all of this out. The storm came up very quickly and it was hard to know if was going to last or clear out by the 8 PM game. The storm had passed by 7:55 and there was a possibility that the games might still be on. When I called Tom, he was in the middle of working with the county as well as Rob and coaches at all fields trying to figure out what to do. The COUNTY then cut the lights off. My entire team showed up, some of them driving from Woodbridge. Although disappointed, not ONE of them complained or whined. Tom, as always, you deserve a lot of thanks!!

It over

Oct 06, 2008
1:25 PM


;	That wreck is past .No use beating a dead horse. Everyone vented and said what they wanted to say. Let`s move on .....

Hear Hear

Oct 06, 2008
3:32 PM


;	"Good Job Tom" is exactly right. We were at the fields waiting out the storm hoping to play as well, and, despite some refs leaving a little early, it was clear that Tom was doing everything he could to figure the situation out. He even picked up his phone when we called, even though I`m sure he had a hundred people calling. It was a storm that ripped through in a hurry after it was supposed to come earlier in the day. No way to predict that. Move on time.

email:		X
password:
[ SEND PASSWORD ]