Chinese American Football League Per Jim Thomas

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LazyWinker

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Paul
@JThom1
New Chinese American Football League (CAFL) to begin play in 2015, featuring a combination of American and Chinese players.

One of the league investors is Dick Vermeil. Besides being a league partner, Vermeil will serve as one of the league's spokesmen and do . .

. . .ambassadorial work.



^ above are Jim Thomas's tweets. Not quite sure what Chines American Football League means. Hope he writes about it in the Post.
 

Slappy967

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My guess would be an American football league that operates in China with a mix of American and Chinese players similar to the CFL and their import players rule.
 

tahoe

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Yeah its going to be like the CFL but in China. They will start with a mix of american and chinese players with the hope to be mostly Chinese players. The best players could always end up in the nfl though.
 

Warner4Prez

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At the end of the day, one team has to play hard and get Dat Nguyen.

images


(I don't think he's Chinese, but he's the only Asian in the NFL I could think of)
 

Memento

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At the end of the day, one team has to play hard and get Dat Nguyen.

images


(I don't think he's Chinese, but he's the only Asian in the NFL I could think of)

Haruki Nakamura ring a bell? ;)
 

LazyWinker

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
I initially forgot that football the sport we love so dear is called American Football internationally because the rest of the world adores soccer and incorrectly calls it football... even though they called it football first. Interestingly, well not really, and incorrectly for longer than I'd like to admit I thought this developmental league would be in the western hemisphere and a combination of Chinese and American people playing football.
 

Irish

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Awesome. If it means more talent to choose from and a better game, I am all for it.

Who wouldn't want Bruce Lee as your Quarterback?!
 

RamBill

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Rams notes: Vermeil part of group taking football to China
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_9c9d736f-5f7b-5e05-a043-1629febf9c1c.html

Former Rams head coach Dick Vermeil and his partners are taking American indoor professional football to China.

In an unprecedented move, the government of China, along with its ministry of sport, has given official approach and sanctioning for the China American Football League (CAFL) to begin play in 2015.

The approval to bring a pro football league to the world’s most populated country (1.4 billion people) came after several years of endeavors by U.S. businessman Marty Judge, the CEO and founder of Pennsylvania-based The Judge Group.

Judge, a co-owner of the Arena Football League, is partners with Super Bowl-winning coach Vermeil and former NFL MVP and current ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski.

Besides serving as a league investor and partner, Vermeil will serve as a league spokesman and ambassador.

“Hey, once a coach, always a coach, so you know that this is coming I’m very much looking forward to,’’ Vermeil said in a press release Thursday. “Anyone who knows me knows that I have always had a tremendous passion for our game of football. To get the opportunity to share our great sport with the sports fans in China is something that very much excites me.’’

The CAFL, which will feature a combination of American and Chinese players, plans to kick off in August 2015 with six to eight indoor teams in two conferences with franchises in major cities throughout China. Plans also include a championship game and an all-star game in Macau.

Franchise owners will initially invest $10 million and will receive a portion of TV licensing rights.

After considerable analysis of traditional American football vs. the arena-style game, the Chinese Rugby Football Association concluded that indoor American football best suits the Chinese fan base due to its faster pace, scoring and close-to-the-fans entertainment. Also, China has limited outdoor stadiums that would be conducive to traditional football but an abundance of high-caliber arenas that make indoor, arena-style football the compelling model for a launch of professional football.

Last year, the Arena Football League held its all-star game in Beijing and 10,000 people showed up, which showed there is a curiosity about the game in China, Judge said. The Super Bowl has been broadcast in China for four years.

“With the backing of the Chinese government, the sky is the limit for how we can grow American football in the vast, untapped Chinese marketplace,’’ Judge said.

SNEAD IN FOR CHARITY

Rams general manager Les Snead took the plunge in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. In turn, Snead challenged rapper Nelly and actor Ty Burrell of Modern Family fame. Both are big Rams fans.

RAM-BLINGS

• The Rams worked a lot on the run game Thursday in preparation for Saturday’s 3 p.m. preseason game against the Green Bay Packers at the Edward Jones Dome.

“It was good. We had two real good periods,’’ Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “One was exclusively run and then the other one was the run play-pass. I thought they worked well together and got some stuff done. Now we’ll back down and focus a little bit on the Packers.’’

Some key pass plays during Thursday’s workout, which drew 369 fans, included a 25-yarder down the right sideline from Sam Bradford to Brian Quick and a well-placed Bradford pass down the middle to tight end Lance Kendricks.

In the same “team’’ session, safety Rodney McLeod nearly picked off a Bradford pass intended for Quick, and rookie free agent defensive end Ethan Westbrooks batted down an Austin Davis pass at the line of scrimmage.

In a later session, Bradford hooked up with Quick on a pass to the outside but then overthrew Kendricks on a pass picked off by McLeod. Newcomer Brad Smelley showed some nice hands at tight end, coming down with a Shaun Hill pass in traffic.

Late in the workout, wideout Emory Blake snagged a Garrett Gilbert pass between defenders Cody Davis and Marcus Roberson.

• Blake’s father, longtime NFL quarterback Jeff Blake, was at practice Thursday, getting a look at his son. The elder Blake still looks like he’s in playing shape and said he still throws passes to Emory and his nephews, but wants no part of getting hit anymore.

Jeff Blake, who also made a trip to watch the Rams during OTAs, spent 13 seasons in the NFL. He enjoyed his most success with Cincinnati, earning a Pro Bowl berth in 1995.

Emory Blake, an Auburn University product who was on the practice squad a year ago, has looked good in camp and was among the Rams’ leading receivers against New Orleans last weekend with three catches for 41 yards.

“I think he’s finally starting to feel comfortable,’’ Jeff Blake said. “And once that happens, you can just go out and play football.’’

• The Rams are down to two open-to-the-public workouts next week — 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• Demand is up slightly for Rams’ tickets on the secondary market according to StubHub. The Rams are 24th in sales this year after ranking 29th a year ago. The hottest tickets for Rams’ home games are Sept. 21 against the Dallas Cowboys and Nov. 16 against the Denver Broncos.

On the road, the biggest demand for the Rams is the Nov. 2 contest at San Francisco.

A few other StubHub tidbits: Dallas is the top-selling team overall and for home games. The top-selling road squad is San Francisco.

The top-selling single game is the Sept. 7 contest featuring the 49ers at the Cowboys.

Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.