It’s been a wild, wild ride with more ups and downs and twists than even the biggest amusement park roller-coaster in this year of the relaunched, first-year Arena Football League.
And now the top-seeded Billings Outlaws (8-1) find themselves in Arena Bowl XXXIII against the second-seeded Albany Firebirds (8-2) at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the American Dream Entertainment/Retail Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
It’s a game the Outlaws have been confident in reaching and winning all season, roadblocks and all. And another one of those surfaced in the last 24 hours.
A report appearing on the Pro Football Newsroom website late Tuesday night with the headline of “Arena Football League on Brink of Championship Disaster” stated “the AFL is seeing some major changes this week when it comes to leadership. In addition, issues stemming from financial fraud has put the Arena Bowl game in jeopardy of even being played at all.”
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It was a report that was rebuffed Wednesday — after a hectic morning for those with the AFL, Billings and Albany franchises, which undoubtedly received plenty of feedback after the article appeared.
All three entities — the AFL, Outlaws and Firebirds, issued statements or confirmed in interviews that the Arena Bowl would be played as scheduled Friday in East Rutherford at the American Dream.
In the story, PFN went on to report that AFL CEO and chairman Chris Chetty has been removed from his position after alleged credit card fraud.
When reached by phone early Wednesday morning, Billings Outlaws owner Steven Titus said the game would be played and as of then nobody had been removed from the AFL front office.
And in a post on their Facebook page late Wednesday afternoon, the Outlaws announced an Arena Bowl watch party for Friday at the Red Door in Billings.
Later in the day Wednesday, the AFL responded to the social media onslaught that came after the PFN report when people awoke and read it and other social media posts that followed. In a press release, the AFL stated it was confirming the Arena Bowl would be played Friday at the American Dream facility.
In the press release, the AFL went on to state it wouldn’t have further comment.
“We are fully focused on the upcoming championship game and ensuring it provides a thrilling experience for our fans, players, and partners. At this time, we will not be addressing any further rumors or speculations, as our priority is delivering an exceptional event,” the release read.
Other reports also indicated the ArenaBowl champion would be decided as scheduled.
The Albany Times Union had a report Wednesday that quoted Firebirds co-owner Mike Kwarta as saying, “The game is Friday at 5:30 (Eastern) at American Dream – 110%.”
But with the latest drama surrounding the AFL, it brings to light that until a champion is crowned there could always be reason to worry.
“By nature, I’m a pessimist. I’m a lawyer,” Titus told The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports in a Monday interview where he discussed the highs and lows of the Outlaws season. “I constantly advise my clients on worst-case scenarios. I continue to worry every day, but that’s my nature. I can guarantee Billings will be playing Albany Friday at 3:30 p.m. Mountain time at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey.”
In that interview, Titus said he was looking forward to the opportunity of playing at the American Dream Entertainment/Retail Center. In an earlier AFL press release, American Dream was described as “a must-visit destination featuring an extensive list of dining options, attractions, and retail, including numerous flagship locations and the immersive luxury shopping and dining experience.”
“I think it will be good and a lot of press will be there and a lot of New York media companies will be there,” Titus said. “When you see the full product, it will be really good and expose us to a lot of people who don’t know about Arena Football. The idea makes sense once the whole product is represented, and it will be great TV for CBS Sports.”
Here’s more from The Gazette’s and 406 MT Sport’s Monday interview with Titus.
Since Titus purchased the Billings franchise with the team sitting at a 6-3 mark in this version of the Outlaws inaugural 2022 Champions Indoor Football league season, he has had high goals. At his opening press conference, he stated the team’s motto was to “rebuild, refocus and improve,” and that “I see no reason Billings can’t be wearing rings here.”
Now, Titus is one game away from owning a championship squad.
“The thought of winning an Arena Bowl championship brings tears to my eyes,” he said. “I’m kind of tearing up thinking about it. But all we can do is be focused at going 1-0. I promised Billings a championship and plan on making good on my promise in four days.”
The Outlaws are in the championship after narrowly beating the Nashville Kats, a team that had topped Billings, 57-54, at the Metra on June 8. In the semifinal at the Metra this past Saturday, a game-ending field goal by Bailey Giffen gave the Outlaws a 35-32 victory over the Kats and a berth in the ArenaBowl.
Titus is proud to be the owner to bring a Billings franchise back to the championship round. A previous version of the Billings Outlaws captured the 2006 National Indoor Football League crown and 2009 and 2010 Indoor Football League titles before disbanding.
“Not only are we going to the ArenaBowl in four days, but we are the No. 1 seed,” Titus said. “It is crazy to think we are wearing our home uniforms in that game in New Jersey in the ArenaBowl.
“I was excited, very excited that we won. This is my third season owning a football team and I’m just completely overcome with joy. However, that joy was quickly put aside because I knew we had to leave for New Jersey in less than 48 hours. We had logistics to make sure all the I’s were dotted and T’s were crossed and to make sure we had a smooth transport over to New Jersey starting Tuesday morning.”
The semifinal win drew 2,013 enthusiastic spectators. Those fans have been a big reason for the Outlaws success this year, said Titus.
“I think the fact we have a loyal fan base in Billings,” he said of one of the reasons the Outlaws have been so successful, even while the AFL has at times floundered. “Every time we have a home game, we have a very loud and enthusiastic crowd. We have great sponsors and partners that give us a chance to give our players the absolute best here in Billings.”
Titus said the ArenaBowl serves as a reward for the franchise, players, coaches, staff and fans. However, there were hard and emotional times. Before the team’s third game of the season, while on the field warming up in Rapid City, South Dakota, the Outlaws found out the Marshals players didn’t want to play. Billings received a forfeit win to improve to 3-0. “Billings, as a franchise, we have solid partners here and great fans. We have a great relationship with the Metra and a great relationship with the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch (where the Outlaws practice),” said Titus. “As a franchise I’ve never had any worries. As an owner, was I worried teams wouldn’t show? Yes. Was I worried the league wouldn’t be around next week? Yes. Was I worried we would be lied to and scammed again? Yes. It was constant worry, nonstop. But in the end, we made it to the ArenaBowl and are looking to the future and making sure we continue to have great, competitive arena football in Billings, Montana.”
Troubles begin to surface
The Outlaws got off to a fantastic start, with the 406 MT Sports’ headline reading “Reminiscent of old times, Billings Outlaws score big win in AFL debut,” in a 66-26 victory over the Wichita (Kansas) Regulators with 2,119 fans at the Metra on April 27.
However, that elation quickly faded because of problems outside of Billings’ control. In Week 2, the location, date and opponent of the Outlaws game was changed from Salem (Oregon) to Everett, Washington.
At the time, Titus said the reasons given by the AFL for changing the location and opponent were the pads on the walls at the Salem facility were on cattle fencing — which isn’t a proper structure and could lead to safety issues — the internet at the Salem Pavilion Arena wasn’t powerful enough to stream the game and the rebound nets weren’t up to league standards.
It was also before this game that it came to light that contests to be broadcast on the NFL Network weren’t.
Things came to a head on May 14, when former NFL head coach Jeff Fisher was named interim commissioner of the AFL, replacing Lee A. Hutton, III. Titus had called for a league meeting to discuss the removal of Hutton and then AFL CEO Travelle Gaines on May 3 amid league chaos.
“We won our first Arena Football League game in history and it was really a big deal to win, however, I think it was a few days later when the turmoil for the league started and that’s when the lows quickly started,” Titus said on Monday. “It was a lot of long nights, late nights, phone calls, Zoom meetings. I couldn’t have done it without my brother and sister owners, Nashville, Albany, Orlando, West Texas, Washington, the Kansas teams. I couldn’t have done it without them. We all worked together and have trauma bonds form our experience and we all did what we needed to do to have the season survive and we all reached the end goal we had in mind when the season started back in March.
“It was extremely frustrating. I never felt helpless, but extremely frustrated. We felt deceived and lied to (by then AFL management). I really am thankful for coach (Cedric) Walker for stepping up to do more for the team. I was trying to do a lot more with the league. There is no doubt we put in a lot of time to save the league; a lot of the team owners did. I couldn’t have done it without the Nashville team owners for sure. The team owners from Nashville, we talked on the phone no less than 1,000 times this year.”
Titus said all in all he is extremely proud of the way the Outlaws players blocked out the noise on their way to East Rutherford.
“I am very proud of our players and I really thank coach Walker and coach (Sherdrick) Bonner for keeping them focused on football and not all the drama going on.”
“I’m really glad Coach Walker is here and Coach Bonner is here. I think we have the best coaching staff in the Arena Football League. We brought the best players here and have the best sponsors and partners here. We have the best relationship with our arena.”
Indications are the ArenaBowl will be played on Friday. However, even with the No. 1 seed and the “best” players and coaches, Titus and those in Outlaws Nation will probably be holding their breath until kickoff.
Email Gazette Sports Editor John Letasky at john. letasky@406mtsports.com or follow him on X/Twitter at @GazSportsJohnL
