The End

Well, I just got the news yesterday that, "The CIFL is sad to announce that the operations of the Owensboro Rage, in Owensboro, KY have been suspended for the remainder of the 2013 season."

I don't know about you, but I felt stunned when I read this.

The Rage has been a great thing for Owensboro, and I truly hope we see professional sports in town again.  AND, I honestly feel that a lot of good came out of this team.

For one thing, there are a couple dozen guys out there that can add "professional football player" to their resume.  This was a good opportunity for them, and adding that to their list of accomplishments will always impress.

It was exciting getting the chance to see coaches Mike Goodpastor and Brian Schmidt doing what they do.  Those guys are obsessed with winning, and building quality teams.  I have described them as legends, and they are.

If you were ever around them after a loss, you know how much they hated that.  I know Brian especially was upset after the 78-0 WIN over the Bulldogs.  He was frustrated about the rule changes made by the refs in the game to compensate for what he felt was weak play by the other team.  I listened to the archived WVJS radio broadcast from the game, and it seemed that the team had eyes on breaking the CIFL scoring record on this night.

Also, I chatted with one of the coaches after a game at BW3 one night.  He mentioned that he had never been a part of a team doing so much with so little.

The Rage were, without a doubt, scrappy and hard working.  I personally love an underdog with a big heart, and that was the Rage.  You know that starting an independent minor league type team is a HUGE gamble, especially in a market like Owensboro.  The odds were against the Rage, but they still fought hard.

I love Owensboro, and I get very excited when I learn about someone trying to do something special and unique in the area.  I would like to see more distinctly Owensboro businesses and sites.  Sadly, it seems that a new Mc or Wal chain type place goes over huge in the area, while the independents are ignored.

There are many towns that have unique, established minor league teams that help define the city.  Just look at Florence KY, York PA, Jackson TN....  I could go on.  These are all towns with their own identity, but their well established minor league sports teams are a huge part of who they are.

When I tell people I am from Owensboro, they usually bring up regional food, defunct hotels, or the last public hanging.  Other than burgoo, it is hard to take pride in the other areas of notoriety.

We almost had a pro football team to brag about.

There are a lot of other great people involved with the Rage...  I loved watching Brent Clary do the onfield announcing at the Next Level.  The guy doing Twitter for the team was totally awesome.  Chris Cooke and Allen Buck of WVJS did an amazing job too, and I appreciated their roster updates and calls.

There was another part of the CIFL release that I feel is quote worthy.

"The CIFL is extremely proud of the efforts put forth by the owner of the Rage, Melissa Logsdon, who -- while working three jobs -- has been trying extremely hard to fulfill the dream and aspirations of her late fiancée and former GM of the Rage, Eddie Cronin."

Melissa's efforts were almost supernatural.  It is inspiring that a young person was able to bring professional football to the area.  It wasn't a group of business owners, or several investors, it was one very motivated person.

Melissa's family was incredible helping with the team too.  This is a solid, classy family in the area, and I am proud of the friendship I have with the Logsdon family.

Oh, I think it is important to still patronize the good people who sponsored the team.  It was very generous of those cool businesses.  Here are the sponsor links-
https://owensbororage.com/en/sponsors/sponsors.html