In Defense of the Pittsburgh Power

As more of the story comes to light, it appears that fans of the Pittsburgh Power are finally starting to realize what the rest of the Arena Football League's fans already know: The debacle that was March 9, 2012 was not the fault of Matt Shaner and/or Lynn Swann. Did they handle everything perfectly? Of course not. But ask yourself this - If you were the owner of a business, any business, how would you handle a situation where your employees are threatening to strike by disrupting a nationally televised event when the people over your head are telling you to fire them or else? It's a long-winded question and rightfully so. It also deserves a long-winded answer; one that most of us couldn't begin to truthfully answer ourselves.

Everyone likes to think it's so cut and dry, but it can't be. Nothing is that easy. Here are the facts based on articles and interviews that we've seen around the web:

•  The AFL's players wanted better working conditions. Mainly, they wanted more money. The owners wouldn't budge.
• Talks continued into Friday, the same night as the league's opening game. As the game neared and no deal was reached, the possibility of a strike scared the league into ordering the removal of all players from the Amway Center in Orlando. The Power then fired all of their players at the team's pregame meal at Olive Garden.
• The game went on with mostly replacements, although nearly half of the Pittsburgh Power ended up playing the game.
• Hours after the game, the strike was officially ended and all players were told to go back to work.
• The players that did not sign new contracts with the Power were stranded in Orlando and forced to find their own way home. Those players were also evicted from team housing, but apparently only until the Pittsburgh police forced the Power to allow these players back into the housing.
• All players were welcomed back to the team with the exception of quarterback Kyle Rowley and kicker Taylor Rowan.
• Kyle Rowley confirms that the firings were likely ordered by the league and the Pittsburgh Power and all of the other teams were pressured into it.
• All players were reinstated by the team and most will be returning.

The Pittsburgh Power had the misfortune of being the road team on opening night during an eight hour strike in which the league probably acted a little rash in their decision making. So the Power have become the scapegoat for something that they ultimately had no control over.

But all people saw was that headline. You know the one from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that read, "Pittsburgh Power fires entire team." That's all that was needed to start a whirlwind of animosity from fans, non-fans that won't even give the game a chance, and even non-fans across the country where people don't even know what arena football really is. That's where all of this craziness started for the Pittsburgh Power, in that headline. How could a whole team be fired? Obviously it's easy to say, "Wow what jerks the Power owners must be," and trust me, every non-Power fan is still saying that even now. And it's wrong. Those that know nothing should not judge. Those that have judged, are quickly learning that they were mistaken in their original judgements.

The ones that refuse to admit they're wrong continue to point fingers at the owners saying they should have done things differently. That's probably true. However, I also know for a fact that hindsight is 20-20 and a lot of people surprisingly have that capability. Some have even threatened to not attend games, calling the Power ownership classless, frugal, and saying that they won't attend anymore games. What was classless? Firing the players as the league suggested, or maybe even forced them to do. The owners are frugal? That may be true, but there are league rules that say you can only pay a player so much. Threatening to not attend games? That's ingenious. Let's all stand together and protest the Power until the team doesn't exist. Forget about the fact that the Power folding would again put the players out of work. But hey, at least we wouldn't have to worry about how much they're getting paid when they're working at Office Depot.

It's such a shame that most people will never know the true story. Many will start to think the AFL is a bigger joke than they already thought. The majority will only read the Trib's headline and run as fast as they can with it. Almost nobody will ever read this article and find out what actually happened that day. Some continue to comment on the situation like they know what's happening without so much as skimming. And now, the Pittsburgh Power will continue to suffer, maybe eventually to the point of eventual extinction. They'll remain fodder for sports comedy for probably quite some time. But hopefully, when the team as we expected to see it returns to the field next Friday against Philadelphia, normalcy will return and we can just get back to enjoying the game that too little of us care about.