Open letter to the Semi-pro football Community:
First of all, thanks for checking out the website. It was my first attempt at building one, I think it gets the point across. Let me start off by explaining what Emeritus means. And I’m by no means trying to be a smartbutt here, but you brought it up, so I wanted to explain it. According to Webster, Emeritus, as a noun, means : “one retired from professional life but permitted to retain as an honorary title the rank of the last office held”. As far as “owner” on the league site, that’s an obvious error. I know you say you’re not trying to start stuff, then why bring things up? You could have easily called me, emailed me, sent me a text, send a carrier pigeon…{but never facebook (I’m straight)}, but you chose to post something publicly to try to find a mistake to rip us down. I don’t know why we constantly have to defend ourselves or why I feel I have to defend myself, Al, the Diesels and the GLFL, but here is the entire story (hope you had some caffeine).
3 season ago I joined the Detroit Diesels. I had just been hired as a high school coach and wanted to get more experience before the high school season started. I had played the game for a long time, but didn’t have much experience on the coaching side. Al asked me if I’d be interested in helping on the coaching staff and I jumped at the opportunity. It was a good season and I got the chance to meet a bunch of people in the business that have helped me, given me advice and taught me an incredible amount when it comes to the game and how to run a team. That first season we won the GLFL title and every other team left. Whatever the reasons, it doesn’t matter anymore. Al put a lot of effort into that league, and even helped at least one build from the ground up (they’ve admitted they wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for Al). He gave a team that caused trouble a second chance, and because of that the playoffs had to be redone because two of the teams couldn’t get along. Because of that, the finals were a matchup of teams that should have met in the semis. So teams started whining and left. The Diesels were left alone in the GLFL.
That offseason, Al received calls from 4 teams and he decided it was time to move in a different direction team-wise. He asked if I’d be interested in running the team while he worked on the league. Of course I said yes. I commend TJ and Germel for doing a great job putting together the Jags and Redd Doggs. And they will tell you that whenever they had a question or needed help, Al was always there to make sure they did things in a way that would help them grow. This gave me the opportunity to learn how to run a team. He was always there when I had questions or needed help or advice. I was the one that made calls or received calls from other GMs or owners to schedule games or get things done. A couple days before our scrimmage, our offensive coaching staff quit. The day of the scrimmage, our defensive coaching staff quit. So we were left with a head coach and a line coach. We picked up an outstanding defensive coordinator and I ran the offense and the team from a business point of view while Al stayed back to help me when I needed it. The season was difficult, but we made it through and are still around. Then came this offseason.
WE were contacted by a couple teams about joining the GLFL. We asked the teams what they wanted in a league and they all came back with many of the same answers; facilities, where you could feel comfortable having your family come to the games, stability and organization. Something you could be proud of being a part of and the community would hopefully want to be involved. The only thing left from the league in the past is the name. The bylaws and charter are new and developed by all the teams. I worked on the Diesels and getting them ready for the season. I initiated a move to a new location because it’s where I coach and it would bring us closer to our downriver roots. I recruited, made phone calls, ran meetings and secured sponsorship to give the Diesels every opportunity that was available. I spoke with our schools booster club about running concessions for two reasons. One, they could make some money and hopefully see that we are interested in being a part of the community. And two, Al always set up the concessions and got things together for it, but with him working only on the league, he wouldn’t be able to work on concessions and I certainly didn’t have the time for it.
I have had an opportunity to meet some exceptional individuals who know a lot about how to run a team and they haven’t shied away from answering my calls or answering questions. I’d like to thank Scott Beard, Jason Doubleday, Ron Blevins, Coach Henry, Coach Bute, Dave Banks, Mike Kirchgessner and several others for their time. When my players or coaches have an issue, question or suggestion, they call me and because of the input I’ve received, I feel comfortable answering them. You can nitpick anything to make it look bad, and we’re not perfect, but we’re not bad people, we aren’t out to get anyone and we don’t hate anyone. We just want to put together a team to give guys a chance to play, a second chance to give it all they have or just a comfortable atmosphere for friends, family and fans to enjoy a football game in the neighborhood. I’ll tell you this: the Diesels have been around for a decade. They owe no one anything financially. We have played on nice fields and we don’t owe anyone anything. We’ve never ran from responsibility. What I’m really proud of is that we help our players get to college. How many coaches or gms on teams take the time to drive a player to Grand Rapids just so he can have a chance to meet coaches and play college football? I’m not saying no one else does it, but we do. I’ve even helped players on other teams by sharing tape so they could make film for college coaches when they didn’t have any film on games they played against us. I want my guys to go to school, and it doesn’t have to be to play football. I will gladly trade every win in a season if it meant every player from the previous season got into school and have a chance to succeed.
As far as the GLFL goes, not that it matters to anyone other than those in the league, but these are the basics. We follow Roberts Rules for meetings. There are 10 teams in D1. Every team has a vote on most items brought in front of the group. Everyone has a say. There are certain items that are voted on by the executive board. The executive board includes the voting member of the Competition, Rules and Marketing committees, the Vice President and the President. I am part of the Competition committee and I’ve recused (from Websters again: to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of interest) myself from being the voting member due to Al being the President. Now here’s the interesting part. The ONLY time that Al will vote, is in case of a tie. So as long as the item in question is voted on and a majority is reached, he will not vote on it.
Now do you think the teams that are involved would have approached the GLFL or even stayed if something shady was going on? I know no matter what is said, some of you are going to continue to hate the Diesels and the GLFL, and that’s your choice. I have worked very hard to build a reputation that is respected and trusted. In the end, your name is all you have. The Diesels are not here just to play football games. Of course we’d like to win, but we’d also like to make a difference in people’s lives. As cliché as that sounds, it’s the truth. We help support causes to combat illnesses, help people achieve goals and are working on youth programs to help kids head in the right direction so they don’t get caught up in bad situations. I don’t know what else there is to say. My phone is always with me, and if I don’t answer, I will call you back. I’m at every Diesels event and you can find me there if you’d like. Stop making things up or listening to rumors. You have a question, ask. If you hide behind a screen, you’re a coward in my eyes. Even if your opinion is something I don’t like, at least I can respect you for saying it to me, face to face.
In Conclusion: I honestly want to wish every team in this Great State the very best in 2011. Stay healthy, play hard, win and lose with honor and let’s represent our respective leagues by bringing home a ton of hardware this year. But most importantly, play the game for more than just ourselves…find a cause and make a difference.
Sincerely,
Coach Rami
Detroit Diesels GM & Asst. Coach
313-299-1277
detroitdiesels@yahoo.com
www.dieselsfootball.com