The Rise And Fall Of The Albany Empire

Zach believes we haven't seen the last of Arena football here in Albany

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The rise and fall of the AlbanyEmpire. This is for the love of
Sports on Fox Sports eighty ninety fivepoint nine FM, as well as the
free iHeartRadio app. Thank you fortuning in. However you may be tuning
in on a beautiful Father's Day weekend. I hope everybody is enjoying their Father's
Day weekend. And for all yourfathers out there, thank you for what

(00:21):
you do. You know, sometimesit does go on. Notice we all
know that mothers carry most of theway, but us fathers are a very
pertinent role in a child's life.So Happy Father's Day to all the fathers
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(00:42):
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So, one of the biggest headlinesright here in the Capeler region was
the rise and fall of the AlbanyEmpire. So if you've been living under

(01:55):
a rock, basically what happened wasthe n AL had an emergency meeting and
decided to kick the Albany Empire outof the league. So they are dunzie
for the year. They had acouple of games left on the schedule not
to be played, and the reasonfor that, now, they said there
was an abundance of issues that wentinto it, but the most pertinent reason

(02:19):
was that the Albany Empire led byAntonio Brown, failed to pay the assessment
fee for the last three months.They said that they gave Antonio Brown a
heads up, Hey, Thursday,by twelve o'clock, we need the assessment
fee in you know about twenty onethousand dollars in assessment fee that goes to

(02:40):
help the league, that goes tohelp other teams, that helps to go
build into the community. Antonio Browndidn't want to pay it. So just
another reason on top of this tumultualistseason for the Albany Empire at a standard

(03:00):
has been set of championship caliber teams, champion championship caliber character, championship caliber
community, and all that has gonedown a drain in less than one season
with Antonio Brown at the helm.Now, I know a lot of us

(03:24):
sit around looking for Antonio Brown andmake the next headline, and for good
reason. You know, there's alot of blame that falls on Antonio Brown.
Now, I'm not going to sithere and go through every single issue
with Antonio Brown because at the endof the day, he is a person

(03:44):
just like us, and you hopewhatever may be going on, if you
know he's got some other issues thatwe may not know about that he just
gets the help that he needed.That he needs. He doesn't need yes
men around him, He needs peopleof true character that aren't afraid to speak
to truth in his corner. Soultimately they can do what's best for Antonio

(04:05):
Brown, because like you and me, he is a person and we should
care for his well being like wecare for one another. That being said,
it's such a shame that we mightyet have another failed attempt at having
sports in the Capitol Region. Wehad the Albany Colony Yankees a long time

(04:28):
ago. We had the Albany RiverRats, the Albany Firebirds, the Albany
Conquest, and you know, eventhe Tri City Valley Cats. They do
such a great job at promoting andit is difficult to get butts in the
seats we want to support. Youknow, sometimes life comes up, you

(04:49):
get busy. But we in theCapitol Region love our sports. We love
our football, we love our baseball. You know, we don't always go
to the Tri City Valley Hats games, but we show up big when we
can, and they do a greatjob trying to get butts in the seats.
Albany Empire, you know. Igo back to pre COVID, they

(05:11):
were drawing somewhere in a range ofnine to ten thousand fans on any given
weekend right there at MVP Arena.We want to support, we want to
be there. We loved how involvedthe Empire were in a community, and
how well they played on a field, and how just great characters of men
they were. Is this the endof the Albany Empire. I'm gonna tell

(05:36):
you this. I think Antonio Brownhad an ulterior motive from the beginning.
I don't know facts about the situation. I am not an insider source,
but from the outside looking in,his dad's involved with the Albany Empire.

(05:59):
That was part of the deal bringingon Antonio Brown. And first, before
we get to that, I understandthat you may have a question why did
they have to get involved in thefirst place. So the Albany Empire has
gotten to a point where post COVID, it was hard getting fans in the
seats. You know, we're stillall weary about things going on out there.

(06:21):
We may not like crowds as much. I know me personally, I
think COVID brought out an anxiety levelinto me that I don't like being around
a lot of people. Just that'sjust how I felt going forward post COVID.
I know it sounds weird, butyou know, I went to the
mall the other day to pick upbrand new shoes. There was a lot

(06:43):
going around me, a lot totry to handle at once. I just
I didn't like the feel of it. I got my shoes, I got
out. You know, I thinka lot of people are feeling that way.
It's difficult to be in big crowdsnow. I know it's back,
had a big night the other night, but overall, it is just hard
to get out and do things.And there's still not for everybody, but

(07:03):
there's still that feeling of threat ofCOVID related issues for people now with Antonio
Brown being there. You know,it was out of necessity because if you
remember, the Albany Empire used topractice before games, practice during the week

(07:26):
in a different state. You know, due to New York State Unemployment in
comp rules, there was an issuewhere they were no longer allowed to practice
out of state. They had topractice in the state that they play in.
So with them losing fans, withthem losing money and not drawing enough

(07:49):
people in there and not drawing inenough money. They made this move out
of necessity. Now, I trulybelieve, in my heart of hearts that
my court thought what he was doingwas the best for the Albany Empire at
the time, bringing on a coowner like Antonio Brown that can hopefully get

(08:09):
out there and re energize the communityand then take on some of those big
payments for New York State insurance inworkers' comp and just day to day activity
to help with that. Now,Mike Quarts never been able, never been
afraid to throw money at things,But at a certain point, you are

(08:31):
trying to run a business. Thereis a business aspect to that. So
I understand the move was made outof necessity, and Antonio Brown has not
let you forget that one single moment, saying listen, I saved the Albany
Empire. I saved him. I'ma savior. I did this. I
did that. You know you werebrought out of necessity. Your wallet was

(08:56):
needed here in Albany Empire. Wewere hoping to get people re energized out
the empire. Put butts back inthe seat, Get Antonio Brown out there
in a community. You get tomeet an NFL player, you get to
hang out with him and his dadand enjoy the game. That was the
thought, And I think in myheart of hearts that Mike Court was ultimately

(09:22):
going to step away at some point, but did not realize how quickly things
would deteriorate and go in the oppositedirection that he thought. So one,
this move was made out of necessity. They had to bring in Antonio Brown.
Now, could they have brought inanother suitor, possibly, but they
thought with the local legend of touchdownEddie Brown and then having his son that

(09:46):
stepped away from football but looking forthe next avenue in life, They're like,
all right, we'll get a twofor one deal. We got touchdown
Antonio Brown or touchdown Eddie Brown withtouchdown own Antonio Brown. Bring them in
together. They'll relate to the community, get more butts in the seats,

(10:07):
help us with the day to dayoperations, and help sustain Albany Empire football
for not just this year, butfor the future. Now. Obviously that
didn't turn out the way that itdid. Things went sour relatively quickly,
to the point where Mike decided tosell his forty seven and a half shares
for a dollar so now you're lookingat ninety eight percent Antonio Brown or Antonio

(10:31):
Allah or whatever trust name that itwent by. Now, obviously that's a
good business decision for Antonio Brown.You put what you own into a trust.
I'm not a lawyer, but Iknow that it is a good piece
of business to put your property inthings that you may own, inside of

(10:54):
a trust to ultimately protect yourself.Now we fast forward to them not paying
the assessment fees and then the fineand this and that, and the big
talk was Antonio Brown, I'm gonnaplay. I'm gonna play for the Empire.
You know, come out, Comesay hi to the fans, come
say hi to us. I'm gonnaplay, come support. Whatever happened he

(11:18):
didn't get the physical in on time, whatever bs that came about, where
ultimately he wasn't able to play.All right, you know, you don't
have a home game for two weeks. You come into play. Yeah,
we're gonna come out support the blackcommunity. Juneteenth coming up tomorrow. You
know, I want to really beout there, and we're gonna do something

(11:39):
special for the fans and for thecommunity, especially the black community. With
Juneteenth around the corner. I'm gonnaplay this and that and the third which
I thought was wonderful. I thoughtthat was a great maybe get the community
back involved, get him on yourgood side, and push this forward.
Like I said, we ask forwardto Thursday twelve o'clock deadline, sesama Fe

(12:03):
is still not paid, an alpushes the Empire out. Now. I
talked about how I believe Antonio Brownultimately had an ulterior motive, and this
is my ulterior motive that I thinkAntonio Brown had. He knows his dad
is an AFL legend once recruited bymy uncle, Coach Hoe, who was

(12:28):
the coach of the Albany Empire ofthe Albany Firebirds, spent some seasons as
the offensive coordinator, was a bigpart of the recruitment in touchdown Antonio or
Eddie Brown coming to the Albany Firebirds, he became that local legend. Everybody
knows the name touchdown Eddie Brown.So I think the ulterior motive here was

(12:50):
the get the Albany Empire back tothe Arena Football League, back to the
AFL, because we all knew thenews that AFL was coming back in twenty
twenty four. So my belief,as Antonio Brown did everything necessary to get
the Empire back to the AFL,not realizing, not realizing the irreversible damage

(13:18):
that he may cause along the way. So I believe the intentions were good,
but the way he went about itwas completely wrong. The way that
this thing unfolded was completely wrong.But I do believe there was an ulterior
motive to get the Albany Empire overto the Arena Football League so he can

(13:41):
honor his father. That's how hegrew up. He grew up in the
Albany area. He grew up withtouchdown Eddie Brown being his dad. He
grew up with the Capitol region holdingtouchdown Eddie Brown on a pedestal. We
all loved touchdown any Brown. Youremember that Jersey retirement ceremony that the Empire

(14:05):
put on for him. That placewas packed. That's the ulterior motive here.
Now that the Empire are kicked outof the na L, where do
they go from here? I believe, And like I said, I'm not
an inside source. I'm not closeto the situation, but I do believe

(14:31):
you have not seen the last ofArena football in Albany. Now. Is
it my court that comes back,or does Antonio Brown try to change his
ways and come back. Would youeven invite him back? That's the question
that remains the most. Or dowe have another local person that steps up

(14:56):
and says, listen, I lovehaving Albany arena football in here. The
AFL's coming back. Were no longerassociated with the na L. Let's go
back to the Arena Football League.We want to be a part of that.
In maybe just throwing this around,that Firebird's name comes back up.

(15:20):
So let the rumors swirl. Ido need as the last. This is
not the last that we've seen ofarena football here in Albany, Mark my
words. I believe in twenty twentyfour there will be arena football, whether
it's the Empire or let the rumorsswirl, the Albany Firebirds coming back to

(15:46):
arena football. Now. I can'ttell you what the ownership group would be.
Would it potentially be Antonio Brown?Would he be welcomed to the Arena
Football League? Not quite sure?Or my courts and his group who took
part ownership in the Orlando Predators.Does he have a trick up his sleeve?

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Do you think he's coming back asa local group and saying, hey,
what we had here was special whenI was a part of it,
and I want to continue to bea part of it. I look at
Arena football opening, that is aopening for us to join them and bring
back the named Firebirds that everybody knowsand loves. This is our chance for

(16:33):
a redo. Let's do it theright way. I believe in a capital
region and I believe that we wantarena football back. Now. Like I
said, I do not have insource knowledge. I'm not close to the
situation, but those are my truebeliefs. One, Antonio Brown had an

(16:56):
alterior motive to get to the AFL. In two, I don't believe this
is the last that we've seen ofArena football down at the MVP Arena.
I can't tell you if there's goingto be a local group that puts up

(17:17):
the money to bring a team tothe AFL. I can't tell you if
Antonio Brown's going to be welcomed bythe AFL. But I'll also remind you
the world revolves around money. What'sthat song by a CDC? Money talks

(17:41):
as much as a headache that thisseason may have been. And trust me,
we've got some migraines over here.Money talks So if you're trying to
restart the al Many Firebirds or theAFL, you know, may maybe you
put Antonio Brown back, say listen, we're gonna welcome you in the AFL.

(18:06):
Under these stipulations, you have toco own it with so and so,
and they are to run to dayto day operations. Blah blah blah.
Like I said, I have noinsource knowledge, just as just my
thoughts out there. But I donot believe that we've seen the last of
arena football here in Albany.