Just one week after Tom Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoisted the Vince Lombardi trophy in Tampa Bay, Florida, capping off the NFL season the Fan Controlled Football League kicked off their inaugural season in Atlanta, Georgia. The new league, not known by many had a very successful opening weekend, having both of their games, back to back on Saturday, February 13th. They reached over 600,000 views in both of their games’ live stream on twitch, giving the players on each of the four teams an opportunity to play in front of thousands of people, mostly fans but scouts and coaches as well from the next level. One of the players that had that opportunity on Saturday and will have the opportunity to play in front of hundreds of thousands of fans and coaches moving forward in the Fan Controlled Football League is running back LaDarius Galloway. When talking about the Fan Controlled Football League and the time he’s spent in the league thus far Galloway mentioned, “Its a great league. I’m thankful for this opportunity to showcase my talents and get another chance at the next level.” He also said, “I’m taking advantage of this opportunity.”
Galloway, one of many players in the new league has had opportunities in other leagues, for Galloway he has been able to talk with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans and play for the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders but the FCFL still sticks out in many ways. “The people behind the league are what sticks out the most for me,” LaDarius Galloway said, “When we got here (the Atlanta FCFL bubble) Ray Austin (commissioner/former NFL DB) gave us a good welcome and just knowing that it took them almost 7 years to start this league it shows the commitment they have for this league and they really care about the players a part of it.”
Caring about the players in the league, Ray Austin who was once a player in the same shoes as many of the players in the FCFL, having played in the NFL and XFL has built a platform where the players can be themselves. Behind the fact that the fans of the league are the ones calling the plays and drafting the players, the fans are also exposed to the personalities inside the helmets, and the people that the players in the FCFL really are. The league, hence the name “Fan Controlled Football League” is truly fan oriented and in a professional way, giving players the chance to interact with its fans and Galloway is a fan of the set up that the new league has as he told me, “On the field its like ‘The Yard’ in Madden 21. The players can wear their chosen name on the back of their jersey, the jerseys are all fan customized and the arena that we play in is super cool too but off of the field we are given the opportunity to show our real personality which in other leagues you may get in trouble for.” LaDarius Galloway also added to his thoughts, “I want to play at the highest level possible and being able to build a platform in the Fan Controlled Football League as a person and an athlete is awesome.”
As Galloway and other players look to play in the NFL or CFL in the near future, the players in the Fan Controlled Football League have to make plays now to be able to make plays in the NFL soon, something which LaDarius Galloway is extremely focused on. “A good future doesn’t come without a great present.” he said, “I’m focused on what I’m doing right now in the FCFL but I definitely want to play in the NFL soon.” Galloway, like many of the players in the FCFL deserve to play in the NFL or CFL and in 2019 he actually had the chance in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders. Playing in two pre-season games against both the Saskatchewan Roughriders and BC Lions, LaDarius Galloway was able to make a highlight tape on just 5 offensive touches where he gained over 70 yards on, similar to what he did at the University of Tennessee Martin. In his senior year at UTM Galloway touched the ball 164 times on offence, gaining an all-purpose 788 yards and getting in the end zone 7 times.
Talking about getting an opportunity, Galloway told me why he should get an opportunity at the highest level, building off of my opinion, “I am a player that you can lean on when you need a big play. Just when you think you’re in doubt and you are in need of something, I can make a big play, whether that is running in a long touchdown or blocking for the quarterback in the backfield I can do it and I want too prove that I can.”
JZ MEDIA 