World Footy News

Returning after a period of mourning in 2005 with a couple of low key games and combining with Kansas city at the 2005 Nationals, Louisville Football Club make their second big step back into footy in 2006. Their season kicking off this weekend hosting the Founder’s Thunder Cup 2006 Tournament in memory of club founder John Harrell.

The Club has undergone a metamorphosis over the off-season, going into the winter cocoon as the Cats in the blue and white hoops and will hopefully emerge on Saturday as the Kings with a new strip. The name change coming to try and shake off the Australian image and somehow Americanize the game and develop a loyalty to it locally. Their new sponsor the BBC Beer Company is chipping in for their new kit as logo sponsor completing the image change.

Off the field Will Sandman has taken over the reigns as club President and Chris “Pigdog” Parsley a US Footy veteran has taken on the coaching job to pass on his own passion for the game. Parsley played in the very first game played in the USAFL between Louisville and Cincinnati back in 1996. He has since played over 70 games and has been leading from the front this year with a long and gruelling preseason regime of diet and exercise. Extensive efforts have been made on the recruiting front and hopefully we will see the fruits of these efforts this year, and beyond.

The tournament is timed to coincide with the Thunder Over Louisville festival this weekend which is the rated as one of the top 100 events in North America, the Kentucky Derby Festival's Opening Ceremonies. The feature being a pyrotechnics display described as a “breathtaking and mind-numbing 28-minute show including Thunder's signature one-mile "waterfall" effect off the bridge” but a number of other activities and events happen across the city.

After sending out an invitation earlier in the year, four visiting teams will compete along with the hosts. Kansas City, MAAFL teams St. Louis, Cincinnati and Milwaukee all kick off their 2006 seasons in this tournament. The draw for the tournament is as follows:

Game 1 10 AM Louisville Kings V Cincinnati Dockers

Game 2 11 AM St. Louis Blues V Kansas City Power

Game 3 12 AM Milwaukee Bombers V Winner of Game 1

Game 4 1 PM Loser of Game 1 V Loser of Game 2

Game 5 2 PM Winner of Game 2 V Winner of Game 3

Game 6 3 PM Loser of Game 3 V Winner of Game 4

We know the club is excited about the weekend and it will be interesting to see how well the visiting teams travel with numbers to support this tournament. History tells us that these tournaments can be hit and miss for the visiting teams, and the stress of organising them can take a toll on the home side. We hope the tournament is a big success and keeps the ball rolling for footy in Louisville for the rest of 2006.