By AX Man – XFLBoard.com Memphis Maniax Team Reporter
31 October 2000 – Things are finally starting to take shape for the XFL and the Memphis Maniax. They now have a coach in Kippy Brown, uniforms, and over the weekend they were able to get some players.
Kippy is a local guy. He is graduate of the University of Memphis. Plus he has coached as an assistant at the University of Tennessee, as well as, four different NFL teams; Miami, Jets, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay. Having local ties is important for the Maniax because it makes it easier for the people to accept them and jump on board, especially the skeptics. If the Maniax have one of their favorite players from an area college that might be the reason that that skeptic starts to take notice and hopefully interest in the Maniax and XFL. Over time this will become less important, but for the beginning it is a useful tool to gain interest. And that is even more true in cities like Memphis, memphis, and Orlando where college football has always been king.
The difficult part for the Maniax is that Kippy is retaining his job in Green Bay who creates an awkward situation. However, the fans and the media have not made a big deal out of this. Kippy is very popular in Memphis, so the people of this city will give him more leeway than other coaches. The feeling in Memphis is that Kippy Brown was an excellent choice for coach. He has local ties, experience, and he is good guy. So we wish him and the Maniax good luck.
The Maniax have recently debuted their uniforms. After being posted on the XFL site that they are getting extremely bad reviews. Well, it might just be my opinion but the uniforms do not look that bad in person. I think the pictures do not really do them justice. There was not any negative press about the uniforms here.
There’s one thing everyone must admit. The Maniax are definitely going to stick out more than any other team. Love’ em or hate ’em I have this feeling like the Cowboys that the Maniax will evoke feelings because of the name and perception they are giving off. From what I can tell it is the older fans that do not like the name and imagery of the team. For the younger than 24 year olds especially boys it fits the WWF image more than any other. And let’s face it, that may not be what we want but it is what the Vince is shooting for.
Now let’s analyze some of the players the Maniax where able to draft. There were local Tennessee, Memphis, and Miss. St. players like Marcus Nash, Boo Blevins, Kevin Prentiss, Jesse James, and Richard Hogans. Of the territorial players these are the ones that stand out the most. Nash, Blevins, and Prentiss are receivers with speed. Prentiss was a tremendous return specialist at Miss. State, while Hogans and James are linebackers that play with passion. Marcus Crandell put up great numbers at East Carolina and the Maniax feel he can be a play maker much like Air McNair. The Maniax got a good look at him because he was in the Green Bay camp this year with the eyes of Kippy watching him.
They also picked up Jim Drunkenmiller who one day may wake up and relieve some of his potential. It is obvious that the Jimmy Johnson, whom he used to work for, philosophy has made an impact on Kippy Brown because the Maniax have tried to fill the team with speed, speed, and more speed especially on defense. A mini camp is next. The Maniax will have players that handle the ball in Nov. 13 thru the 19.
Well now the Maniax have a coach, uniforms and players. Things are finally starting to take shape for the Maniax and the other XFL teams. Now we just have to wait as the excitement builds for the start of the season.
