The Kenyan american football league has seen better and worse days. It has been through ups and downs ever since it was introduced in this country in the 90’s. Most of its woes have been exacerbated by lack of sponsorship, lack of motivation of players and sometimes just blatant blacklisting.
Despite these numerous challenges, there has been a growing consistency of purpose motivated solely by passion in the players. See, despite the fact that this sport exists and is growing exceedingly,it has been ignored and sidelined for the longest time. Well, not anymore. This sport is about to step out of the shadows and bask in the light that it truly deserves and I’ll tell you why.
First of all, Kenyans have an insatiable penchant for contact sport. Look at rugby in all its glory. In a country that rugby is glorified, it is devastating that American Football has not been able to gain the same status even after over a decade of existence. But there is hope, there is a growing interest in the sport in the country.
This is evidenced by the sheer curiosity that shrouds American Football in the country. Most people watch the sport in movies and have a desire to learn how the game is played. There is also a big population of kids, teenagers and even college students who want to play the game.
Second is the commitment displayed by the new coaches of the game. For a long time players have had to learn the game through YouTube and lift drills from the internet without professional supervision. Well this has also changed.
The arrival of well meaning persons whose passion for the game matches that of the players has completely changed the landscape of the game. Their arrival has come with improved skill and more frequent practice sessions. The two giants of the game in the country right now, university of Nairobi’s Mighty Nyati and the JKUAT sparrows have formidable coaches in coach Dan and coach Ted respectively which promises a tightly contested run this coming season.
Third are the plans put in place to create awareness of the game all over the country. Reliable sources state that next season is going to be studded by events, training camps, charity games and demonstrations all over the country for institutions that will be interested in the showcasing of the sport to their students.
This will be done with the intention of advertising the sport all in an effort to make it bigger. Unconfirmed reports are also predicting the return of the Buruburu Spartans and the rise of ‘the outsiders’ consisting of experienced non-students. Other universities are also showing increased interest in the sport.
The country’s biggest media houses including citizen TV and KTN have broadcast the sport in their channels. There is an overall feeling that this kind of exposure is going to grow this coming year marking the ‘big break’ for a sport that has been struggling for the longest time. Both of the episodes can be found on YouTube.
So this coming year American Football is set to rise to new heights given the attention they are getting right now.
It is also important to note the enthusiasm that college damsels have shown towards the sport. Most of the time they show up for the game with much anticipation only to realize that they know very little about the game and it thus appears uninteresting to watch.
That is set to change with the coming year given the live demonstrations that have been given in the major media houses and plans to roll out new programmes for the progression of the game. Who knows? Maybe we can finally have the action packed ,star studded events that we have wanted to build in over a decade.
original article from phrasewright