[Reginald Rutledge]

to learn to be more tolerant of others. No disrespect to Canton and the whole experience but this is not just about us(as coaches), it's about our wives and families.

Let me tell you, Canton does not offer much in that it's just about the NFL Hall of Fame. I know it's the birthplace of football but when you share that weekend with the PGA, the NFL, among others, it can be not too much fun. Now for me and my wife, watching her sit around for 10 hours a day doing nothing can cause problems in the home. It could eventually lead to divorces. That's our problem now, we only think in terms of ourselves and no one else, even our wives. Ask your wife tonite, "Which one will you want to do, Vegas or Canton?" I bet you 99.999% of them will say Vegas. Or New York? I bet 99.999% would say NY! Guys, when will we learn, this is not always about us, our egos, and thirst for glory. This is about our families. Yeah, some of us are adding up the dollars it would take to bring our families to Vegas as opposed to just ourselves to Canton. Sure it's less to do Ohio but from a "happy-home" standpoint, I do major city every time!

There's nothing wrong with a Canton experience or an MFCA/CBSMF experience. You can still have a great experience and have many tournaments under one roof. Wolf and I talked about this in the past. But I also know there is something good in moving what you do around.

In 2008, when the CBSMF picked up steam, many who would play in the CBSMF were on board with going from city to city. That's a promise we made to guys who play in the CBSMF. And I do understand, the MFCA and CBSMF is not one in the same but it does better for the hobby to align itself, at least in the infancy years. You don't have to play in both the CBSMF playoffs and the MFCA. What you fail to look at is the marketing, promotions, and recruiting of players to cultivate the game. If the game simply stays in Canton, you do not do that. All you cater to is the Canton media.

When you move the game, you give more media outlets an opportunity to spread the word, knowing a big crowd will be there. If you want to grow a hobby, you've got to cultivate it. Why do you think leagues tend to become stale and wither and dye away? Or never no new growth. The same concept for miniature football.

When you talk about moving things around to Vegas, Dallas, New York, DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, you not only begin to plant more seeds nationally but you give our wives and families a reason to want to come and be a part of what we do. If the end game is to keep a happy home, you will do better by growing the hobby like that.

I think guys/men can be stuck in their ways. Oh, we do great by having a tailgate party, led by John Martin at Danny's house. JWM does yeoman's work to make sure everybody is taken care of but that can sometimes get old.

All I know is most of us are suppose to be family men, right? We do this as a hobby, right? We want peace in our homes, right? We are not in this to simply make money, right? If our purpose as MF'ers is to grow the hobby for the next generation, you've got to know it serves us best to go out into the community and grow the game.

Places like Vegas, Dallas, Detroit, DC, and NY are ideal spots - not just for us but for our families to have fun while we play a child's game. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with Canton, but I ask you, what fruits of our cultivation can be harvested from being there 3 years in a row?

Nothing wrong with Canton. Put it in a loop! Let that be the birthplace city but to spread the game means to spread the wealth. In the words of Horace Greeley, "Go West" and East and North and South!

I know I am not on any MFCA board or CBSMF board but I think my opinion does deserve to be looked at.

Reg