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Over the next few days, we're going to feature the top stories that are worth paying attention to in 2010.  Some feature specific teams, some feature specific leagues; all are relevant to amateur football next year.

By no means are these the only stories that will be worth paying attention to.  We don't know what will happen as the year progresses, and something earthshaking (or even just noteworthy) could pop up and play out.  But at the end of 2009, these are the Top 10 stories we'll be watching.

#10 - Will a continued economic slowdown affect amateur football?

Let’s let economists disagree on where the economy is going and for argument sake we’ll hypothesize that it will continue to struggle in 2010.  Will this have a negative effect on semi-pro football?  Or could it actually help?

A protracted slowdown or recession means continued difficulty in the job market.  This makes money a little bit more of a premium.  Does that mean that a player might think twice about paying several hundred dollars in team fees, as some teams charge?  Will that player seek out a team that charges less, or as is the case with some teams, doesn’t charge at all?  Will said teams be able to get by on sponsorships and continue to offer players the opportunity to play free of charge?  Will sponsors be less willing to throw dollars at teams?  These questions will all need to be answered for survival sake.

On the flip side, will the appeal of a cheap Friday or Saturday evening of entertainment for a family mean more people will be willing to check out games and action?  A family of 4 can watch the Madison Mustangs play on Saturday in Middleton with all the entrapments on a college or professional game, albeit on MUCH smaller levels, for around $30, including hot dogs and drinks.  Compared to the same night spent at the movies, the cost is easily half.  So can teams capitalize on the opportunity and succeed?  Or will semipro football continue to be a relational draw?

These questions all combine to create the larger query of how the economy will affect us.  This makes it the first story worth following in 2010. 

#9 - Who will leave the IFL?
It seems that every year it’s not if, but rather who.  Look at the list below of teams that have disappeared since 2006: Milwaukee Bulldogs, Oak Creek Cyclones, Milwaukee Maniacs, Franklin Outlaws, West Allis Predators, Roscoe Rush, Lake Country Cyclones, Milwaukee Panthers, Verona Trojans, Menomonee Falls Warriors, McHenry County Pirates, Windy City Buccaneers, Oak Creek Renegades, Milwaukee Marauders.  If you’re keeping track at home, that’s 14 teams in 4 seasons.

Of the new teams announced for this season, the Junkyard Dogs and the Storm, only the Dogs are an established franchise.  The Storm were cobbled together for the Mid-States Tournament from players from other teams, so it will be interesting to see how (if) they fare in the IFL for a full season.  The other squad rumored to be in the courtship process with the IFL, the Green Bay Vipers, is a squad comprised of numerous NEFL players.  Allegiance would be tested for those players if the rumor is true and the Vipers make the jump to the IFL, because the IFL will play at the same time as the NEFL. 

It could be an interesting situation, but odds are that someone will leave the IFL following this season.  We just want to know who.

#8 - Teams on the brink trying to shore up
A number of teams struggled throughout the season with numbers; consequently, their on-field product failed at times to be competitive.  The question for 2010 is how they will fare.  Each team has addressed the problem differently.  The Lake Country Cyclones and Ozaukee Demons combined for 3 wins in 20 games, each showing flashes of talent without much fruition.  By joining forces this off-season, the roster numbers will be significantly improved and the bank coffers will be sufficiently replenished that the emergent squad, competing under the Cyclones name, should be able to double the win totals in 2010.

Another WSFL squad that ached early on, the River City Rattlers, faces a different sort of challenge.  Midway through the season the Rattlers received an influx of players and help from the Beloit Titans.  If the Titans are in doubt for 2010 (the website disappeared following the GMFL season), will the players continue to compete with the Rattlers?  The Rattlers managed to make a splash into the post-season with the Titans help, but without the added boost to the squad, will River City fall from the ranks of playoff contenders?

The Greendale Panthers, over in the IFL, failed to win a game in 2009.  The team scored 31 points all season.  They’ve made a major push this winter on the recruiting front, have instituted team workouts and generally seem to be trying to organically improve the team instead of orchestrate a merger.  Admirability aside, the chances of improving through natural evolution in an overcrowded market will be put to the test by the Panthers.  Struggle for another season, and we may see the next Milwaukee Maniacs.  Put it together, and we’ve got the blueprint.

Likewise with the Shorewood Monarchs, whose lone 2009 win came in OT against the Panthers.  Without a large influx of talent, this team could struggle again on the field.  However, the Monarchs showed more offensive explosiveness than Greendale, and have approached their 2010 season in a different fashion.  Whereas the Panthers are building organically from the bottom up, Shorewood will provide a case study in top down team building.  Boasting one of the nicest websites in the IFL, a large number of sponsors and the only weekly radio show in the league, the Monarchs have built the shell and are seeking to fill out the skeleton.  If they survive, they will no doubt have community support and a high profile.  If they fail to build to the rafters, a collapse under weighty expectations will be in danger.

With four teams approaching struggles in four different ways, at least one should thrive and have a shot at a WSPY BreakOUT or BreakTHROUGH Team of the Year. 

#7 - Where will the Raiders land?
If you haven’t been watching closely, the Racine Raiders’ NAFL division’s collapse probably hasn’t blipped on your radar.  Two years ago the Raiders were part of the Dells Division of the NAFL, featuring teams from Milwaukee (Marauders, Wolfpack), Racine (Raiders) and Kane County, IL (Eagles).  In a blink-and-you-missed it offseason change, the Marauders, Wolfpack and Eagles left, being replaced on the schedule (LaCrosse) River City Rough Riders and Chicago Wolverines.  The Wolverines apparently failed to finish the season, and numerous reports have the Rough Riders kicked out of the NAFL for failure to pay their dues .  Currently, the Raiders are a one-team division, confirmed by Racine’s own website.

Now rumors are swirling that the Raiders have approached the MSFL in preliminary talks to look at joining the league.  It’s a poorly guarded secret that the IFL has courted the Raiders for several years.  With the Pioneers heading to the NEFL, it’s a fair bet that at least someone in the Raiders’ organization will look at that league as well.  Maybe Racine will follow in the Wolfpack footsteps and look into the MCFL.  No one knows.  Rule out only the WSFL, whose current fall season conflicts with the Raiders and Historic Horlick Field.   Where one of the oldest and most historic amateur football teams in the country ends up is up for guesses and only time will tell. 

#6 - Will the WSFL thrive or just survive?
2008: Champion Fox Valley Force - gone. 
2009: Champion West Bend Junkyard Dogs - gone.

See a pattern?  Yes, we know - the same thing happened from 2005 through 2007 in the IFL, but there is a difference.  The IFL had more than 8 teams at the time.  With the loss of the Dogs and the merger of the Lake Country Cyclones and Ozaukee Demons, the current WSFL stands at just 6 teams, if everyone remains.  The question is, how much longer can the WSFL hold on like this?

Remember, this is the league that denied entrance to two teams in 2008 and saw one team it had granted entrance to fail before the season started.  Then, in 2009, the Fond du Lac Falcons gained admission only to fail to leave the roost.  At least two other teams from the current lineup have shopped around, and rumors are that the mergers may not yet be finished.

Unless someone, no, several someones step in with viable teams, or the league makes a strong marketing push, we’ll be left looking at a league that might survive, but certainly will struggle to thrive. 

Click here for part 2...