All Alf Fertil has ever wanted is a championship ring.
That is what has kept him returning to play indoor football each of the last eight years – despite all the financial uncertainties, the ribbing from friends and former Freedom players and his mom pestering him to hang it up because he’s an “old man.”
But with a 1-year-old son, Braylin, and his body telling him this is it, Fertil has decided this is his last year playing indoor ball. So his last chance to snag the elusive ring is with the FireHawks, and it starts today.
No. 3 seed Fort Wayne (6-4) will play at No. 2 seed Wisconsin (8-2) in the Continental Indoor Football League playoffs at 8 p.m. at Hartmeyer Arena in Madison, Wis. With only four teams in the playoffs, a victory tonight means a trip to the CIFL championship game.
It’s Fertil’s fourth time playing in the playoffs, and he has memories of each miss.
Last season, the Freedom advanced to the championship game but lost to Chicago, loaded with AFL players.
Fertil was playing with Kalazamoo when Fort Wayne made its foray into arenafootball2 in 2007, and his team lost in the second round.
The team with perhaps the most talent in Fertil’s eight seasons lost the quickest: the 2005 Freedom entered the United Indoor Football playoffs 14-1 with the No. 1 seed but lost 57-22 to eighth-seed Tennessee Valley in the first round.
As the veteran of the FireHawks, Fertil is sharing those experiences and lessons learned with teammates.
“I try to tell them things. It’s a whole different season because the season is one and done,” he said.
“If you win, you move on. If not, then it’ll be the last time you’ll see these guys, especially for a lot of these guys who have come from out of town. So it’s just about making the best of what it is. … That’s what I try to instill in them: Whatever you did before doesn’t even matter. It’s about one game, four quarters, and that’s it.”
Though some may figure a long ride in indoor football in Fort Wayne would be tough – getting paid consistently is a rarity – Fertil said he won’t reflect on his journey with any bitterness.
He’s been a fixture in the starting lineup, proving to him that someone who played NAIA ball at Saint Francis could compete with Division I players.
He cherishes the friendships he’s made, listing former Freedom players Rachman Crable, Rocky Harvey, Luther Stroder, Lamar Martin and Adrian Reese as guys he still keeps in contact with.
He’s thankful he’s logged extra time – more than he expected – being able to play a game he loves.
And those things have made this journey worth it.
“I’ve had a great time,” Fertil said. “It wasn’t like I was trying to get rich or anything. So, to me, it was just about playing football and just to trying to reach the goals that I wanted, which was to make it to the championship game, to actually win a championship. I’ve done all that with the exception of winning one. But I’ve had so much fun. Each year has been a blast, just meeting new guys.”
