More teams, more games and a more concerted promotional plan marks the beginning of Year 2 in the second coming of Red Bombers football at the University of New Brunswick.

New teams based out of Dalhousie University and Holland College in Charlottetown gives the Atlantic Football League five teams for the upcoming season.

That means a little more variety for the charter members including the defending champion Red Bombers, the UNB in Saint John Seawolves and a club team out of the Moncton area which will be known as the Junior Mustangs this time around. They were the Raiders in Year 1.

In case you missed it, the Bombers edged the Seawolves 3-1 in the inaugural AFL championship game played in the muck and grime of Saint John’s Millidgeville Field.

Yeah, it sounds more like a baseball score than a football result. The weather was lousy, and the late date, Nov. 22, isn’t exactly conducive to the Greatest Show on Turf with our climate.

So maybe the final won’t go down in the annals of amateur football as one of the classics of all time.

But you know, the most important thing about last year was that there was a game to be played on that day, regardless of the weather.

It showed that when determined people with a passion for the game of football want to make something happen, it can be done, even when the obstacles seem prohibitive. They found the time, the energy, the money, the facilities and enough of a support staff to put together a three-team league.

These guys, and we’ll make mention of the respective managers, Barry Ogden in Saint John, Dan Fougere in Moncton and Larry Wisniewski in Fredericton, saw a void for kids graduating out of the extensive high school football system in the province and who, for whatever reasons, weren’t about to pursue the game at the CIS level.

Some might not have been talented enough to get a recruiting sniff from a CIS school. Some might have lacked the prototypical football body and didn’t feel it was physically in their best interests to play at a higher level.

Some simply didn’t want the hassles of committing to a rigorous CIS program, or leaving their hometown to play at that level. Others might have already made a commitment, saw the reality wasn’t what it was cracked up to be, and desire to play the sport at a less intense level.

Still others weren’t ready to begin their post-secondary educational pursuits, or didn’t feel equipped to do so, but yearned to keep playing a game they had come to love in their minor and secondary school years.

Ogden, Wiz, Fougere and countless others in on the planning at some point deemed there were enough of these players around, guys capable of playing a good enough brand of football that people would be willing to pay to see.

Thus, the AFL, a league geared for footballers between the ages of 18-24 and involving mostly university-based players with others from the community at large, became a reality.

How successful was it?

Enough that there’s two more teams on board so Year 2 is going to be even better. Guaranteed.

Are you ready for some football?

It had been 30 years since the UNB Red Bombers last ran onto the field at College Field to play a football game.

Watching the Red Bombers play their rivals from around the Atlantic Conference was the thing to do on a fall Saturday afternoon. You’d bring the wine skin, find a cozy spot in the bleachers, and get to watch quality players such as Donny Davis, Mike Washburn, Stewart Fraser, Chris Skinner, Terry Cripotos, Steve Corscadden, Chuck Proudfoot, etc., do their thing wearing Red Bombers jerseys on the gridiron at College Field.

For incoming students, there was no better way to “orientate” yourself with your new school than to spend Saturday afternoons at College Field. Orientation was as convenient as a walk down the hill. Football was first up, and people who live here all know about how great the climate is in September and October in these parts.

For any number of reasons, the UNB administration of the day saw fit to end that annual rite of fall. And football died a quiet death at the university level in this city.

When Wiz and a former Red Bomber, Mike Dollimore, decided to take the lead with the Fredericton entry into this new AFL venture, they were looking to tap into those memories with the resurrection of the UNB Red Bombers.

They were up front about what this league was all about…that it was a club team operating in a junior league with players from not only UNB but St. Thomas University, New Brunswick Community College and the city at large. And that was the mix head coach Dollimore, who returns, and his coaching staff worked with from the outset of training camp.

The hope and wish was that when those players rushed onto the turf at Chapman Field further up the hill (than College Field), the only thing that would resonate was the Red Bombers were alive and kicking, and that football for university-age youngsters was once again a going concern in this town.

So just imagine the rush for Wiz and Dolly – and all those behind-the-scene football enthusiasts who with their support, financial or otherwise, wanted to see the black and red of Red Bombers football again – when over 2,000 folks gathered under the lights for opening night.

And how exciting it was when the PA announcer first screamed: First down, Red Bombers!!! Touchdown, Red Bombers!!!

Are you ready for some football?

1962 Athletics Awards with four Red Bombers honoured, from left to right:  Richard Clark (Red Bomber and MVP hockey), Paul Arsenault (Defensive MVP), Doug Cottrell (Offensive MVP), Norm Bolitho (Athlete of the Year, hockey and football).

Tony Proudfoot (24), Dick Flynn (60), Lavers (65), Baptist (76)

The league is bigger by two teams and both Holland College and the Dalhousie Tigers are keen to make their presence felt immediately.  Last year’s league was extremely well matched and we look forward to the same exciting play which could see each and every game be up for grabs.

Our intention is to cross train many of our players to develop the kind of depth in our team that we lacked last year once injuries set in.  Players will learn a position on both sides of the ball to help in this regard.  Additionally we hope to begin to develop the skills and techniques of our younger players so that we can build towards the future.

We hope that alumni in the area are able to make it out to the games and drop by the bench to say “hi” and meet some of the players.  Repeating last year’s accomplishments will be very difficult but it certainly is our goal, as a team and a coaching staff!

Terry McIntyre, Defensive Backs:  Terry is a product of the ‘70’s from Mt. Allison and has worked relentlessly in building football in Fredericton and New Brunswick for the past 15 years.  He has been instrumental in building a “football machine” in the Capital Area Minor Football Association and has been part of all aspects of the football scene in New Brunswick including the introduction of men’s and ladies Senior football.  Terry in anxious to shift gears back on to the field and work the Red Bomber DB’s.

Andrew Fisher, Receivers:  A product of  Fredericton High School football program with a stint at Mt. Allison and New Zealand Gridiron.  He has extensive coaching experience at various levels and with his return to Fredericton from several years in Taiwan, he is keen to help the 2010 Red Bomber receiver corps.

All practices will take place at Chapman field (on UNB campus below the Aitken center)

*We realize school doesn’t start until Sep. 7th but try to make it back for as many sessions as possible. Don’t feel like if you miss the first few practices that you shouldn’t try out for the team. If you will be late arriving please send an email to webmaster@redbombers.com declaring your intention to try out for the team and letting us know when you will be available for practice.

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2010  Spring Camp

Returning Players and New Comers

Sat.  April 24 : 9:30AM-11:30AM
Marshall D’Avry Hall  RM 120(UNB Campus, Adjacent to Chapman Field)

Sat. April 24:  1:00PM- 4:00PM
Chapman Field

Sun. April 25:  1:00PM-4:00PM
Chapman Field

Sat. April 24@1:00PM – Chapman Filed
Parents and Volunteers willing to help our organization are ask to attend

If you would like more information, or to indicate your interest email webmaster@redbombers.com