Semi-pro league sees tremendous potential
- By Christopher Heimerman
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Published: 9/5/2005
The Chudada family tree's roots run deep, and the backyard around it is growing rapidly.
Chris Chudada and his father, Joe, created the Ironman Football League in 1996.There were 18 players, makeshift uniforms and the home field was Jackson Park. "We looked like the Bad News Bears," Chris said. "We were sitting around after a game and I said, "Wouldn't it be great if we had a league?"
Before it truly took flight, the father-son partnership was broken. Joe Chudada died of lung cancer in 1997. Still, the league enjoyed modest progress early, but truly took off with a new partnership in 2001.
Pete Narrai, now in his first year as IFL commissioner, joined Chudada in 2001. Narrai boasts 31 years as a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association official and is a member of two semi-professional Halls of Fame. "It's a godsend that I found Pete," Chudada said. "He's really become a father figure and helped me as a person as much as he has with the business." Narrai and Chudada developed a premise for success that stresses keeping it local. Aside from Madison, no team travels more than 30 miles to play.
Chudada, now 29, suffers from Tourette's syndrome, a chronic neurological disorder of unknown cause that is characterized by multiple and uncontrolled behaviors, both vocal and physical. He was diagnosed in seventh grade and has used football to cope ever since. "It's something I battle with everyday, but I tend to take everything as motivation," Chris said. The league evolved quickly, adding crack officiating, security and a league wide insurance policy; furthermore, the league demanded a professional attitude from its teams.
In 2004, the Milwaukee County Sports Complex became the league's home field. Play changed from nine-to-11-man football as Chudada used the template of the National Football League to create a working-man's version. The result is, according to the IFL, the fastest-growing semi-pro football league in Wisconsin.
Every weekend, more than 200 players on 11 teams of former high school studs and college stars come together and scratch the itch to play tackle football. And hundreds of fans, friends and general fanatics fill the Complex for the spectacle.
Narrai knew that for the league to reach its potential, it was time to break some bad news to Chudada. "First thing I told Chris is, 'You're done playing,'" Narrai said. Chudada retired as a player after last season in order to focus on the business of the league, but has enough family and friends involved that he never feels detached.
His younger brother, Ryan, plays for his old team, the West Milwaukee Gladiators, and Chris' fiancée and family help wherever they can. "From field set-up to painting numbers on the field," Ryan Chudada said, "we do it all."
Ryan is one of many players whose football playing days haven't skipped a beat thanks to the IFL. "With my sacrifice I'm helping guys play professional ball. That's enough for me," Chris said. "And when Thanksgiving comes around, I'll be in the back yard for the Turkey Bowl '05, that'll be my football fix." The league has many fan favorites like the Milwaukee Bulldogs' Tommy Roach, a three-time league most valuable player and a member of three Ironbowl champion squads.
Roach, who turns 41 in November, has his eye set on one more prize. "It would be a nice birthday gift to win another Ironbowl," Roach said. Since their play is voluntary, players retain eligibility and several have earned college scholarships and Arena Football League and similar contracts by showcasing their skill in the IFL.
"We've been working for 10 years, setting the groundwork," said Gladiators center Patrick Mace, director of the IFL Hall of Fame. Future endeavors include the first IFL Youth Football Camp, planned for next year, and an expansion of teams. Chudada might still be green in business.
But the memories of playing ball with his father are vivid, and the plush green field of his new backyard reminds him of how far he has come. "I'm doing something I love and I'm the luckiest human being in the world for it," he said.