Arena football is a fast-paced, high-scoring football game where the field is just 50 yards long and 28 yards wide.
"You just fly back and forth, kind of picturing like a big pinball machine: guys bouncing around because you can't run out of bounds," New York Streets Defensive Back Chris Hemphill said. "So it's either get hit or fall on the ground. … You can't really hide. That's what I like about it."
For the first time in 10 years, New York has a team in the National Arena League: the New York Streets. The team is based in Brooklyn and plays home games at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.
(A player for the New York Streets celebrates a touchdown in a recent game against the Massachusetts Pirates. Jeanine Ramirez/NY1).
"New York is missing out on summer/spring football. It's an alternative. It's minor league, not the NFL. Shorter field. We score high. It's affordable," New York Streets team owner Corey Galloway said.
Galloway, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, said it took three years of planning to develop a New York franchise. 24 players make up the team, which started the season in April. Among the stars are former NFL players, including Streets quarterback David Legree. The Brooklyn-native attended South Shore High School and Syracuse University, and played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts.
"I'm homegrown. So, you know, I live at home. Me and my wife and my two girls. We live at home and we enjoy it every single day," Legree said.
The team's offices and practice facility are in Brooklyn.
Formerly known as PacPlex, the Brooklyn Lifestyle Athletic Club in Canarsie is the home base for the Streets. Galloway owns the facility, and he's arranged living accommodations for out-of-town players at the Brooklyn College dorms.
The last Arena Football team from New York was the Dragons, which had an eight-year run at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.
Galloway says this time, the feel is urban. "Usually the streets are the things that are always synonymous with New York: Madison Avenue, Wall Street, Seventh Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, Nostrand Avenue," Galloway said. "Really what embodies New York is the streets."
The next home game for the Streets is July 21. Playoffs kick off in August.
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