Georgia Force opens AFL season Saturday against Orlando

ATLANTA - The Georgia Force aren&#39;t new to the Arena Football League, just Atlanta. <br> <br> After five seasons in Nashville -- including back-to-back appearances in the season-ending ArenaBowl -- the team was bought last fall by Atlanta businessman Virgil Williams. It opens the season Saturday night at Philips Arena against the Orlando Predators. <br> <br> Travis Reece, who played three seasons with the Detroit Lions before joining the Arena League last season, said ``It&#39;s more exciting than the NFL or college football. It&#39;s more exciting to watch for the fans, and it&#39;s more exciting to play.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> In the AFL, games are held exclusively indoors and teams play eight-on-eight. The field is 50 yards long and the goal posts, at nine feet, are half as wide as those in the NFL. <br> <br> All those rules help promote a decidedly offensive game, allowing pass-happy teams to move up and down the field almost at will. One game last year featured a final score of 99-68. New York Dragons quarterback Aaron Garcia threw 104 touchdowns in 14 games. <br> <br> But Nashville (now Georgia) had success with a un-Arena like game plan: running the ball and playing good defense, a philosophy that other teams might be forced to follow. <br> <br> Assistant coach Bob Kronenberg said, ``This game is different, but a couple of things remain the same in that you have to play defense and run the football. I think absolutely more teams are going to start concentrating more on that.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Reece was the AFL&#39;s leading rusher in his first year, gaining 190 yards on 42 carries. <br> <br> That&#39;s right. Just 190 yards, or 13.6 a game. <br> <br> ``In arena football, if a running back touches the ball more than five times a game, that&#39;s considered a lot,&#39;&#39; he said. ``But it&#39;s still just as important as it is in other leagues.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The former Michigan State fullback was thankful for the work. During his college career and stint with the Lions, Reece rarely carried the ball. <br> <br> ``That was a lot to me,&#39;&#39; he said with a laugh. <br> <br> The move seems to agree with the franchise. About 7,000 season tickets were sold, and 9,000 showed up last week for a preseason game. <br> <br> Last year, most of the teams drew about 10,000 fans, with a season-high 19,867 attending the Tampa Bay-New Jersey season finale. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re trying to bring something new to Atlanta, something maybe some of the other teams don&#39;t offer,&#39;&#39; Reece said. ``To have 9,000 people at a preseason game was almost unheard of.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> But Reece wants to make sure everyone knows the Force aren&#39;t an expansion team. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s a new team, but it&#39;s not a new team,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We&#39;re not here to build a program. We&#39;re here to get the championship, hopefully in this first year.&#39;&#39;