PUEBLO, Colo. (KKTV) – From the Cannon Game and Bell Game, to the Pigskin Classic, Pueblo is definitely a football town.
Now the community has even more to be excited about as the Pueblo Punishers make their way to the city.
The Punishers are a pro-arena football team and they will play in the National Arena League (NAL).
The team will be made up of ex-NFL players, former Division I college football players and other highly skilled athletes.
Owner and CEO of the Pueblo Punishers Lisa Rohrich explains to 11 News why she chose Pueblo as the location for this expansion team saying, “So when I started looking, I was looking at other states.
Rohrich continues saying, “I was looking at Nebraska. I was even looking at some (places) down in Texas at one point.
“I was even looking at a spot in Wyoming.
“And so I have family that lives in Pueblo and I love Pueblo and so then I found out that there was an event center here and so I came to visit with them and they were great.
“They’ve been very helpful in trying to, you know, make this happen and so I was just like everything has just started fitting.
“You know the community has been excited about it, I love the area, I love the Riverwalk. I spend a lot of time sitting down there.
“But it’s a very football based town and they love their football.
“I keep joking with people and I tell them, ‘It’s just like being in one of the communities in Texas.’
“Pueblo loves their football.
“They support it (tremendously) and so I know that we’re going to be very successful here.
“It was a great fit.
“I tell everybody, everything’s just falling into place and falling into line that I made the right decision coming to Pueblo.”
Rohrich fell in love with pro-arena football. She started in sales with a team in her hometown of Gillette, Wyoming and eventually worked her way up to general manager for an arena team.
Now not only has she become an owner and CEO of her own team, Rohrich is also the first and only female owner in the National Arena League.
The Pueblo Punishers are also the first and only all female-owned team.
When asked what she thinks about being a trailblazer in the sports world, Rohrich tells 11 News, “It’s a wonderful feeling.
“You know, basically I’ve always said that it’s kind of like a man’s world in sports, especially with football.
“And so that, you know, always kind of pushed me a little harder.
“I started in just doing sales and then I worked my way up and then I worked in-game and then I worked my way up to general manager and then I worked my way up to a CEO because I learned every aspect of what it takes.
“I made the communication with the players, with the coaches, with agents, with other team owners and so I worked hard at what I did because I wanted to be the best.
“It didn’t matter if I was the owner or not, I was very proud of that team and I wanted it to be the best in the community that it was, so I put my ethics, my skill set involved with it in making sure that our players were taken care of, making sure that our partners that come on to support the team were taken care of and making it a great fan experience for our fans to come to.
“So by doing that I earned the respect of everybody around because I worked hard and I was true to who I was and it means something to me like I’m very passionate, you know.
“I believe in what I’m doing, I believe in making this the best, I believe in making Pueblo proud and putting Pueblo on the map as far as the arena world.
“And being the first woman owner in this, I mean it hasn’t (sank) in completely yet.
“I’m a pretty modest person. I don’t talk a lot about it.
“(But) it’s hitting me today. I made it. I did it.
“But all my hard work and all the tears and the sweat and everything that went into it to make sure everything was successful has helped me get to today and I am so proud.
“I am so proud of all my players across the other leagues that went on to do better.
“I’m proud and honored that those players believe in me and are reaching out and are already wanting to come play for me because that means what I did, I did right.
“And I want them to be proud of what they’re doing and I’m very ecstatic that they’re proud of me.”
While it may be her first year as owner and CEO, Rohrich already has her eyes on the prize and she says, “I’m going out for that number one spot.
“I’m going out for that championship, so this is the league that I want to accomplish that in.
“That’s the goal, that’s what we’re going for and that’s what the Punishers represent.
“We’re coming in and we’re going after it and we’re going to make some things right that was wronged and we’re going to go show with some grit what we’re about.”
Although she’s focused on winning, Rohrich has not forgotten what professional sports are really all about.
Rohrich tells 11 News, “It’s also one of our goals to incorporate the community and incorporate the kids, incorporate the fans.
“I want Pueblo to be proud that they have this team here.
“You know, I want them to be able to say ‘Hey, I saw them at McDonald’s,’ or, ‘I saw them at Walmart,’ you know or, ‘We got to go eat dinner and they all came in and we got autographs.’
“Or I want the kids to go home and say ‘Guess what, the Punishers came to my school and talked to us.’
“So, you know, I want them to be excited, I want them to feel like this is their Denver Broncos or Minnesota Vikings.”
For Rohrich, pro-arena football is more than just a game, but a way of life and she tells 11 News, “I’ve just been bringing my skills and bringing my passion I want to say, my love for the game to all of it and then like I said I started deciding that it was time for me to own my own team, you know put my skills, put my dreams, put my goals and my ambitions and how I see a team should be ran and put together and things to be taken care of for the players because that’s really important to me.”
As for why Puebloans should come out and watch the Punishers, Rohrich says, “Oh, because they’re going to have fun.
“We do a lot of in-game activities that go on that involve the crowd.
“Not only are you going to be watching a football game, that’s action-packed, high-energy, you know players falling over going for a ball into a box suite, the balls going over into the crowd that you get to keep it, you know, we do a lot of things during (stoppages of play) where we’re going to have a lot of events that the crowd’s going to participate in.
“So they’re not only going to get to see and be involved in that part, they’re going to see a game that’s high-intense.
“It’s not like watching NFL. This is going to be so action-packed and hard-hitting that they’re going to about that.
“And then after the game is over, the players are required to come out on the field for 30 minutes.
“So everybody gets to go down on the field and take pictures and get autographs and be with them one-on-one.
“We want them to have a great fan-experience, so after that game they’re like ‘When’s the next game,’ ‘When can we come?’
“There’s a lot of interaction because if there’s like a penalty, or a timeout, or something going on, (the players) will wander over to where the box suites are, you can take pictures, they’ll high-five, you know, there’s just a lot of interaction that you get with our players.”
Despite all of her hardwork and her accomplishments, Rohrich tells 11 News, this truly was a team effort, saying, “This would not have been possible if it hadn’t have been everybody pushing me and telling me I could do this.
“I know that I can handle and run a team and I know I can handle and run an in-game and do all that and for me to accomplish my dream, for them to push me and say, ‘You got this, take this step,’ it’s always a little scary when you’re trying to get to that mark.
“I’ve had my family, my daughters, my mom, my best friend, one of them she says, ‘Everything’s falling into place with you.’
“I have my COO, Marley, you know, she was working with me when I was with the Northern Colorado team and she’s believed in me, pushed me and she’s come on to be my COO.
“I’ve met my office staff that’s coming and has pushed me that I know and have a background with.
“And people that I’ve met here that I’ve brought on, that have believed from the moment that they’ve met me and keep opening doors to help us make this better.
“And then my players, they have pushed me to the sky with this.
“They tell me all the time, they message me, they call me, ‘When you getting your team,’ ‘You can do this,’ ‘Stop being afraid,’ ‘Do it.’
“And then coaches that I know from across the country that know that I’m starting it, they’re like, ‘You got this,’ ‘You can do it.’
“And so it’s like the confidence they have in me because what they’ve seen I can do that’s pushed me, that really got me to take that step and not to give up.
“And without all of my staff that have come on, without my family, without my friends, without my players it wouldn’t be possible. I couldn’t do this without them.
“It’s not just about me it takes everybody to make a team.”
The Pueblo Punishers will play their home games at the Events Center at the Colorado State Fair on Prutch’s Garage Door and More Field.
Tickets will go on sale in October.
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