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Football League Gives It All-American Try - Jun 15, 2007
posted by: Josh
I never watched the XFL, haven’t been to a CBA game and I think the National Xtreme Baseball League is beyond absurd. I think “alternative” professional leagues are a risky proposition and it’s not surprising that they rarely work. When I first heard about the plan for the All-American Football League, I shrugged it off as another surefire failure for another group of entrepreneurs who seem to have trouble understanding that there are already plenty of sports products out there. But as I read a couple of articles about the league, and found out former NCAA President Cedric Dempsey was involved, my interest was piqued. Instead of trying to enter the market as a B-rate version of the NFL, the AAFL is poised to offer something unique. The plan is to have eight teams in college towns across the country, games will be played on Saturdays in the spring/summer and rosters will feature players with college ties to the towns they play in. Essentially, Florida’s team will feature a number of former Gators while Alabama’s squad will surely have a number of players who used to suit up for the Crimson Tide. While the AAFL is clearly a for-profit venture, it does have ties to education – any player on a league roster must have finished his college degree. By matching players with their alma maters and making education an important component, the league’s founders have seemingly combined core principles of both college and professional football. Do I think the AAFL will be successful? Not really – but anything is possible. There are a lot of football junkies out there, and the opportunity to watch players from your favorite college team during the summer may find a niche I’m not anticipating. This will be an interesting one to watch. 
CommentsI am extremely excited about this league. It will be nice to have an organization out there that really focuses on education and cares about student athletes. The NCAA seemed to have lost this focus years ago (at least in revenue generating sports), so this should be a great step in the right direction. Only allowing athletes that have graduated is a great idea, and I endorse it wholeheartedly. I must admit, most of what I've learned about the new league has been from this post. And if what you are reporting is true, they could really be on to something here. Here's to hoping the NFL marketing machine doesn't notice and attempt to drive it out with fan promotions and freebies. The AAFL will complement both the NFL and NCAA football by providing a quality league for those players not quite ready for the NFL, and by encouraging college players to complete their degrees. There is increasing desire by both the NCAA and by the schools to have athletes complete their degrees, so the AAFL is already helping to motivate that. On average, about 50% of football players do graduate now, with some schools at the highest level, graduating players in the high 90 percentile. The mere announcement of the AAFL last year resulted in some players going back to school to complete their degrees in order to play in it. The AAFL is the first bona fide professional league of late that will not compete directly with the NFL, or NCAA football, unlike past leagues such as the USFL, the XFL and the WFL. The AAFL will play in the spring at impressive, storied venues. Besides providing needed playing opportunities for players who wish to play at the next level, it'll provide professional football viewing opportunities for fans who know only two sports, football and spring football...in regions where the pent up demand for more football is strong. In addition, parents who have increasingly found it difficult to introduce their children to affordable live football will love the AAFL. At most of the venues where the AAFL will play, the corresponding fall programs’ stadiums fill to the brims as their rabid fans invade those stadiums and fill them weekly. It's just become the nature of football at the more popular schools. They are tough tickets to acquire. So the AAFL will allow a new generation of kids to enjoy live football in person. Those kids in turn will grow up to become future NCAA and NFL fans to fuel the ever-increasing popularity of the sport in general. Sure promotion and marketing will invite fans to attend the games, but in the end, the success of the AAFL will depend on the fans showing up to support it. The AAFL teams will feature a core group of players who have played college football in their respective regions. For example, the Georgia team will feature former Georgia and Georgia Tech players. The Texas team will feature former players from UT, T-A&M, TT, Baylor. Florida will feature past Florida and Florida St. players...and so on. Each team will be supplemented with eligible players from any program, but they must hold a 4-year college degree and must have used up their college eligibility. Teams will be named after the state in which they will play. Considered locations for the 8 first year teams are: Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Michigan, Florida, Arkansas, Indiana, N. Carolina. Salaries paid to the players will attract some of the best players not currently playing on an NFL roster, so the league intends to showcase a quality on-field product. At least one ESPN analyst recently came out in support of the AAFL. Popular ESPN analysts Kornheiser and Wilbon, in a critical evaluation of the recently leaked announcement of yet another FALL league, provided a strong if not emotional positive opinion for a SPRING league such as the AAFL. Those links can be found respectively at: The FAQ page on the league's site answers many of the typical questions being asked. The Alabama Crimson Tide are showing lots of pride in their team right now. They are paying their new coach Nick Saban more than any other coach in the nation. One of the Gainesville TV stations ran an interview on the AAFL tryouts Wednesday. You can view it here: The public is welcome to attend the league's open tryout, free of charge, on Tuesday, July 3rd in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. There will be a 7pm scrimmage, with halftime giveaways, followed by bigger giveaways and a fireworks and laser show. Feel free to contact me if you have questions about the AAFL, at: Post a Comment |
  
Sox-Yankees happens 18 times a year; this is Figgy's second major league start in four years. Always take the chance to see something you've never seen before.
- Adam
   
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