The Inquisitr » afl

New Arena Football League in the works

Joshua Lobdell — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:59:19 +0000

Apparently the world of Arena Football is going to get a new player come next Monday. Of course we all know that the AFL canceled the 2009 season, before disbanding earlier this year. Now it had been reported that their minor league system, the AHL2, would continue operating. The AFL2 was a league based in smaller markets, and was due to add at least one team in 2010 in the Toledo Bullfrogs. However no team had committed to the AFL2 for the coming season, and now it looks like remnants of both Arena Leagues will seek to begin a new Arena League.

The Oklahoma City Yard Dogz, Arkansas Twisters, and the Spokane Shock have all confirmed that they are in the middle of planning a new Arena League to be based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This new league is expected to be made up of team from both the AFL and AFL2.

While there is a market for the indoor version of American football, the AFL really expanded itself out of business. Instead of building up a loyal fan base in cities that do not feature other major league sports, they tried to build a league within major American cities. Many of those teams failed, and the AFL2 had lots of success placing teams in smaller markets.

However the AFL2 also was a victim of over expansion. In its first year of 2000 there were 15 teams, the very next year they league added 13 teams, many of whom were not financially stable. If this new leagues is to get off the ground they should start with 10-12 teams and resist the urge to add teams each and every season.

AFL to cease operations file chapter 7 bankruptcy

Joshua Lobdell — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:41:46 +0000

The Arena Football League had already cancelled there 2009 season which was set to run over the summer months and be aired on ESPN. However this league had a lot of big problems, an out of control spending spree on players in certain cities, and a low fan turnout in most cities not named Chicago. Now word has leaked out that the AFL will cease all operations and file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy which is a liquidation of assets.

Many would have Arena Football fans believe that this is the end of the Arena football style game, however nothing could be farther from the truth. The AFL2 is yet another arena league run by the same masters of the AFL but with an updated business model. AFL 2 teams are placed in mid market cities that have no NFL representation, and have little other live sports choices. For example the City of Toledo, Ohio recently built a new arena to house a minor league hockey team, and an AFL 2 franchise. Since Toledo is an hour from Detroit, and two hours from Cleveland it is close enough to population centers to be a draw.

The AFL is now a defunct football league with a very rich history of over 20 seasons. They survived so long by not competing directly with the NFL, and by offering a different kind of football product. The NFL even went as far as to allow it’s owners to purchase and market AFL teams within their own markets. The NFL has rules against majority owners owning other professional sports teams.

In the end though it was these things that killed off the league. The game was so different that many hard core NFL fans didn’t like it. When the NFL owners stepped in to own AFL teams that spent money as they did in the NFL and this led to a massive overspending on talent. On top of that this league had a hard time getting a team going in New York City, Detroit, and other big football markets. that made it an unattractive to TV executives and even with stints on NBC and ESPN the league couldn’t get his business model to produce profit.

Blogs Cause Depression In Football Players

Duncan Riley — Wed, 21 May 2008 05:51:54 +0000

Australian football players have been banned from reading blogs as reading blogs causes depression, according to the Australian Football League Players Association (AFLPA).

The AFLPA contends that blogs don’t provide any decent feedback, and are racist, carry sexual overtones, are a form of bullying and only provide titillation.

The AFLPA is also calling on people to boycott fan sites due to the criticism of players dished out.

Pippa Grange, AFLPA:

“I wouldn’t encourage any players to use them. I think it’s for bloggers, and I think it’s mostly for titillation rather any decent feedback…I wouldn’t encourage any players to use them. I think it’s for bloggers, and I think it’s mostly for titillation rather any decent feedback,”

There’s no restriction of what people are able to do with the internet…blogging on websites about players is a form of bullying, it’s public bullying of people in celebrity positions.

And even worse is the huge plague of fake footballers:

More serious, she said, were players’ identities being taken by bloggers.

“The biggest thing I’ve encountered in my role where it’s been a problem is where people take the identity of the player and claim to be making comments on behalf of the player,” she said.

“They get obviously quite upset about that.”

Lets break down what the AFLPA is saying here: fans shouldn’t express a negative opinion about a player, this should only be the role of the mainstream media. People should boycott fan sites and definitely never pretend to be a footballer.

It’s like 2002 called and they want their retarded child back.

The notion that all blogs are bad on the basis that some are is similar to someone saying all footballers are bad because some take drugs, beat up women and regularly get drunk. Blogs have long since moved on from personal playthings and are even the basis for multi-million dollar businesses. Would Grange call for a boycott of the mainstream media because they criticize a player?

Calling for a boycott of fan sites is even stranger again; fandom encourages participation in the sport. In calling for a boycott of fan sites Grange is calling for a boycott of fandom itself. Do football clubs want less members, less people through the gate on the weekend, and less people watching the game on TV?

When did criticism of a football player become bullying? Does Grange expect the public to only think positive thoughts about players and never express a negative thought? The celebrity angle is interesting as well; Grange argues that as celebrities they should be left alone, but doesn’t the very exposure lead to negative as well as positive coverage? If they don’t want the coverage, get out of the game.

A sad attempt at censorship from people who should know better.

(via The HeraldSun)