OT: AAF

[Jsr862]

aaf.com

Didn't pay much mind when hearing about this leauge. But they seem to have something brewing nicely. Polomalu and Ward are part of it. And all the head coaches for the teams are very well known. Curious to see if this will pan out. Also with the XFL coming back, but the AAF seems to have a lot of Ex-NFL backing


Oh and former Pitt player Tim Lewis coaching the Birmingham team.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Neither of the AAF nor the XFL has any chance of working. They will both be belly up within a few years time.

I will amend that by saying that they each have a small chance to carve out a small niche if they play their games in the spring and summer. Also, it would be best if they play their games in the small MLS stadia. However, even then, I really don’t give it much of a chance.

Expansion leagues rarely work and in the few examples that they have kinda/sorta worked, they worked because they were filling an obvious market niche.

For example, the AFL kind of worked because the NFL was too heavily involved in the Midwest and Northeast. So, the AFL put teams on the West Coast and they filled a niche there because the population had grown so much in the West over the previous few decades. They also put teams and cities that were big and growing and which had no way to get into the NFL.

I don’t really see how any of that applies to these ventures? I just see Vince McMahon trying to prove everyone wrong and he’s willing to throw good money after bad in the pursuit. As for the AAF, who knows what the hell they are doing?

Basically, these leagues are not intended to take on the NFL. That’s a complete pipe dream. They would be intended to fill the niche below the NFL. The problem with that, of course, is that niche is already filled by major college football.

So, you tell me, are the people in Alabama going to watch the Birmingham AAF team or Alabama or Auburn? Are the people in Arizona going to watch that AAF team or the Wildcats or the Sun Devils?

Both leagues are really dumb ideas and they’re not going to work. I’d love to be proven wrong because I love competition. However, these are really dumb investments by some people, IMHO.

 

[Mikefln]

There are 2 ways I can see this working, and by working I mean carving out a niche not competing against the NFL.

1) they become a minor league to the NFL by taking high school kids or early departures.

2) they make rules that annoy the vast majority of fans, I.e. replay.

 

[Teh Teh]

Neither of the AAF nor the XFL has any chance of working they will both be belly up within a few years time.

I will amend that by saying that they each have a small chance to carve out a small niche if they play their games in the spring and summer. Also, it would be best if they play their games in the small MLS stadia. However, even then, I really don’t give it much of a chance.

Expansion leagues rarely work and in the few examples that they have kinda/sorta worked, they worked because they were filling an obvious market niche.

For example, the AFL kind of worked because the NFL was too heavily involved in the Midwest and Northeast. So, the AFL put teams on the West Coast and they filled a niche there because the population had grown so much in the West over the previous few decades. They also put teams and cities that were big and growing and which had no way to get into the NFL.

I don’t really see how any of that applies to these ventures? I just see Vince McMahon trying to prove everyone wrong and he’s willing to throw good money after bad in the pursuit. As for the AAF, who knows what the hell they are doing?

Basically, these leagues are not intended to take on the NFL. That’s a complete pipe dream. They would be intended to fill the niche below the NFL. The problem with that, of course, is that niche is already filled by major college football.

So, you tell me, are the people in Alabama going to watch the Birmingham AAF team or Alabama or Auburn? Are the people in Arizona going to watch that AAF team or the Wildcats or the Sun Devils?

Both leagues are really dumb ideas and they’re not going to work. I’d love to be proven wrong because I love competition. However, these are really dumb investments by some people, IMHO.

I wonder how and what moron even invested in this?

- nfl viewership is down 17 percent the past 3 years

- college football attendance has dropped 4 straight years

- high school football players have declined 8% despite all high school sports participation up almost 20% over the same time.

It’s a definite trend. I can’t imagine a business group investing in something with these numbers. Trying to get the republican people upset with the kneeling? How big of an audience is that? Sizable, but not sustaining.

 

[Pitt79]

2) they make rules that annoy the vast majority of fans, I.e. replay.

I would love football that had no replays and where there would be almost no flags thrown and almost no rules and you never see the officials faces on screen. And with few or almost no stoppages.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

There are 2 ways I can see this working, and by working I mean carving out a niche not competing against the NFL.

1) they become a minor league to the NFL by taking high school kids or early departures.

2) they make rules that annoy the vast majority of fans, I.e. replay.

So, in other words, all they have to do is kill college football for it to work. Does that seem likely to anyone?

There’s just no niche to be found. AAA football is already filled – we call it college football.

 

[happjack]

With sports betting on the path to becoming legal in a large number of states the AAF and XFL2.0 will find their niche.

 

[BFo8]

With sports betting on the path to becoming legal in a large number of states the AAF and XFL2.0 will find their niche.

That’s assuming the books will put up numbers on their games.

After Arena Football took its hiatus many shops stopped booking the sport when it returned.

 

[rmf05]

I would love football that had no replays and where there would be almost no flags thrown and almost no rules and you never see the officials faces on screen. And with few or almost no stoppages.

This is why interest in rugby is exploding.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Neither of the AAF nor the XFL has any chance of working. They will both be belly up within a few years time.

I will amend that by saying that they each have a small chance to carve out a small niche if they play their games in the spring and summer. Also, it would be best if they play their games in the small MLS stadia. However, even then, I really don’t give it much of a chance.

Expansion leagues rarely work and in the few examples that they have kinda/sorta worked, they worked because they were filling an obvious market niche.

For example, the AFL kind of worked because the NFL was too heavily involved in the Midwest and Northeast. So, the AFL put teams on the West Coast and they filled a niche there because the population had grown so much in the West over the previous few decades. They also put teams and cities that were big and growing and which had no way to get into the NFL.

I don’t really see how any of that applies to these ventures? I just see Vince McMahon trying to prove everyone wrong and he’s willing to throw good money after bad in the pursuit. As for the AAF, who knows what the hell they are doing?

Basically, these leagues are not intended to take on the NFL. That’s a complete pipe dream. They would be intended to fill the niche below the NFL. The problem with that, of course, is that niche is already filled by major college football.

So, you tell me, are the people in Alabama going to watch the Birmingham AAF team or Alabama or Auburn? Are the people in Arizona going to watch that AAF team or the Wildcats or the Sun Devils?

Both leagues are really dumb ideas and they’re not going to work. I’d love to be proven wrong because I love competition. However, these are really dumb investments by some people, IMHO.

I think the XFL will work to a degree. There has to be a market for spring football. I really don't want this to get political but I think they will market to the "anti-NFL" demographic. And I think McMahon's BFF, Trump will get involved either indirectly as POTUS or directly if he isnt POTUS. I think part of his NFL attacks are to build an audience for the XFL. Remember he fought the NFL before with the USFL. This time, I think the Spring thing works. Heck, I might even watch it.

 

[RaleighPittFan]

I think the XFL will work to a degree. There has to be a market for spring football. I really don't want this to get political but I think they will market to the "anti-NFL" demographic. And I think McMahon's BFF, Trump will get involved either indirectly as POTUS or directly if he isnt POTUS. I think part of his NFL attacks are to build an audience for the XFL. Remember he fought the NFL before with the USFL. This time, I think the Spring thing works. Heck, I might even watch it.

That's the SMF we all know well. You say you don't want to get political, and then jump head first into a political speech. Well done, as expected.

Politics will have nothing to do with the success, or most likely, failure of any new league.

 

[PhPanther2]

Brandon Hodges - Pitt
Jahmahl Pardner - Pitt transfer

Are on rosters.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d84dppjzig1pb09/AllianceRoster - 8.6.18.pdf?dl=0

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

I think the XFL will work to a degree. There has to be a market for spring football. I really don't want this to get political but I think they will market to the "anti-NFL" demographic. And I think McMahon's BFF, Trump will get involved either indirectly as POTUS or directly if he isnt POTUS. I think part of his NFL attacks are to build an audience for the XFL. Remember he fought the NFL before with the USFL. This time, I think the Spring thing works. Heck, I might even watch it.

I don’t think that Trump thing was ever real. I think it was always BS that was meant to temporarily rally his base and it worked. A lot of people swallowed the lore and got caught up in the netting, but I think eventually even most of those folks figured it out. However, they went with it anyway. Never underestimate the pervasiveness of racism. When you can be openly or semi-openly racist under the guise of patriotism, all the better.

However, by the time the Super Bowl rolled around, many of those people were back on board. Those ads weren’t going for millions of dollars per 30 seconds because nobody was watching them.

There will be more phony outrage in the next few weeks, but that too will quickly peter out.

I think football is in decline, I really do. I think investing in minor league football is imbecilic. However, I don’t think that has anything whatsoever to do with the players showing the proper reverence for the Star-Spangled Banner.

 

[Pitt79]

I think football is in decline, I really do..

I agree. Partly because it actually is dangerous, I played in high school, and you are pretty much sure to get hurt to some degree every season, sometimes seriously, and many people are pulling their kids away from that. And they are ruining the game itself, between replays and adding 10000 extra rules every year the game is so slow and micromanaged it's getting as dead as baseball.