Dang.
You know something, I thought they had a shot. I actually found the football to be somewhat enjoyable.
Somebody didn't pay the bills.
Sorry it was me. Thought we were on autopay but these sites are impossible to figure out.
See, what had happened was, I went to go pay the water bill, and then.....I just didn't.
There goes my plan to see Denard in Atlanta.....
DEERFIELD BEACH
It's always interesting (and kinda sad) when you find out about something for the first time when it shuts down.
You've never heard of the AAF? Where have you been?
Did you hear about Keith Jackson?
When? :’(
Hear what about Keith Jackson?
Dammit! Don’t tell me!
It's true. Keith Jackson died again...for the 8th time since the 1st time.
Must've been it's long and storied tenure from Feb of 2019.
Well, it's now April 2019 which means there's been professional football on TV for two months.
Here's a thread when we found out Denard was on Atlanta:
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/aaf-alliance-american-football-d-rob
Here's a thread where we all picked our team:
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/who-are-you-rooting-aaf-and-why
Here's a thread recapping the Week 1 production of Michigan alumni:
https://mgoblog.com/comment/243321454
Here's a thread previewing a Birmingham-Memphis game:
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/aaf-memphis-express-birmingham-iron-cbs-sports
And that's just here on MGoBlog. There are many other sports websites which also covered the league. Anyway, you missed it. I guess that's not crazy. But it was a pretty big deal when it launched. I'm surprised you didn't catch wind of it.
Yeah honestly didn't. Actually thought you were being sarcastic - ha.
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I will login, everytime to poke fun at myself, for the Keith Jackson thread. LoL
Having the season start so soon after the Super Bowl was a terrible decision. You can't immediately follow the best of the best with not-read-for-primetime players. They should have given the fans a few months off to start to miss football before they started the season. I think they would have had a bigger draw if they started the season right about now instead of early February.
Maybe a 2 month (ish) season to cover May - July. The months of the year when we're all losing our minds without any football news.
Better weather to see the games would probably have helped. Although these are a bunch of sunbelt teams, the weather in some of these cities is less than spectacular in mid-Feb and March.
Yeah, I've been in central Alabama in late February...it can still be quite cold!
My understand is the AAF wanted to be the minor league to the nfl but was seeking the comminment from the nfl and players asscotiaton, which, I understand, aren’t interest due the lack of a union and the nfl would than have to count the year towards a players pension.
The timing wasn’t the issue; it was the business plan.
What a great point. Seriously, have this league run through the summer months when all the other good sports are in their off-seasons! I'll bet the viewer ratings would skyrocket if they did that. Who doesn't want some kind of football league going throughout the summer??
The ten-week season should have been June to August, not February to April.
Interest in sports generally reaches its nadir in the summer, which would be doubly crushing for a fledgling sports league lacking star power. To be honest, the only way any of these attempts at minor football leagues will have a shot (and even then we're talking longshot) is if they raid the NCAA for known talent.
For real. Start offering those $250,000 contracts to those 5-star and 4-star prospects.
I thought the SEC teams are already are doing that!! Going to have to go higher than $250,000. College football is a big money business
Is it an issue running up against NFL training camps? They start in mid-July. Seems like most of the AAF players would want to give that a shot if they could get an invite.
With the league being billed as the minor league, no team would take a player from the AAF that has been playing ball since June expecting them to make a full season.
Sucks for Pep Hamilton
Pep's going to Washington of the XFL for 2020.
Pep is XFL
I think he’s saying that if this minor league football league didn’t work, why would the XFL?
The XFL has deeper pockets and a different business plan. Might still be a longshot, but they seem more viable than the AAF.
And with a wry smile and a tug of his 10 gallon hat, Johnny Football mounts his horse and rides off into the sunset searching for a new league to suck in.
Also, he's high.
At the time, Ebersol said he viewed his business as "a tech company that owns a football league."
Vomit is in my mouth.
Lasted shorter than the original XFL.
I wouldn’t be completely shocked if McMahon decides to ditch the nex XFL idea. If he takes some of the good of the AAF and plays it later in the year it might have a shot
No league has a shot unless it is backed by the NFL and NFL players association. Would have to be some form of minor league with some team affiliations. Still, it would only be fringe players or ex college stars not good enough for the NFL. The problem is that the NFL and NFLPA has no motive to get involved.
I was somewhat impressed by the AAF debut and opening week TV numbers were great (beat NBA games) but then it just slips away with no real media coverage (CBS sports network...give me a break) and no real intrigue. I've tuned it here and there and it's not great football. I do agree with the sentiment that May/June might have been a better timeframe but I'm sure they were banking on big opening ratings following super bowl and for that to carry over which it did not.
"No league has a shot unless it is backed by the NFL and NFL players association...The problem is that the NFL and NFLPA has no motive to get involved."
You've hit the crux of the situation.
However, it would be really pretty nice to have $250 million to throw at a high-risk venture whose success is almost entirely dependent on factors you have no control or influence over.
i saw that $ too, but i'd be willing to bet that was some type of roll-out financing, meaning not a lump sum here-you-go, but certain amounts due depending on timing, etc. that whole league didn't cost $250MM from the get go, much less with a shot in the arm a month ago.
It didn’t cost 250MM. What we aren’t privy to is the terms of the 250MM equity commitment. Dude is not dumb, he would provide subject to variables that haven’t been met yet by the AAF. Hence, the fold of the league.
NFL is king and will not allow a minor league. The XFL has to stand on their own and not rely on the NFL.
People aren't really starving for football just weeks after the Super Bowl. They were also competing against college basketball, NBA, NHL, and the beginning of MLB. Just bad timing on when they scheduled their season.
You nailed it. Your first comment especially for me. I was never going to be interested in this league when it was announced. I don't want football year-round. I want to miss it. Part of the fun is anticipating the start of a new season.
Anyone surprised by this is a super silly person. This was extremely predictable.
I don't know why you're getting downvoted...this was very predictable. I'm only surprised it's happened this quickly.
I don't need crappy football immediately after the super bowl...I need a break to watch basketball and hockey for a few months. Then in the summer when nothing else but endless boring baseball is on, maybe I'll have the football itch and tune in. But only maybe. Because honestly, I don't really need more football in my life. If anything, I need less.
Of course it will. Only an idiot would ever put money towards a new football league. Waste of time.
You seem like a nice person.