Alliance of American Football stated play this week. I knew that this was going to happen. Yet it still snuck up on me. When I realized that the games were going to start this weekend. I looked up the games to see when and who was going to play. I was a bit disappointed to see that the games were not going to start till 8 PM. I like day time football. On Sunday they games would start at 4. To me this is still the late game. Maybe as time goes by they will add more start times.
The Thing that is Making the Alliance of American Football look good it that rather than trying to complete with the NFL they are working with them. This could be key in whether they survive or fail. The NFL will be a great to be working with rather than against. The team in place that is running the Alliance of American Football all have strong ties to the NFL. From Coaches to General Managers to players. This will also help build the relationship with the NFL.
What to Expect
I really had no idea what to expect with the Alliance of American Football. I had no idea what the games were going to look like. I watched the first game on Friday night. Apparently I was not the only one. The ratings were actually pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised to see the type of football that was going to be played. I have to say that for players that had only been together a few weeks. In a new league with some new rules the game was pretty enjoyable to watch. Some of the things that I was not sure I was going to like. No extra points and only being able to rush five defensive players. Actually held up pretty well. It is difficult enough to build an offense. If the defenses had been able to blitz there would have been no scoring at all and players would have gotten hurt.
Only being albe to go for two in this league after a touchdown. Is actually turning out to be a pretty good idea. It really adds an interesting twist to the game. Another interesting thing that the AAF and the NFL have done is assign each NFL team to an AAF team. You can find the list here. By doing this it could lead to a built in fan base for each team. We all tend to root for players that have been on the team we root for before. It is only natural and this will help to build some interest in the the league.
Can The Alliance of American Football Survive?
I think that it can. It will depend on a few things happening.
The AAF has to attain a reasonable level of play.
The problems a few of the other start up leagues have had is that the product was just not there. The first week is not a true test but the level of play. Especially for only being together as a team for a few weeks has been pretty reasonable. There was only blowout but that happens in the NFL as well so not that big of a deal.
The AAF has to stay with in its bounds.
This league is never going to compete with the NFL. Other pro sports cannot compete with the NFL. As long as the AAF keep to its mission. There will be plenty of space for them to survive. Not only for them to survive but to thrive and grow. Possibly to a point of getting to 16 or 20 teams. 16 would work since then each team could be assigned two NFL teams to be associated with. That would really help with keeping fans interested.
Keep Costs Under Control
This will be especially important in the first few years. The idea that all players sign the same contract will work for a while. At some point if the league is successful they are going to have to have some kind of sliding scale. But for the short term they should be alright.
Keep the Game Interesting
So far the fast pace of play has been nice. The rule changes have also made things fresh. As the teams spend more time together they will get better at the fine details of the game. As the offensive lines start to spend more time together and to gel that will help with being able to have more intricate offenses
Path to Survival
The path to survival is out there. Other leagues have tired and failed. I think that is mainly because they were trying to compete with the NFL. NFL Europe which started as the World League of American Football, was a good idea and lasted for 16 years. The problem with the league being mainly in Europe there was a limited fan base for what would be considered minor league football. The NFL decided to focus on bringing more NFL games to locations out side of the United States. Also the cost of running the league was a consideration.
With the AAF playing in the United States. Focusing mainly on cities that do not but probably could support an NFL Franchise. Getting some recognizable names. Mixing that up with some fresh talent that may just need more reps to make it to the NFL. Will make this an interesting and fun league to watch.
*******UPDATE – 2-11-2019
As expected many people missed the idea of what the AAF actually is. I was listing to my local sports radio as I always do when I am driving around town for my day job. They were talking about how the AAF only has players that washed out or could not make the NFL. That the products was ok but not great and that this league has no chance to compete with the NFL. YES – you are correct because that is what this league is. They have said outright that they are not a competitor to the NFL. They are not looking to attract the top talent. Nor are they looking to pay them NFL type of money. There is no choice here and the AAF would not expect anyone that can make an NFL team to make that choice. This league is here to fill a void and possibly turn into a league that might put some players in the NFL. So all your complaints completely misguided. I get it if you are not interested in watching. I have a simple solution for you. DON’T WATCH then.
They were also getting on the people that were excited about the first game beating the ratings of the Saturday night NBA game. Yes they know that will not continue at this point. But it was an unexpected result. If they were to keep the games on CBS they probably would have a chance to beat the NBA but that is not the plan. The games will be more difficult to find on TNT, CBS Sports Channel and on the NFL Network. Yes they know that the ratings for those games will go down. That is not unexpected. It is still pretty impressive that the first game of the league beat a pretty good match up in the NBA. As we said before. If they do this right and stick with the plan they have laid out. The Association of American Football has the opportunity to be successful and be around for a long long time.
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