THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

XFL Football discussion.
MGB01
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by MGB01 »

johnnyangryfuzzball wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 9:12 pm Why do I get the same vibe from this league's key figures that I get out of all these leagues that get as far as open tryouts before abruptly shutting down during or before training camp?

I mean, they did the classic publicity-stunt contract offer to Tom Brady already.

And they're also claiming to have the first black commissioner of a pro sports league in America. Which isn't even true, that was the UFL's Michael Huyghue. And judging by that and its inaugural leadership staff... this feels a lot like the old Freedom Football League, except without the all-stars.

Leagues that make an open example of their Blackness tend not to have a great record. At least not since the Negro leagues disbanded.
Oh yeah those guys, yeah I remember before they went silent they were bragging about hiring a stock photo and an extreme vegan with the handle @foodchanger :lol:
GDAWG
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by GDAWG »

MGB01 wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 10:47 pm
johnnyangryfuzzball wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 9:12 pm Why do I get the same vibe from this league's key figures that I get out of all these leagues that get as far as open tryouts before abruptly shutting down during or before training camp?

I mean, they did the classic publicity-stunt contract offer to Tom Brady already.

And they're also claiming to have the first black commissioner of a pro sports league in America. Which isn't even true, that was the UFL's Michael Huyghue. And judging by that and its inaugural leadership staff... this feels a lot like the old Freedom Football League, except without the all-stars.

Leagues that make an open example of their Blackness tend not to have a great record. At least not since the Negro leagues disbanded.
Oh yeah those guys, yeah I remember before they went silent they were bragging about hiring a stock photo and an extreme vegan with the handle @foodchanger :lol:
They have not done anything on social media since February of 2021.
MGB01
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by MGB01 »

GDAWG wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 11:18 pm
MGB01 wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 10:47 pm
johnnyangryfuzzball wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 9:12 pm Why do I get the same vibe from this league's key figures that I get out of all these leagues that get as far as open tryouts before abruptly shutting down during or before training camp?

I mean, they did the classic publicity-stunt contract offer to Tom Brady already.

And they're also claiming to have the first black commissioner of a pro sports league in America. Which isn't even true, that was the UFL's Michael Huyghue. And judging by that and its inaugural leadership staff... this feels a lot like the old Freedom Football League, except without the all-stars.

Leagues that make an open example of their Blackness tend not to have a great record. At least not since the Negro leagues disbanded.
Oh yeah those guys, yeah I remember before they went silent they were bragging about hiring a stock photo and an extreme vegan with the handle @foodchanger :lol:
They have not done anything on social media since February of 2021.
That was it
super390
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by super390 »

The IFL is a shadow of its former self, when it could draw up to 10,000 in Chicago. And the NAL is pretty pathetic. I saw its "New York" team playing on the tiny floor of the Knicks' Westchester farm team, which meant cheating on the 50-yard field by making each yard only about 2 feet long.

But I followed the sport all the way down from the end of the second Arena League. Some hilarious stories, but some of those were too close to the top level of remained of the sport. Like the Baltimore Mariners, winning the AIFA championship and getting busted by the IRS 2 weeks later and folded because the owner was stealing $$$ from his other businesses to bankroll its championship roster. Welp, there's another market burned for good.

I think like with indoor soccer, you have to question whether the American public just gets a bug for these alternate sports for a decade or so, and then just stops taking them seriously. Which makes no sense to me, but I can see rugby and pickleball lining up to take their turn.
Tank55
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by Tank55 »

Honestly, that's a great insight. Maybe Arena League would have more sustainable success as a quadrennial competition or something. Pick a non-Olympics/World Cup summer, go big, and leave people wanting more.

And then you could make the AFL more of a platform. If the Arizona Rattlers or Massachusetts Pirates want to participate, they can, and then go back to their indoor leagues after. The Philadelphia Souls of the world can be spun up and down as needed.

I sort of love it.
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super390
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by super390 »

Tank55 wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 9:28 am Honestly, that's a great insight. Maybe Arena League would have more sustainable success as a quadrennial competition or something. Pick a non-Olympics/World Cup summer, go big, and leave people wanting more.

And then you could make the AFL more of a platform. If the Arizona Rattlers or Massachusetts Pirates want to participate, they can, and then go back to their indoor leagues after. The Philadelphia Souls of the world can be spun up and down as needed.

I sort of love it.
I was being a bit more negative about that, in that once Americans get tired of a non-traditional sport they never come back in more than a 2000-per-game trickle. But maybe you're onto the reason we're seeing new leagues abandon the city-franchise model for the roving tournament model. Most successfully, The Big 3, but now also Rugby Sevens and one of the lacrosse leagues. They have all the teams play a mini-tournament in one city each week. Which requires a sport with very short games. But it means your weird sport only has to get a crowd in a particular city as little as once a year.

I really dislike that format. The teams don't really identify with actual home cities even in those leagues where they have city names. The same reason I wanted the USFL to get away from a single site ASAP. If there was a way Rugby Sevens could be done as a 60-minute game, I'd be all for watching a city-franchise league. But I realize Rugby Sevens evolved overseas as a way for regular 15-man rugby teams to raise a little extra cash touring. And I find Sevens to be far more compelling than rugby league or rugby union, because they have a pace that they can't sustain for a full 60 minutes or even 40.

I live in the 4th largest city in America and I want teams playing here every week.
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johnnyangryfuzzball
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by johnnyangryfuzzball »

BIG3 works as a touring league because it's driven by star personalities with three players per team. It's essentially using the pro wrestling model where the players bring in the fans.

The only football leagues I can recall that was drawing in the kind of recognizable talent (albeit older, past-its-prime players) to justify that kind of touring model were FCF and the UFL. FCF could use that model, but doesn't, probably because the players are probably not all that keen on living out on the road for months at a time. The UFL almost did in 2009, but not quite.

Judging by the kind of money these guys are bringing to the table, I don't see them being able to spring for the kind of players that are going to stock 16 teams, even with the smaller arena rosters.
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by Sounder »

Let's add to the football frenzy. Former Raiders wideout Tim Brown is involved in, and will serve as commissioner of "The Arena League" which is slated to begin in June 2024.
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by XFL Crusader »

I feel like that Arena Football has run its course.
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super390
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Re: THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD

Post by super390 »

johnnyangryfuzzball wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 9:58 pm

Judging by the kind of money these guys are bringing to the table, I don't see them being able to spring for the kind of players that are going to stock 16 teams, even with the smaller arena rosters.
Oh, they'll just suck on the existing supply of players from indoor leagues; Arena and Indoor are interchangeable. It would probably be for the best if someone had enough money to buy out and erase all but one indoor/arena league instead of this gypsy existence of unstable franchises and leagues.

Once I read about an indoor team that was so broke it fired a bunch of its players while they were on the road, then sent the team bus thru cities on the route home to pick up new players. There's always someone willing to play for less money.
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