AFL thoughts
I'd be remiss if I didn't post about some of the recent news coming out of the Arena Football League. (Some would say I am remiss about posting anything at all. Yes, flowing_dancer, I am looking at you. {{{HUG}}} anyway.) So, without further ado:
• Big thumbs up to the AFL keeping its' promise to put the Arena Bowl (the AFL's championship game) in New Orleans for 2007. It'll be nice to have a sporting event like that in the city again, and the tourism revenue it'll generate, while not on par with a Super Bowl, will be greatly appreciated. Kudos!
• Thumbs down to the abolition of the limited substitution rule. The gifted athlete that was the hallmark of the AFL will slowly be replaced by the same single-skill set guys we see in the outdoor game. Many of the unique strategies that became part and parcel of the game will wither and die, and I honestly can't see the benefit. I know that the talking point is fresher legs and fewer penalties later in games, but I really don't have a problem with the former (um, isn't one of the advertising points of the game 'Ironman football'?), and the latter won't be fixed until something is done about the laughably inept officiating that goes on.
• Another type of finger extended WAY up at John Elway. When he came on as part owner of the Colorado Crush, it was looked at as a great boost for the League in terms of publicity and legitimacy. However, it seems that he truly doesn't understand what the fans of this game have enjoyed about it these past 20 years when he said at a recent press conference, "We're trying to get the arena league game as close to the NFL as we can. We want to get this game as 'watchable' as we can." Um, John - news flash - if it wasn't "watchable", how in the world do you think it survived for TWENTY YEARS!!! And just what the HELL are you doing in your luxury box at every Crush game - watching your Super Bowl highlights? If so, why don't you pop in the DVD of the SB XXIV drubbing you got here and shut the Hell up?!? Why on God's green earth did you help pay for a franchise in a sport you think no one can watch? Maybe you ARE as dumb as you look if you haven't found out that there's been more than a few leagues that tried to be "close" to the NFL (WFL? USFL? WLAF? NFL Europe? Stretch the point - XFL?) that nobody watched....
I'm looking forward to the return of my hometown VooDoo, although I may not be able to get season tickets. But something tells me I better see a few games while I still can....
• Big thumbs up to the AFL keeping its' promise to put the Arena Bowl (the AFL's championship game) in New Orleans for 2007. It'll be nice to have a sporting event like that in the city again, and the tourism revenue it'll generate, while not on par with a Super Bowl, will be greatly appreciated. Kudos!
• Thumbs down to the abolition of the limited substitution rule. The gifted athlete that was the hallmark of the AFL will slowly be replaced by the same single-skill set guys we see in the outdoor game. Many of the unique strategies that became part and parcel of the game will wither and die, and I honestly can't see the benefit. I know that the talking point is fresher legs and fewer penalties later in games, but I really don't have a problem with the former (um, isn't one of the advertising points of the game 'Ironman football'?), and the latter won't be fixed until something is done about the laughably inept officiating that goes on.
• Another type of finger extended WAY up at John Elway. When he came on as part owner of the Colorado Crush, it was looked at as a great boost for the League in terms of publicity and legitimacy. However, it seems that he truly doesn't understand what the fans of this game have enjoyed about it these past 20 years when he said at a recent press conference, "We're trying to get the arena league game as close to the NFL as we can. We want to get this game as 'watchable' as we can." Um, John - news flash - if it wasn't "watchable", how in the world do you think it survived for TWENTY YEARS!!! And just what the HELL are you doing in your luxury box at every Crush game - watching your Super Bowl highlights? If so, why don't you pop in the DVD of the SB XXIV drubbing you got here and shut the Hell up?!? Why on God's green earth did you help pay for a franchise in a sport you think no one can watch? Maybe you ARE as dumb as you look if you haven't found out that there's been more than a few leagues that tried to be "close" to the NFL (WFL? USFL? WLAF? NFL Europe? Stretch the point - XFL?) that nobody watched....
I'm looking forward to the return of my hometown VooDoo, although I may not be able to get season tickets. But something tells me I better see a few games while I still can....