AAF Suspending Operations

[Gill Man]

http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/26423928/source-aaf-suspends-operations-1st-season

I know there is another thread but this sort of is big news and confirms what was speculated apparently. Maybe they oughta join forces with the XFL? I think the only way is to compete for talent not be a 'complimentary' league.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Bummer. Go Padres and Aztecs.

 

[Fender57]

Major bummer but I still don’t understand why Dundon cited the lack of help from the NFLPA as a reason for folding.

 

[Gill Man]

Major bummer but I still don’t understand why Dundon cited the lack of help from the NFLPA as a reason for folding.

yeah I don't get that either. What was he wanting, some more marginal players to be allowed to play between the 2 leagues? It would not have changed the equation.......bottom line is there was not enough fan interest/revenue from advertising to allow them to continue with major network coverage.....that is disastrous to any start up league. You have to at least have some talent and then the perception/philosophy that you are going to be INCREASING the # of good players not decreasing as the better players flow back to the NFL. This 'complimentary league' crap bothered me from the very start and I'm pretty sure most fans realized it was a league with a very low fixed ceiling as regards talent level. That's not good. Sad to see it happen for reasons I've already mentioned in the other thread.

 

[Gill Man]

How unlucky is Corona???? Here he is with his team poised to easily win the trophy/championship and now this. WTF Corona? I think you are still engineering the Pain Train lolz.

 

[SDRay]

Yup it's true. I'm glad though that Dundon is out. Hopefully they can resume operations and stick to the original vision of growing the league over the next 3 years.

 

[Gill Man]

Yup it's true. I'm glad though that Dundon is out. Hopefully they can resume operations and stick to the original vision of growing the league over the next 3 years.

so is that what they meant by "not folding, yet". They just suspend for the rest of this season and then restart next year? I'm not sure how that changes anything. They were on the verge of folding earlier and Dundon bailed them out right? They had issues meeting payroll. When you have to PAY networks to carry your original games it's bad no matter how you slice it. I think they overestimated fan interest frankly. Most fans of the NFL bail out watching preseason games by the 2nd half. This was like watching the 4th qtr of the last preseason game. No one watches and it's for coaches trying to determine who makes the last cut. Only the really hard core fans would be on board I think. I don't know. SD and San Antonio and Orlando all had pretty good attendance so maybe they just reload and try to play in markets that can at least bring in 10-15K fans/game and broadcast on minor networks willing to follow. Marvin Lewis was not a very good choice for analyst in the booth .....he sounded bored. Maybe they need to get someone in there who really knows each players background and history and strengths and weaknesses and who can 'talk it up' in the booth. That might at least help some.

 

[SDRay]

Ebersol supposed to give a state of the league this afternoon.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1113139750662103040

 

[CoronaDoug]

How unlucky is Corona???? Here he is with his team poised to easily win the trophy/championship and now this. WTF Corona? I think you are still engineering the Pain Train lolz.

Son of a...... still taking the pain I guess.

 

[Fouts]

I could not get into AAF, I tried. Also, games on NFL network, which refuse to support.

Go Padres, and to a lesser extent Aztecs.

 

[captaind]

...but the league was funded for five years...

 

[SDRay]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1113134672370982914

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1113134937186734080

 

[Gill Man]

Wow, Dundon sounds like a real a hole. Lawyers are gonna be the big winners.

 

[Gill Man]

Iirc Silicon Valley was invested big time in the data technology for gaming, and in partnership with NFL and AAF was a testing ground. So no doubt it is patented and Dundon cannot just steal it.

 

[SDRay]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1113141026447872000

 

[SDRay]

Wow, Dundon sounds like a real a hole. Lawyers are gonna be the big winners.

He's the Dean Spanos of the AAF.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

I liked the AAF. It probably was the fewer-commercials and the lack of kickoffs that got me. Sorry it sounds like it is over.

 

[Fender57]

Looks like Dundon’s $250M was paid on a week to week basis and so far he had only paid $70M. He wasn’t really a true partner, more like a pirate. That said, the AAF was in a compromised position to even want to have this guy involved. I hope they survive this but I’m not hopeful. As noted above, this was supposed to be funded for several years with a vetted out business plan.

 

[Gill Man]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1113141026447872000

The NFL could very easily keep it afloat no doubt. I bet they do and also gain more control of it. Might be a necessary evil.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

He's the Dean Spanos of the AAF.

When you start comparing people to a Spanos, you have gone too far. As somebody who suffered under the rule of Spanos, I take offense. I am not sure you can redeem yourself either.

 

[Gill Man]

Son of a...... still taking the pain I guess.

Give me a heads up whenever u root for a league or team, so I can run. LOLZ.

 

[Gill Man]

When you start comparing people to a Spanos, you have gone too far. As somebody who suffered under the rule of Spanos, I take offense. I am not sure you can redeem yourself either.

How about Hitler and Spanos?

 

[CoronaDoug]

Give me a heads up whenever u root for a league or team, so I can run. LOLZ.

XFL? Nah.... no Miami team.

 

[Faded Blues]

Could work.

Have to sign players and go toe-to-toe with the nfl.

 

[Fender57]

Could work.

Have to sign players and go toe-to-toe with the nfl.

They needed this $250M just to keep afloat with the scrubs they already had, seems like it would be beyond their means to go toe to toe.

 

[ThunderHorse17]

Well damn I guess I won the fantasy football league 2 weeks early.

8-0 baby! Still this sucks, I haven't even bought my fleet hat.

 

[Lance19]

Wow, Dundon sounds like a real a hole. Lawyers are gonna be the big winners.

Yep.
And history has taught us old timers that a single stupid, self-important a hole can destroy an entire league:
http://www.espn.com/30for30/film?page=small-potatoes-who-killed-the-usfl

 

[ThunderHorse17]

Edit: oops that was week 2
standings.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Yep.
And history has taught us old timers that a single stupid, self-important a hole can destroy an entire league:
http://www.espn.com/30for30/film?page=small-potatoes-who-killed-the-usfl

You should come on down to the political thread. So far, all zero of us are chatting on it.

Trump is an L.A. Spanos whom we should have all dismissed in the 80s.

Speaking of the USFL, have we all seen the documentary on Herschel Walker? He has to be the most intense human being on the planet. I couldn't make it through the whole video; he was stressing me out.

 

[Gill Man]

Could work.

Have to sign players and go toe-to-toe with the nfl.

I agree.....it's the old AFL formula......those were huge risk takers with hugely deep pockets who owned those teams and were willing to go after talent head to head with the NFL. And they won. When Joe Namath and the Jets defeated the Colts for the World Championship it was all over. AFL bought great players who could beat up on the NFL. Any start up that hopes to compete and survive will have to take the same huge risk. This AAF is just a developmental league.....it cannot survive in terms of revenue from TV....there will never be a real excited fan base developed....just hard core fans who love the game and watch things like the combine and draft religiously. There is a subset niche of the fanbase that will do that but it's too small to keep thing afloat I think. Unless the NFL subsidizes them as their own developmental league, then they can go on NFLN for their games. Personally I'd prefer SD get a team in an alternative league that has designs on going head to head with the NFL. This league had rules that were improved,,,,the game moved faster and flowed better. That could put an alternative completely independent league over the top IMO. But to sit their with no talent is rather lacking in risk and therefore lacking in reward. Not many fans are gonna stay excited about a league like that.