A View From NFL Europe: Losing to the XFL

Lee Zakow
Wednesday August 16, 2000

Well, its shaping up to be one heck of an Arena Bowl. Nashville, now "Title City" (let’s see what their NHL Predators can do) and their foe, the Orlando Predators. I like how the playoffs have worked themselves out. There is a nice geometry to them. It seems that every year Iowa, Orlando, Albany, Tampa Bay and Arizona are always somewhere near the top – kind of like in NFL Europe where the Rhein Fire, despite whatever has plagued them, has survived and succeeded. Which brings me to my next point. I suspect all of my colleagues here at ArenaFan will be writing about the Preds and the Kats. But just as in the NFL there is the Commissioner’s State-of-the-Union talk, let’s peer into the future of the AFL and to some degree NFL Europe.

The reason why we’re looking at this today is because of the XFL. While the XFL has not snatched anyone from the AFL yet, they took three NFL E coaches: Galen Hall, Al Luginbill and Jim Criner. If you look around the AFL, there are tons of players who have been tutored by these three. There are two who will be on the turf at the O-rena Sunday in Orlando’s Joe Douglass and Nashville’s Jeff Russell, who if I am not mistaken, were teammates in Amsterdam a few years ago. Both are exciting to watch and multi-talented. But a major problem exists with both, as well as outstanding players like Steve Papin. Unless these guys are locked up in longer-term contracts that are to their liking, they will be XFL-bound. Two stories bear this out although they are NFL E-related. A member of Fox told me that the NFL did not move fast enough to lock up Hall, Luginbill and Criner into contracts. That prompted them to look elsewhere, even though it was felt the XFL was going to go after all three.

Todd Marinovich would love to play in the outdoor game again Image courtesy of Mike Wright

After I saw Papin make a diving sideline grab against Nashville, one thought came to mind: Why is he not playing outdoors? And you know he has already talked about playing for the XFL’s San Jose team. If this is the case, a lot of talent could be drained from the league – players like Kenny McEntyre (a terror in NFL E for Frankfurt), Iowa’s Aaron Garcia, Todd Marinovich in Los Angeles (who I hear is itching to play outside again), the exciting Connell Maynor, Andy Kelly, etc. And if going to play outside is the goal of many players, (and please don’t take this the wrong way), what would you rather do, play in Frankfurt, or play in Las Vegas?

Right now, I think the NFL is not doing a very good recruiting job for NFL E. It leaves coaches with very few options in retaining players on a protected list, and some of the benefits to playing in the league (medical, etc.) have not caught up with what some players told me was an acceptable level for them. If the XFL is successful in raiding rosters, or signing NFL E free agents, NFL E is going to cease to be, unless the NFL decides enough is enough, shakes hands with the XFL and merges NFL E with them. NFL E is scheduled (according to rumor) to be putting a team in Paris for the 2002 campaign to tap into France’s Canal Plus. Broadcasting a game with empty seats means nothing. If the AFL expands too much, and doesn’t somehow eliminate the league’s week sisters, a similar fate awaits it – a flood of red ink.

My advice is to get your heads out of the sand and go do something about the XFL, now.

 

The opinions expressed in the article above are only those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or official stance of ArenaFan Online or its staff, or the Arena Football League, or any AFL or af2 teams.

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Remember Owners - Fans Make the Game 11/4/2000
AFL Growth - Too Much Too Soon? 10/19/2000
Fans Deserve Return on Investments 9/9/2000
A View From NFL Europe: End of a Season 8/28/2000
A View From NFL Europe: Losing to the XFL 8/16/2000
A View From NFL Europe: Arena QBs in the Outdoor Game 8/9/2000
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