A View From NFL Europe: End of a Season
Lee Zakow
Monday August 28, 2000
Television: While the addition of Ed Cunningham was excellent, where was Merrill Hoge? Hoge has followed the league too, and they gave him a bit role. Cunningham’s knowledge of the teams, players etc. were superb. Did you catch that little blurb about how James Brown played in the IPFL last season and how the rules are different? He is a walking encyclopedia of AFL tidbits, but Hoge should have gotten more time. But that figures coming from ESPN, who has seemed to forget from where it came. The tape delayed playoff game between Iowa and Nashville was so ridiculous, that every AFL fan ought to unsubscribe to ESPN. And this is a network that is promoting the X-games? The X-games? Who cares? Yank the games from ESPN and form a partnership with Fox. I believe the AFL is strong enough, where they don’t need ESPN and can tell them where to stick it – on tape delay.
Rivalries and Expansion: Oops, I said the wrong thing again. Mr. Baker, enough is enough. There are weak franchises to shore up, and you can’t expand every year. This is beginning to look like the North American Soccer League. Florida and Houston have problems – big problems. And when Detroit, Chicago and Dallas come into the league, what does that do to the smaller market teams in Albany, Iowa and Grand Rapids? Does that relegate the Barnstormers, Firebirds and Rampage to “Packers” status – the little city that could? If the AFL gains major sports status – something that even soccer has failed to do in this country (which is a shame because I play the sport), then does that freeze the Barnstormers and Rampage out of the league? The question is one of big market vs. small market, revenue sharing vs. labor agreement, and I do not see an ounce of cooperation happening without some innovative thinking by one or both parties as in, “Gee, we both have a lot to lose if we are this stubborn. We both have to give a little and reach out to the fans”. Ah yes. That’s more like it. Twenty-five teams for a growing league are too many to accommodate (assuming Dallas plays). Rivalries have not taken hold in the East yet, but one thing is for sure, with Dallas and Washington coming into the league under their respective NFL ownership groups, the rivalry will continue. And make no mistake about it. Jerry Jones and the rest of the Jones clan will have their voices heard on the politics and policy of the league.
The XFL: So far the XFL has proven adept at grabbing coaches from NFL E and Canada. Who’s next? Darren Arbet deserves to be a head coach. Would San Jose be a good spot for him? If the XFL is going to make its mark, it should be with affirmative action too, not just their “In your face” credo. And what about the players? What about players like Aaron Garcia? Will Mark Grieb and Todd Marinovich play outside? Kevin Kaesviharn definitely deserves a look outside of the AFL. These are just some of the players the XFL is going to go after! The price of doing business just got a little more expensive. Does this mean that the NFL owners who have money invested in the AFL will have to fight the XFL on two fronts? Looks that way. And perhaps the only way to tide the bigger flow of red ink is with more expansion money.
It should be a very interesting off-season.
Lee Zakow was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
