AFL Wastelands
Matt Walsh
Thursday August 31, 2000
It could be said that Seattle has something for everyone, unless of course you’re a fan of Arena Football like I am.
After moving to Seattle last summer I thought that I would be able to satisfy my number one summer entertainment option by checking out the Forest Dragons in Portland. And I actually attended their last regular-season home game versus the Destroyers. But it wasn’t long after my return to Seattle when the talks of moving the team to Oklahoma started up, and I knew my luck had run out -- again.
If I seem bitter over the Forest Dragons’ departure, it’s because I have sung the AFL relocation blues before. While living in Memphis, TN, I watched my much-maligned Pharaohs pack up their nets and, ironically, move to Portland. For the next three years, I had to make three or four trips each season to Nashville to get my Arena Football fix.
After learning that I would be relocating to Seattle, I figured it would be a great opportunity to be reunited with my old team in the Rose City, which is about a three-hour drive from my new home. But the Dragons ended up moving.
It felt like I was chasing them away. It was like I was jinxing the franchise. But I’m not moving to Oklahoma to find out if that’s the case.
Now with the closest AFL outpost being over 800 miles away (San Jose), weekend trips to catch some Arena Football action have become pretty much out of the question. And without access to a satellite dish or a 500-channel cable TV package, it felt as if I was in a vast wasteland when it came to keeping up with the season’s latest information.
If it weren’t for Arenafan Online, which is the only place I go to get my Arena Football news (shameless plug), I wouldn’t know what the heck is going on in the league.
Granted, I’m in the minority of sports fans in the Pacific Northwest that can claim to be AFL supporters. This still raises the question of how much longer this market will be void of Arena Football or AF2 franchises. With only one game a week played on TNN during the regular season, the product remains mostly unexposed to millions of potential fans.
“We are forging ahead with other markets at this time, but [the Pacific Northwest] would certainly be included in our five year forecast,” says AFL Vice President of Communications, David Cooper.
What about the AF2? If you take out a magnifying glass and scan over the Pacific Northwest area of the AF2 Expansion Map, which is located on the league’s official Web site, you’ll notice that three cities, Spokane, Boise and Tacoma, pop out as potential expansion sites.
“There has been a lot of interest in those cities, and we will probably be looking to go out there in the next three years,” says Matt Eres, AF2 Director of Communications/Sponsor Relations.
There have also been reports about a Canadian Arena Football League, which would begin within the next two or three years. If that league comes to pass, there’s a good possibility that Vancouver BC (two hours north of Seattle) will get a team.
Driving north of the border to see some Arena Football would not be a problem for me. Vancouver is an easy drive and a fun city. If I had my choice of which city would get a team in this area other than Seattle, Vancouver would be it.
In whatever form Arena Football comes to the Pacific Northwest, I will more than likely have to wait at least a couple years. But given the “unstable stability” of the AFL, there is always a chance that an existing franchise will relocate to the Northwest. The Sea Wolves, Bobcats, Thunder Bears and Red Dogs are all teams that have the potential of being uprooted and moved to other markets. But I’m not going to hold my breath for that to happen.
If Seattle or any city in the area gets a team, whether it’s one year from now or five years from now, I’ll be first in line for tickets.
Until then, I’ll have to rely on another franchise from a different league to satisfy my strong football craving. I have my Seahawk season tickets, and I’m ready for the first regular-season home opener against Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams.
That’s as close as I’ll get to Arena Football for awhile.
Matt Walsh was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
