Remember Owners - Fans Make the Game
Lee Zakow
Saturday November 4, 2000
Having been to Europe and seen the bonds that fans in Dusseldorf, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Berlin and yes, even London, have with teams like the Fire, Claymores (that explains London), etc., I have mixed emotions about the moves of Albany, New England, Iowa and the possible transfer of Florida. The question, ‘Is this good for the league?’.
While it’s what the league wants – adding major markets in L.A., Chicago, Detroit, Washington/Baltimore, and Philadelphia by expansion, the moves of New England to Toronto, Albany to Indianapolis, Iowa to Long Island and possibly Florida to the Twin Cities just doesn’t sit right with me. I have no doubt in my mind that the ownership groups in Toronto and Long Island (Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar, the pair that bought the NHL’s Islanders) will be committed (unlike the folks at MSG) to taking the product to the next level. As for Toronto, it’s a great city. The AC Centre is beautiful and noting the failure of the Argos, the old double blue, the market is wide open. I wonder about Indianapolis though. And Minnesota?
I feel terrible for the fans in Albany and Iowa most of all. These are hardcore fans, not unlike the fans in Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. They bonded with the team. They represented the league so well for so long. And with Chicago coming in, there was a built-in rivalry for the Barnstormers (now New York Dragons). Albany had some of the most vocal fans – so far as the internet was concerned. Barely a day would go by when you didn’t hear at least something from one of the Firebird Boosters. As for New England, the dunderheads who run the Garden just couldn’t get it right, even if they were lead by the hand. They are my inspiration for writing a manual on how not to run a franchise. Despite that, New England started to get a following. Will Albany and Iowa get AFL2 teams now for this summer? If so, time is running out, and fast.
You are going to read a lot about the changing economics of the game, etc., which forced teams to relocate. The Florida Bobcats are the exception because something had to be done regarding their fan support and financial situation. I say bull. If the owners sat down with the players and said, “Hey, we’re all in this together, we grow and you grow and we need to take care of the fans” I’m sure something positive could have been forged. But you’ll hear about the labor contract, and the fan base and the usual bull.
You have to wonder what the AFL’s grand scheme of things is? 40 teams? 50 teams? 60 teams? Affordable entertainment alternative? The fifth major sport? A packaged deal on sat dish like the four majors? The AFL needs to crawl before it can walk, and it isn’t going to walk abandoning key core groups of fans. It’s only going to lead to more trouble. Here’s the key. fellas. Like duh, this is a fans’ league, much like NFL E. Remember the Fans’ Bill of Rights you so prominently placed in each game program?
If the league maintains its innocence, if it becomes the fifth major sport (of course they’ll battle the MLS for that honor), and if they treat fans right, count me in! For the day it doesn’t, I’ll find something better to do with my time and my money, and so will a lot of other people.
Lee Zakow was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
