Back to the Future
Adam Markowitz
Tuesday December 19, 2006
So why do I think we took one step forward and two steps backward at the same time? Okay, so we have 17 regular season games covered in 17 weeks. That’s basically the same thing we had with the NBC/OLN package last year. So we have nine postseason games covered. Nobody said they are going to be covered at separate times, so it’s probably going to be the exact same thing NBC set up last year. We’re stuck being force-fed Philadelphia Soul and Colorado Crush games again (including four straight Soul games in April), just like NBC did, but the problem with ESPN is that we aren’t going to end up with options. There is no such thing as "regional coverage" at this point (save the opening week). The game ESPN is showing is the game everyone is getting.
Oh, I hope you’re not a fan of Las Vegas, Grand Rapids, Austin, Nashville, San Jose, or Tampa Bay… If you are, don’t bother analyzing the ESPN slate to see when you can watch your team on national television. You can’t. I can see not wanting Grand Rapids or Las Vegas on TV. Their crowds are the worst in the league and their quality of football has to be right near the bottom as well. Georgia seemingly always puts together horrific looking crowds when they are displayed on television, but they are still an annual playoff team and have to be considered one of the favorites in the South in 2007. Austin is coming off of their best season ever and their first playoff appearance, but they are still a relatively small market team. Don’t worry though, Wrangler fans. After all, your owner, Doug MacGregor isn’t. "The fact that the Wranglers aren't scheduled on ESPN during the regular season isn't a mixed blessing at all. We will have 3 games on ESPN: the Divisional round of the playoffs, the Conference championship and the Arena Bowl." Optimism at its finest!
But what is the excuse for Tampa and San Jose not showing up on ESPN? Between the two of them, they have 7 of the 20 championships. They both play bitter rivalry games twice a year. You’re telling me you can’t sneak these teams on national TV just ONCE???
Perhaps there’s an explanation, though. Message board poster, Bruiser, devised a great logic. The free substitution rule was passed by a count of 17-2 with the owners. The two owners that voted against it? San Jose and Tampa… Hmm…
Here’s my problem, though. How is the AFL really going to get that much more attention on the ESPN family of networks than it did on NBC? Yes, I know that ESPN is the Mecca of sports coverage and the argument from years ago that not all households got ESPN2 is now irrelevant, but something seems fishy here. Let’s take a look at this schedule for a second. Only the first game of the season is going to be broadcasted on ABC. The rest of the regular season is on ESPN2. Upon further investigation, we’ve got some problems.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is on March 11th. The AFL very smartly scheduled an ESPN game on Monday the 12th, when there will be no basketball. However, the 22nd will be overlapped with the NCAA Tournament, as will April 1st. The NBA Playoffs start on April 21st, and there will likely be a game just about every night between then and the start of the NBA Finals on either June 5th or June 7th. The AFL features seven games during that stretch. I’ll say this, though. At least the AFL avoided the NBA Finals slate, as the two AFL games scheduled during that stretch on June 11th and 18th should prove to be travel days for the NBA Finals and could draw very well during this time. Finally, baseball begins April 1st. ESPN will probably cover several games right in the middle of ESPN2’s AFL games on ESPN.
In truth, there really isn’t a good time to play this league. It’s right in the middle of everything one way or the other. Whether it’s NASCAR, golf, baseball, basketball, football… it’s always something. Call this a ditch effort or whatever you want, but to me, this signals something totally different.
Normally, when ESPN is broadcasting a "feature" event, such as Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Baseball, or an important NBA game, what is on ESPN2? Figure skating, drag racing, pool, reruns of the World Series of Poker, etc. Basically, they use the Bottom Line to attract some viewers for short periods of time to see the scores and news of the day and happen to give them some sort of sport to be watching while they wait for the ticker to show them the score they are waiting to see.
In my opinion, this is nothing more than a consistent marketing ploy by ESPN. The AFL will draw better ratings than figure skating, and give football fans an alternative to basketball, baseball, and hockey once the NFL season is over. But let’s face it. This is ESPN2 we’re going to be on. The programming of more importance to the ESPN family is going to be on ESPN (or in some cases, ABC). We’re always going to, "that other thing" going on. At least on NBC, we had (most of) their attention. NBC gave us a studio with Glenn Parker and Al Trautwig and most of their game breaks, though few and far between, actually highlighted the AFL. Is ESPN going to do this, or are our game breaks going to about NBA games going on at the same time? Are we really going to be shown on a nightly basis on SportsCenter, or are we going to be that blip right at the end of the show just showing a rundown of scores with possibly 1-2 really good highlights?
I suppose I’m like everyone else. I’m playing the "wait and see" game. Perhaps things WILL change. Maybe we WILL get that exposure that we really need. I sure hope that I’m wrong, but I’m not buying what ESPN and the AFL have tried selling me today. I think that ESPN is viewing us as nothing more than a permanent alternative to the NFL during the NFL’s offseason and ultimately as a developmental league for the NFL.
Maybe this is what John Elway meant when he said that the AFL was trying to become more like the NFL. Maybe this was the aim. I suppose if this is the goal, this deal is great. I, for one, still fail to see how the league really thinks they are gaining more fans by putting themselves on ESPN2 as opposed to NBC unless they are trying to link AFL fans and NFL fans together. If the league wanted to do this, though, all they had to do is create another 13 teams, tie each one into an NFL franchise, and tell season ticket holders for the NFL clubs that they are stuck purchasing tickets for their AFL franchise if they want to keep their NFL seats.
As for the AFL on the Deuce… Let the AFL on ESPN saga begin all over again.
Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.
