Let the Fans be Heard
Matt Walsh
Monday February 28, 2000
You have the land-shark lawyers on one side claiming that the majority of the players are in favor of the lawsuit. You have the Deputy Commish on the other side indicating that most of the players want to form a union. In the mean time, both sides can’t even come up with similar figures for average-player salaries or how many players are actually in the league. Is it 600 or 720 or 650? Does the average player make 23,000 dollars a season or $15,000 or 32,000?
It’s enough to make the fans want to jump from that 48-hour window the owners left open for the players who have a change of heart about the collective bargaining table.
And if that wasn’t hindering enough towards this labor debacle, we have players who are using the ArenaFan email list as a giant gripe session for pointing fingers and blaming the owners. “Now ask yourself this,” fumes one disgruntled player, “Why do they want a union so bad and want to collective bargain? We didn`t file a class action lawsuit for nothing.”
Another annoyed athlete rants, “I have seen first hand from some of the players what their actual contract looks like and they are lucky to take home 10 thousand dollars after a season. Not to mention that there is no medical coverage for them or their families. I would like to know how you are losing money when a teams value goes from 1 million to 7 million inside of 3 years.”
Hey guys, we’ve heard your side. It’s time to let the fans have their say. Arenafan opened a forum so that the passionate spectators of this league can voice their displeasure over this labor squabble.
Many of the responses received thanked Arenafan Online for it’s in-depth coverage of the labor dispute and expressed their remorse for a canceled season that had so much potential. Some asked questions pertaining to labor law and issues.
Others told heart-felt stories about their first encounter with Arena football. One sensitive, broken-hearted fellow went as far to use this analogy to describe relationship between the fans and the league: “This situation is reminiscent of two people (Arenaball and its fans) who have fallen desperately in love and know in their hearts that they will spend the rest of their lives together in heavenly bliss; only to have one of them suddenly walk away with no explanation, leaving the other hurt, confused and completely heartbroken.”
Ugh.
After reading all the messages, you get the idea that most of the fans don’t care which bunch is responsible for this labor mess. They just want the season to be played, proving that the audience can be just as selfish as the owners and players. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. “As a fan, I don`t care which side is right or wrong, I just want the season to be played.” This from a fan whose son plays in the league!
And with the end seemingly just around the corner, there remains a group of supporters that continue to be optimistic about the league’s future. There are some, perhaps naïve, fans that feel the league will survive if the season is canceled. “I believe that just like baseball and basketball this league will rebound next year… explained one confident fan, “I believe [the league] can do it.”
In this writer’s opinion, they won’t do it in this century. If the season is canceled, it will set the AFL back, say, 14 years. If the league makes a comeback for the 2001 season, there will be no lucrative TV contracts, no NFL option to buy, not many sponsors, and a lot of half-empty arenas. Many of the players who fans became accustomed to will also be black listed, er, gone.
The best message on the forum came from a fan who shared a dream he had about this labor dispute nightmare.
In the dream, he was a contestant on the hit TV game show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” After breezing through the fastest finger round and all of the Arena League related money questions, he made it to the million-dollar question. But he found that he couldn’t answer the million-dollar question. Then things got really strange. “…As I looked up to tell Regis that I was going to stop, take what I made and call it quits, I realized Regis was no longer in the chair, but replaced by Commissioner David Baker. And instead of the other contestants, I saw George LeFrance, Barry Wagner, Alvin Ashley, Mike Pawlawski and other great players waiting for their chance to play. Did they know the answer to this question?”
He also noticed that the audience had changed into mascots and cheerleaders from various AFL teams.
After constant pressure from Commissioner Baker to answer the question the fan closed his eyes and screamed, ‘THERE IS NO RIGHT ANSWER! I want to quit here!’ Then my eyes opened and the studio was empty. No one was left. What happened to everyone from the Arena League. They were gone!”
He then woke up. Comforted by his wife, he told her about the dreadful dream that had seemed so real. After a few moments, the wife asked what was the final million-dollar question.
In the cancellation of the 2000 AFL season, the winners are:
A: Players
B: Owners
C: League
D: Fans
All in all, the ArenaFan Online forum is serving its purpose. It’s letting fans get everything off their chests, and, with the recent talks between the owners and players, most of them feel encouraged that the season can still be salvaged.
Which is the best news the fans have heard in a long time.
Matt Walsh was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
