NFL Deal Gone. So What?
Kevin Sheller
Wednesday March 20, 2002
What does this mean to us?
It’s hard to say so soon. The season is upon us. Tomorrow morning mini-camp opens for the Chicago Rush.
As a follower and backer of the Arena Football League since the early years, I’ve always believed in the league establishing itself as a power of its own. The league has fought for a long time to become a respected sport. It still isn’t yet. It’s better. NBC is interested. Fans still attend games. But don’t kid yourself. NFL fans find the AFL a cool curiosity, but not a sport worthy of their precious loyalty.
Hearing tales of the NFL walking in and changing the name of the league to NFL Arena or worse, NFL Indoors, scared the crap out of me. It would always be the NFL’s farm league – not a league of its own. My ideal dream is that it retains its name and independence, and still rises up to become a major sport. Perhaps it will NEVER become as big as or bigger than the NFL, but that’s OK. As long as it can survive, it will always be MY league. It will always be OUR league.
I don’t want our rules to change. I want two-way players and big ugly rebound nets. It’s our game. Not the NFL’s. Will some owners bail out now that the league isn’t going to buy in? Is Thom Hopper now upset that he bought the Tampa Bay Storm for $12 million? Probably a bit disappointed. Had he waited a few weeks he might have purchased the team for less. If I asked him and planted his quote in this piece, he’d likely say, “It’s full steam ahead. Next year the NBC deal kicks in!”
The league has proven itself to me and many others. It has longevity. It has survived some of the worst years that any league has ever had to bear, and made it. The NFL decision is a setback. The NBC deal won’t be cancelled. The NFL owners will likely stay in.
And you know what? It’s still our league.
Kevin Sheller ia founder of Arenafan Online and was the principal owner until 2004. Kevin graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in technical writing, and has been a member of the Arena Football Internet community since 1993. He has worked as a professional web programmer and is also the executive producer for a computer/video game company. The most recent Xbox title to his credit is called Hunter: The Reckoning.
