AFL History
Tim Ball
Monday December 25, 2006
One thing of great value about the Arena Football League is its history. I have come not to bury the past but to look forward to it on ESPN.
Remember, every highlight on SportsCenter is tape recorded.
There is no tradition without a future to talk about it and the AFL has two decades of history and tradition to talk about in the future.
And, let’s dispense with this "NFL lite" rhetoric.
The NCAA is the developmental league for professional football, with high school growing college players and Pop Warner and good parents getting them all started. It’s adaptation, not evolution driving the changes.
The game of Arena Football itself is too good for petty arguments. It is worthy to be welcomed as a part of the football family.
That time has come for Arena Football.
The AFL stands firm for many reasons. And I have chronicled them in past articles. What goes on, on an Arena Football field, is worthy to be praised at the highest level.
ESPN is the greatest voice of sports in America. So no one is happier than I about the new agreement between ESPN and the AFL. I have sought it for many years now.
But the game is played on the field no matter the logo on the camera crew’s clothing.
Many people are learning more and more about Arena Football and liking it. After twenty years of existence the future is bright. ESPN and the "new" agreement are good for the league.
But current and "traditional" AFL fans still have important questions:
1. What about the veteran players who will lose their jobs? 2. What about the original concept of the game? 3. Why the need to take away the Ironman? 4. What next?
5. What about "tradition?"
My answers: 1. Veteran athletes know well the world of professional sports. And the fact that AFL fans even care proves the greatness of the league. 2. Which one? The game has seen changes in its "history." 3. The Ironman award can remain and change too. 4. More fans attending games, the only real place for a future.
5. An example: Barry Wagner, someday, will be hailed as the best football player of all time. The Willie Mays of the game. We’ll get into that some other time. The past cannot be forgotten, as long as there is a time to talk about the good old days. Fans can’t argue about any aspect of the AFL, unless there is a future in which to do so.
(I am a true fan too. So I thought I’d get the "Wag’s" ball rolling. And if you don’t know what a "Wags" is, please don’t interrupt.)
Questions, concerns and complaints - from every fan from season ticket holder to the league office - show loyalty is still in place. Arguments can only happen where there is life. One thing is for certain, the league cannot remain static. It never has anyway.
Follow a leader
From the AFL press release :
NEW YORK – ESPN and the Arena Football League have entered into a five-year agreement that includes extensive multimedia rights and a minimum of 26 televised games per season, beginning in 2007. ESPN has also purchased a minority ownership stake in the AFL as part of the agreement that enhances ESPN’s football programming lineup, the most comprehensive in sports television, with year-round football on Monday nights.
"We are committed to the Arena Football League and its exciting brand of football. We will help grow the league across all of our multimedia platforms. As the league grows, so will our business, and we see a bright future for us both," said John Skipper, executive vice president, content, ESPN.
ESPN’s 2007 AFL coverage will kick off on ABC with a pair of regional games – defending ArenaBowl champion Chicago Rush at Kansas City Brigade and Dallas Desperados at New York Dragons -- on Sunday, March 4 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The Chicago Rush has the privileged status of being the World Champions of Arena Football as the league enters this new future.
With the most amazing season in AFL history in 2006 with a 7-9 regular season record to championship victory, the Rush lead the league into the new era with a story for the ages.
"We couldn’t be more excited about the new agreement between the AFL and ESPN," said Mike Polisky, President and General Manager of the Chicago Rush. "With the involvement of ESPN we have the coverage of Arena Football that provides a solid platform to showcase the excellence of our game."
Anyone attending a Chicago Rush home game, or that values the history of winners, knows that Mr. Polisky is a leader worth following. An example of the excellence of the AFL is well represented by its current World Championship franchise.
"Our fans and those of the entire league deserve to have their dedication valued in a way that insures a bright future," said Polisky. "The changes to the format of the teams and game itself reflect an on-going effort to recognize what it takes to continue being successful."
Who isn’t excited?
Do you care too
Those of us that fell in love with the game at first sight did so with the help of loyal fans and players welcoming us to the world of Arena Football: A world where player and fan are on the same team.
Will new "one-way" guys not care about the most valuable aspect of the game?
The interaction between player and fan is an integral part of the game. It IS the AFL.
While some pro athletes carry heavy baggage, Arena Football players carry our kids around the field during the post game autograph session.
Will new self-centered and younger players disregard the fans in quest of their own happiness? In the NBA spectators are used as cushions to stop brawling players from hitting the ground. (Wouldn’t want them to get a season ending injury while punching each other.)
I’ll stop attending games in an instant if entourage-thug-egotists think they are bigger than this league.
I don’t care what poor excuses the NFL or NBA currently has for poor role models, I want my kids to grow up to be like James Roe or Bob McMillen.
By the way, I have never attended an AFL game without buying a ticket.
The AFL is a better sporting event for all the right reasons. How many of us have spent real time talking with the Commissioner of the league before, during, or after a game?
Many, many, many of us.
Some things will not be changed. I’ll bet on that.
There is a history here.
The old guard is spinning their yarns about the AFL on ESPN "back in the day." But do they tell you how the league got that air time?
Let’s not, dwell on "all" of the past shall we?
The good ol’ days may have been great, for some, but a cell phone twenty years ago was almost the size of a football and weighed even more.
Things change and usually for the better.
Get on with it
At current levels, the fan base is fairly healthy. Ticket sales are keeping teams in place, and even though we’re in the internet era now, an empty seat is very bad news. ESPN has no desire to see that happen as its new involvement shows.
Savvy?
No I’m serious. Not just as an empty-headed pause, but do you realize the future is bright for the game of Arena Football?
ESPN and the AFL have in store for the league what it needs best: worldwide coverage and supreme highlights. Let Philadelphia have its gluttonous coverage and let’s all get a chuckle at their expense (if you know what I mean). Remember there are two teams on any given field.
Though I smell a rat, the scent goes away quickly as soon as players start to sweat and beer gets spilled.
What’s important to the AFL is what’s important to the AFL.
ESPN is important to the AFL.
From the AFL press release:
ESPN will televise a minimum of 17 regular-season games and nine playoff games -- including a minimum of three Wild Card games, three Divisional Playoff games, both Conference Championships and the ArenaBowl -- on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. ESPN will also have an exclusive window for weekly Monday night primetime games on ESPN2 -- continuing to establish Monday night as the "football night" for fans year-round.
One thing is most important.
The game of Arena Football is much more appreciated and understood once a person goes to a live game.
That tradition will never die. If you like sports, there is nothing better than Arena Football.
ESPN will motivate football fans where teams exist. Now, the move into big cities is starting to make sense. AFL Commissioner David Baker and his big dreams are close to reality
Don’t get me wrong, my heart is with teams like Grand Rapids and I believe that they are the most important teams to the AFL. Don’t think I’ve sold out the real Arena Football League by embracing change.
Tradition and history thrive within change.
Remember the Houston ThunderBears? (The best name of all time for a football team just edging out "The Rampage.")
Our history can only die with no future.
More from the AFL press release:
"This is the longest and most comprehensive media partnership in AFL history," said Commissioner Baker. "ESPN’s brand is ingrained in sports fans, which watch, read and listen to its multiple media properties. Through its equity purchase, ESPN now owns a piece of the AFL and has the ability to provide exciting football content on Monday nights for fans on a year-round basis. There is no better partner to help continue the AFL’s growth as a leading global, multimedia property than ESPN."
Well done AFL.
The only thing an athlete, fan or franchise wants is any league is a Championship: To be a Champion.
And why is that?
To be talked about in the future. To be forever part of history.
There has never been a better voice for the past, present or future of sports than ESPN.
The time has come for Arena Football.
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
