Is more than four a reality?
Cliffy D. Pine
Friday May 11, 2018
With the 2018 Arena Football season well underway, there is a sense of relief and renewal in the air. The league is marching forward with a new collective bargaining agreement and a brand new team generating a lot of positive attention. Yet it’s difficult to overlook the fact that this once prosperous league now only sports a quartet of actual teams taking the field. Making the proclamation of “world champions” by whomever wins the ArenaBowl a dubious one at best.
But perhaps that will be changing. The buzz generated by the Albany Empire and the overwhelming support of their fan base is not going unnoticed by many. So much so we’ve learned from sources close to the situation that efforts to expand the league are full steam ahead with outreach underway to a number of targeted markets and potential owners who the AFL believes will share in their vision for the league. Certainly, anyone who is in a market that once occupied an Arena Football team must be wondering if they can capture that same lightning in a bottle like what Albany has.
There is no shortage of talented football players in America looking for their chance to shine and if non-traditional football markets with an arena that meets AFL standards are prepared to go, the opportunity to replicate Albany’s immediate success is there for the taking. With long-term partnerships with VSiN (Vegas Stats and Information Network) and DraftKings in place, the potential for a lot of eyes on this product grows exponentially.
So now, it will be up to those on the fence to take the plunge and commit themselves to getting in on the ground floor of this league in order to help bring it back to prosperity. I can’t think of a better selling point to these prospective owners than the deafening roar of the Times Union Center faithful as the Empire stormed out to take the field for the first time. If you build it and market it properly, the fans will come out and buy in to your vision.
For the sake of the Arena Football League’s future for years to come, here’s hoping to see “More than four” in the not too distant future.
Cliff writes for Alsternative.com a Montreal Alouettes blog. You can follow Cliff on Twitter at @cliffyd