I hadn't seen any info about it recently, but the All American Football League has teams now. None of the names will be all that surprising. Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, and Michigan... all big college football states. And they will play from April to June. Obviously most of their players will end up being from a/the big in-state school where the games will be played. Some are already listed (none for Tennessee yet).
Just checked out their website. click me Sounds interesting. Tennessee is getting a team. Would I be correct in assuming that they'll play in Memphis? I'm not a big enough fan of baseball to to watch regular season games, so some summer football might be a welcome diversion.
Knoxville. That will be their biggest draw, all the former UT players who aren't good enough to play in the NFL. Plus, with Arkansas having a team, it would be redundant to have a second in Memphis... :ha:
I heard a radio interview with Eric Crouch earlier this week. Sounds like a novel concept -- teams locate near a college town and have a high percentage of players from that school, so there's a built-in fanbase for the players that didn't make it to the NFL. They'll make a livable wage ($50K?), and it could serve as a showcase for them.
Hey! Houston is getting a team. It's about time they got a professional football franchise. I think the XFL would have worked if they'd have been patient. Although admittedly the baggage brought to the table by Vince McMahon didn't help when it was trying to establish itself with serious fans. I think owners of this new league, if they are realistic, have to be prepared to put the time in to establish a good fan base. Once the initial novelty of the league wears off and the casual fan drifts away, the league has to be prepared to struggle for a while at the gate and in TV ratings. Only by putting a consistent product on the field for 5 - 10 years will they be able to build a fan base large enough to be successful year in and year out. If they aren't prepared to put forth that investment (both in money and time) then they shouldn't even bother.
This could replace Arena football, for people who want to see football during the NFL's offseason and don't consider Arena ball to be real football.
It probably won't last. Seems they've had a hard time just getting it off the ground, but I'll welcome any kind of football.