Adios, Arena Football
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
With the economy in the tanks, and sporting events being a luxury some might not be able to afford in the coming weeks and months, the Arena Football League might be shutting down it's doors. The AFL has already postponed their annual draft, as well as free agency, and the league has issued an official statement going forward. Via AFL.com....
“The AFL is working on long-term structural improvements which have unfortunately delayed some important events, such as the release of the 2009 schedule, the Dispersal Draft, and the beginning of free agency,” said Acting Commissioner ED POLICY. “We thank our fans for their enthusiasm for these events and ask them to be patient a little longer while we finalize our long-term improvements. All AFL teams are working towards winning ArenaBowl XXIII.”While they obviously want to keep the gates open next season, it's looking more and more like they will be canceling the upcoming, and possibly future seasons. The Denver Post is even reporting that Arena Football could shut its doors if they don't receiving aid by December 19th. While there are still a few franchises that are claiming a solid financial standing, the league has been in trouble for most of the past year. Their deal with ESPN in 2006 was supposed to set them up for the future, but it seems as if even the "Leader" can't save them now.
League's official statement (Arena Football)
15 Comments:
Well, on the plus side, the Soul started a great year for Philadelphia sports fans. Seeing as I'm the only one who probably remembers, I'm talking about the Soul winning ArenaBowl XXII in June.
And of course, we all know what happened with the Fightin' Phils.
Thank goodness, now I don't need to hear the friggin' Tampa Bay Storm and their crook of a head coach crammed down our throats here in west central Florida...
Do you guys mind if I masturbate to your photos right now?
That guy looks like Bon Jovi....
It is...
The AFL may not play this year but reports have af2 playing their 10th season as scheduled. Arena Football continues just where it started, in small markets.
and quite honestly, FightingPike, where it needs to be...
Does this mean MLB is about to go under too...?
This was bound to happen. 43% of the league's operating costs were devoted to keeping David Baker's ginormous melon airborne.
/old Mac, Jurko & Harry bit
What a loss. For all of us.
I am going to repeat what I said at BloggingStocks.com. ESPN didn't promote the AFL at all and they eat, sleep, and breathe Football all the time. I mean it, the league is buried on ESPN2 on Monday Nights and gets no love on Sportscenter.
Hold on a sec. As strange as it seems, the AFL board of directors met on Wednesday night (12/10) and denied reports. they're working on plans fot a 2009 season according to them. Stay tuned. this could get Veddddddy Interestink as Arte Johnson used to say.
If the AFL does survive, ESPN needs to show a wider variety of teams and not just the same certain teams all the time.
I would like to know just how the Arena Football League got to the apparent brink of demise. Was it a gradual process, or was there a problem with a particular source of financing?
Time for Capitol Hill to step in and save Arena Football. I don't what I will do without my Columbus Destroyers.