Straight Dope Message Board

[kenobi 65]

Earlier today, the Arena Football League announced that it was ceasing operations effective immediately, and has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (i.e., a liquidation).

https://twitter.com/officialafl/stat...897308161?s=21

The AFL had been around since 1987, and gone through several booms and busts; they had contracted significantly in the past few seasons, and had fielded only 4 to 6 teams in recent years. 1

[Snowboarder Bo]

That's too bad; I had a lot of fun at Orlando Predators games back in the early '90s. 2

[dropzone]

This is sad, though I thought it happened twenty years ago. Smaller field, faster play. Much more fun to watch. 3

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by dropzone

This is sad, though I thought it happened twenty years ago.

The league did shut down for a year, in 2009, to re-organize, though it seems like they were never able to really get back on their feet after that. 4

[Snowboarder Bo]

I think the real problem with the sport was that it was in venues that were just too small. I mean, half the team could throw the length of the field. Most players can run sideline-to-sideline in like 3 seconds because it wasn't very far. Part of what makes football watchable is the fact that the field is so big: there's room to move around each other. 5

[ekedolphin]

I went to an Indiana Firebirds game on my 21st birthday and had a blast. I still have the hat. 6

[Moriarty]

I have to think that Kurt Warner was their greatest alum. Any others?

https://www.arenafan.com/players/Kurt_Warner-1661/

ETA: I believe he credited the faster pace caused by the smaller field for improving the speed of his decision making. 7

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by Moriarty

I have to think that Kurt Warner was their greatest alum. Any others?

The other who comes immediately to mind is Jay Gruden (currently head coach of the Washington Redskins), who won two AFL titles and an MVP award as a quarterback for the Tampa Bay Storm, then won two more AFL titles as coach of the Orlando Predators. 8

[dalej42]

Originally Posted by kenobi 65

The other who comes immediately to mind is Jay Gruden (currently head coach of the Washington Redskins), who won two AFL titles and an MVP award as a quarterback for the Tampa Bay Storm, then won two more AFL titles as coach of the Orlando Predators.

Gruden was fired as Redskins coach earlier this season.

I’ll miss the AFL, it was fun to watch and seems like it was everywhere in the 1990s as filler program for the sports networks. 9

[Superdude]

Originally Posted by Moriarty

I have to think that Kurt Warner was their greatest alum. Any others?

https://www.arenafan.com/players/Kurt_Warner-1661/

ETA: I believe he credited the faster pace caused by the smaller field for improving the speed of his decision making.

Mike Vanderjagt, for one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...rs?wprov=sfla1 10

[Sir T-Cups]

I wonder if the minor league arena teams (where the Predators currently play) will join suit.... 11

[Northern Piper]

Originally Posted by Moriarty

I have to think that Kurt Warner was their greatest alum. Any others?

https://www.arenafan.com/players/Kurt_Warner-1661/

ETA: I believe he credited the faster pace caused by the smaller field for improving the speed of his decision making.

Ricky Ray, who played in the AF2 before playing in the CFL, has more outdoor passing yardage than Warner (60,736 yards for Ray, 32,344 for Warner).

Ray won four Grey Cups, a CFL record, and also set records for highest completion percentage in a single season (77.2%), highest completion percentage in a single game (95.0%) and highest passer rating in a single season (126.4).

Ray is in 10th spot on the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ing_statistics. Warner doesn't make the list on wiki, which goes down to 34 (Joe Fiacco). 12

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by dalej42

Gruden was fired as Redskins coach earlier this season.

And, here, I was thinking, "Redskins are terrible this year, I don't know that Gruden will keep his job." 13

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by Northern Piper

Ricky Ray, who played in the AF2 before playing in the CFL, has more outdoor passing yardage than Warner (60,736 yards for Ray, 32,344 for Warner).

Ray won four Grey Cups, a CFL record, and also set records for highest completion percentage in a single season (77.2%), highest completion percentage in a single game (95.0%) and highest passer rating in a single season (126.4).

Ray is in 10th spot on the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ing_statistics. Warner doesn't make the list on wiki, which goes down to 34 (Joe Fiacco).

I have no real dog in this fight, but I don't have a lot of confidence in that list, or of your use of it to suggest that Ray is superior to Warner.

First, the list. What are the rankings based on? The list order is simply based on total passing yardage. The problem is that passing yardage is a cumulative statistic, and as such tends to privilege players with long careers, whether they're great QBs or just decent QBs who happen to keep their jobs and avoid injury. It takes no account of excellent players who might have (relatively) short careers. Hell, Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas barely make the list, because the arbitrary cutoff is 40,000 pass yards, and each of them threw for only a little bit more than that. Kurt Warner is absent from the list not because he's an inferior QB, but because he didn't play enough games to rack up 40,000 passing yards.

As you note, Joe Flacco's on the list. I'm a Baltimore Ravens fan, and I cheered Flacco when he QBed the Ravens to a Superbowl victory. I also don't like Kurt Warner that much; I found his constant need to thank Jesus pretty annoying. But if you were asking me to put together a team of people in the prime of their career, I'd take Kurt Warner before Joe Flacco at QB without a moment's hesitation.

Also, much as I love Canada (I was born there and have lived there for parts of my adult life) and like the CFL, the fact is that a significant number of CFL players are there because they didn't make the cut in the NFL. Ray had a great CFL career. Who knows; if he had been given a shot by an NFL team, he might well have had a great career in America. But he went undrafted, and didn't make a team after attending the 49ers training camp.

If I were asked to pick between Ray and Warner for my team, I'd take Warner there too. 14

[Bijou Drains]

We had a team for a few years. Nobody seemed to care if they won or lost , it was just a cheap ticket and a place to drink beer. 15

[DKW]

I never had any illusions of this league ever creating "legends of the sport" or becoming "part of the culture" or whatever pretentious nonsense, but it was a thrilling, fast-paced game that never took itself too seriously. Plus it had none of the aggravations that plagued big time sports (labor hassles, life-wrecking injuries, officiating meltdowns, ugly legal hassles). It was a nice addition to ESPN's lineup. Too bad. 16

[Barkis is Willin']

Arena football was actually a lot of fun to watch in person. Very fast paced, lots of action. Too bad it couldn't stick around. 17

[dalej42]

Originally Posted by DKW

I never had any illusions of this league ever creating "legends of the sport" or becoming "part of the culture" or whatever pretentious nonsense, but it was a thrilling, fast-paced game that never took itself too seriously. Plus it had none of the aggravations that plagued big time sports (labor hassles, life-wrecking injuries, officiating meltdowns, ugly legal hassles). It was a nice addition to ESPN's lineup. Too bad.

And I’d take it any day over the endless talking heads that dominate ESPN programming these days. No, I don’t want a damn NFL mock draft two days after the Super Bowl. 18