# AAF 1 (football) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 10, 2019, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272 "2019-02-10T05:36:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/141 "2019-04-02T19:24:29Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > And even the AFL (assuming you’re referring to the Arena Football League) isn’t in great shape. The AFL had 19 teams in 2007, went bankrupt in 2010, and was down to just 4 active teams in 2018, all in the Northeast. They’ve announced that there will be two new teams for 2019, so there’s that, at least. Also true. When the Predators randomly shut their operations down it came out that the AFL was failing and in the process was screwing over their teams for this, that and the other thing. Ironically enough the Preds are back now in another random-ass football league. An announcement on the AFL is supposed to be made today at 5 where it’s assumed they’re going to announce the league is folding. Spurrier is apparently pretty mad about it, telling the Orlando Sentinel they were promised the league could run for three years without making money. Soooo I guess that makes the Apollos the default champs? Woo hoo! Champs baby! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/142 "2019-04-02T20:50:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Indeed. Now, can you focus your crystal ball on what’s gonna happen with Brexit? 😃 Yes… Hmm, I see trouble ahead. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/143 "2019-04-02T21:08:33Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Yes… Hmm, I see trouble ahead. “Ask again later?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/144 "2019-04-02T21:16:33Z")
And down goes the league. Pardon me, “alliance.” [AAF suspends operations; Polian ‘disappointed’](http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/26423928/aaf-suspends-operations-polian-disappointed) [AAF suspends football operations with two weeks left in regular season](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2019/04/02/aaf-alliance-american-football-league-suspends-operations/3342451002/) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/145 "2019-04-02T21:41:55Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I think the timing of their season is totally wrong. We are about to have the NBA and NHL playoffs, and baseball is starting, so even the have-nots haven’t had time to get disgusted, lose hope, and look for something else to watch. > > I think their season should have been July and August. Baseball is the only other sport going, and 3/4 of the teams are pretty much out of it by the All Star break. Beyond that, doing that, they could have cooperated with the NFL, if they were willing, to have had the championship game right before the NFL preseason starts, setting up the AAF as a sort of appetizer for the NFL season. Plus, it would have set up the players well to be in good shape prior to training camp (assuming they weren’t too beat up). ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/146 "2019-04-02T22:05:34Z")
From reading articles it looks like Bill Polian is not very happy with Tom Dundon. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/147 "2019-04-02T23:46:59Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > And down goes the league. > > Pardon me, “alliance.” > > [AAF suspends operations; Polian ‘disappointed’](http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/26423928/aaf-suspends-operations-polian-disappointed) > > [AAF suspends football operations with two weeks left in regular season](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2019/04/02/aaf-alliance-american-football-league-suspends-operations/3342451002/) Technically only next week is officially dead…there is still a chance for week 10. That being said…there ain’t gonna be a week 10 ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/148 "2019-04-03T00:43:04Z")
Is the AAF one of the biggest sports flops ever? Even the XFL finished its season. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/149 "2019-04-03T02:16:10Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > Is the AAF one of the biggest sports flops ever? Even the XFL finished its season. The [Professional Spring Football League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Spring_Football_League) folded in 1992 ten days before the season started. The [Global Hockey League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Hockey_League) in 1990 had franchises folding even before training camp, suspended operations, and was never heard from again. In baseball, the [Continental League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_League) vanished when MLB expanded in 1961-1962. I’ll give the AAF credit for getting off the ground, even if it was like a jet with three out of four engines out and the other one sputtering. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/150 "2019-04-03T03:32:29Z")
I saw a report that the players had to pay for their travel home today. That’s just cold. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/151 "2019-04-03T05:10:16Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I saw a report that the players had to pay for their travel home today. That’s just cold. Totally agreed. I imagine that that, too, came from Dundon. “I’m finished throwing money at this thing.” ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/152 "2019-04-03T05:17:26Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I think the timing of their season is totally wrong. We are about to have the NBA and NHL playoffs, and baseball is starting, so even the have-nots haven’t had time to get disgusted, lose hope, and look for something else to watch. > > I think their season should have been July and August. Baseball is the only other sport going, and 3/4 of the teams are pretty much out of it by the All Star break. Exactly. The last thing I want is more football after having endless college bowl games, college national championship, NFL playoffs, and then the Super Bowl. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/153 "2019-04-03T05:26:05Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > Is the AAF one of the biggest sports flops ever? Even the XFL finished its season. Even in the major American sports leagues, in the modern (post-WWII) era, there have been teams which have fallen apart financially, in fairly spectacular (and embarrassing) fashion. In 1952, the NFL awarded an expansion franchise to Dallas, the [Texans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Texans_(NFL)). After losing a bunch of money, the owners turned the franchise back to the NFL halfway through the season, and the team played its last two “home” games on the road (one in Akron, one in Detroit). At the end of the season, the league dissolved the team, though many of its assets (and players) went to another expansion team for 1953 – the Baltimore Colts. In 1969, MLB expanded to Seattle, with the [Pilots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Pilots). The Pilots weren’t ready to play in 1969; their start date got moved up because of pressure from Kansas City (the other expansion team) to start play earlier. They played in a run-down minor-league stadium, the owner refused to put money into the team, and after one season, the team was sold and moved to Milwaukee. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/154 "2019-04-03T06:54:17Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > Is the AAF one of the biggest sports flops ever? Even the XFL finished its season. Not only that it had CBS tv support, a media that seemed to support it, and an alleged backing from the NFL. So to not even finish a season makes it a bigger joke than even the WFL season 2. Minor league football will only work if each team sponsors a Farm Team in its market for fans who can’t afford NFL tickets. Sadly there’s really very little incentive for them to do so. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/155 "2019-04-03T06:55:44Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > The [Professional Spring Football League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Spring_Football_League) folded in 1992 ten days before the season started. > > The [Global Hockey League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Hockey_League) in 1990 had franchises folding even before training camp, suspended operations, and was never heard from again. > > In baseball, the [Continental League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_League) vanished when MLB expanded in 1961-1962. > > I’ll give the AAF credit for getting off the ground, even if it was like a jet with three out of four engines out and the other one sputtering. I doubt that other than the CBL the other two leagues were even real to begin with. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/156 "2019-04-03T14:43:45Z")
You know, I would think there has to be more to this than is out right now. The league had the players, structure and, most importantly the TV deals to make it a success. The people running the show had to have accounted for low attendance…but why wouldn’t you start the league with enough money to make it through a first season if not a single person attended the game? That way, any attendance is cherry. Doudon will get a lot of heat for this for basically buying the app and then killing the league, but I think the GMs (Polian and Ebersol) claimed there was A LOT more money in the league than there actually was. Hell, at this rate, I’ll give the XFL a fighting chance to survive if only because Vince can look at this league and use it as a worst case scenario. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/157 "2019-04-03T17:26:36Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > You know, I would think there has to be more to this than is out right now. The league had the players, structure and, most importantly the TV deals to make it a success. The people running the show had to have accounted for low attendance…but why wouldn’t you start the league with enough money to make it through a first season if not a single person attended the game? That way, any attendance is cherry. > > Doudon will get a lot of heat for this for basically buying the app and then killing the league, but I think the GMs (Polian and Ebersol) claimed there was A LOT more money in the league than there actually was. Hell, at this rate, I’ll give the XFL a fighting chance to survive if only because Vince can look at this league and use it as a worst case scenario. I suspect you’re right. The fact that they were apparently in danger of not making payroll after their first week struck me as more than a little hinky (as did their claim that the hiccup was due to processing issues with the payroll company, not lack of cash), when coupled with bringing in Dundon (and $250 million) at the very last minute. In the end, it winds up feeling very much like Dundon effectively engineered a hostile takeover and liquidation of the league. I’m not sure if the premature shutdown of the league represented “we’re out of cash, we’re bankrupt” (which is what is usually the case when minor-league teams or leagues suddenly go out of business), so much as Dundon deciding that he’d gotten what he wanted out of it, and seeing no reason to continue throwing money at it. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/158 "2019-04-03T17:46:43Z")
Their first mistake was allowing him to come in and give him control of the whole league. I am not a business man, but you don’t give that much control to a random investor midway through your season. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/159 "2019-04-03T21:58:25Z")
I’m pretty sure that there were a lot of other mistakes before that that necessitated that particular mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272/160 "2019-04-04T00:35:58Z")
It was less “mistake” and more “act of desperation”. They wouldn’t have been able to pay the players without his investment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaf-1-football/829272.md?page=9)