Granted, the AFL is not on the sports radar all that frequently. But it is a fun diversion that’s most entertaining to watch, although it hasn’t exactly found a consistent audience.
ESPN hoped that would change when the sports network bought a huge stake in the league, so much a stake that now it’s called “ESPN Russell Athletic AFL.”
Furthermore, Ron Jaworski, the new Monday Night Football (also an ESPN commodity) commentator is co-owner of my Philadelphia Soul.
There has been plenty of talk about how this merger means that there will be NO critiquing of the way the AFL is run on the biggest sports network in the US. ESPN already softballs the NBA to a small degree and the NFL to a huge degree because of its relationship and its parent’s (ABC’s) relationship with those leagues.
So it was nice to see Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon of Pardon the Interruption (an ESPN talk show) calling the recent AFL fan interference for what it was: blatant tolerance, if not outright sanction, of fan assholery in order to drum up buzz.
The long and the short of it is that some jackass in the stands pulled a Jeffrey Maier on a touchdown play, then fell onto the field, grabbed the ball, grandstanded for a bit, then climbed back over the wall and took his seat, where he remained for the rest of the game.
He wasn’t thrown out.
He wasn’t even touched.
There was a camera focused on that guy from the beginning of the play until he returned to his seat, and the camera kept flashing back to him.
If I recall correctly, Korheiser called it for waht it was- fraud on ESPN’s part.
I like Arena Football. It’s a fun diversion. But this kind of crap cheapens a league whose credibility isn’t the greatest to begin with.
Good on Mike and Tony for bucking their employers and calling it like they saw it. Which is, to my mind, how it was.
