Alternative Leagues: This Time We'll Get It Right!

[Red Comet]

 

 

9 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

You are right that my beloved CityHawks were ill-suited for the Arena League. But please be aware that the league did not seek MSG out; it was the MSG people who approached the league.

 

The AFL intended to have one team in the New York area: the New Jersey Red Dogs. But, seeing this, MSG ownership asked for their own team; and the league, likely blown away by having such big-time ownership on board, granted this organisation a team. The problem is that this came only a few months before the team was to take the field; by contrast, the Red Dogs had more than a year of preparation time.

 

Notwithstanding the relatively high costs of playing at the Garden, the CityHawks might have had a fighting chance if MSG had remembered to do any promotion. The biggest challenge that the CityHawks faced was that all of MSG's promotion attention went to the Liberty, who debuted in the same year of 1997.

 

Also, let us realise that, at the time, the idea that the Arena Football League could become the fifth major sports league (a position that MLS has since earned) did not seem completely out of the question.

 

The AFL had brand equity in certain cities; the Orlando Predators and the Tampa Bay Storm received hometown coverage befitting a major league outfit, as did the Iowa Barnstormers and the Albany Firebirds. The league also had identifiable superstars, such as Jay Gruden, George LaFrance, Kurt Warner, Eddie Brown, and, the king of them all, Barry Wagner (the Babe Ruth of Arena Football). It had star coaches, such as Tim Marcum and Danny White; and big-time owners such as Jerry Colangelo and the Garden people. This continued into the NBC years, as the league attracted John Elway, Tom Benson, and Ron Jaworski (Jaws is still there).

 

The Arena League had many games at which the attendance exceeded 20,000; and the Arena Bowl matchup between Tampa Bay and Orlando was played before a crowd approaching 30,000. One time in the late 90s, the Milwaukee Mustangs outdrew the Milwaukee Brewers on a day when both were playing at home at the same time.

 

So it seemed entirely plausible that the Arena Football League was poised to take a step up in stature, and become recognised as one of the major leagues in American sports.

 

But NBC was not satisfied with the results of its partnership with the league; it evidently expected NFL-level viewership numbers, which was entirely unrealistic. Also, in partnering with NBC, the league moved its season up earlier in the year. Worse, it altered the fundamental structure of its game, getting rid of iron man football. No doubt this latter decision alienated many of the league's fans, who responded by dropping it. After a few years, NBC did likewise.

 

And thus closed the window for the Arena Football League to elevate itself to the stature of fifth major league.

 

A couple of years later, the league folded as s means of fending off a players' union that was getting more active in seeking a fairer distribution of revenue. After one season of inactivity, new single-entity organisation emerged and purchased the league's assets and declared itself to be the continuation of the original league. But the vastly lower pay structure led to a decline in the level of play, which, in turn, killed off fan interest.

 

The league has since suffered embarrassingly ill-prepared owners (Vince Neil), teams folding midseason, and a reduction to as few as four teams. Some AFL teams bolted for other leagues, including the historic Arizona Rattlers and the powerhouse Jacksonville Sharks. What is striking to realise is that the AFL is not only no longer any threat to become the fifth major league, but it is not even necessarily the top league in indoor/arena football.

 

 

 

When C David Baker bailed, I knew something was up. Turns out that the league was ran like a borderline Ponzi scheme relying on new expansion teams to stay afloat while never being profitable. 

 

I'm getting the feeling that the fifth major league might be headed for something similar because the rate of expansion in MLS is too high to the ratio of any supposed profit. Like the Arena League, MLS does have a lot of brand equity in places like the Pacific Northwest markets, Kansas City and Los Angeles (at least the Galaxy). Outside of those markets? Either too soon to really call or its half-empty. That and the insistence on building soccer-specific stadiums before getting a team along with the aforementioned expansion rate is giving me the vibe that the taxpayers are going to be left holding the bag again when that house of cards finally collapses.

 

Buckle up, buckaroos.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

22 hours ago, Red Comet said:

I'm getting the feeling that the fifth major league might be headed for something similar because the rate of expansion in MLS is too high to the ratio of any supposed profit.

 

I wouldn't worry about that. MLS is actually expanding at a modest rate; the league is turning away expansion bids, adding only the teams with the strongest ownership groups and the most engaged fanbases. 

 

 

22 hours ago, Red Comet said:

MLS does have a lot of brand equity in places like the Pacific Northwest markets, Kansas City and Los Angeles (at least the Galaxy). Outside of those markets? Either too soon to really call or its half-empty.

 

Have you not noticed the amazing crowds in Atlanta, which is in its third year?  The newest team in Cincinnati is drawing great, as well.  It is also the darling of local media, having been accepted as a major league outfit by newspapers and television. Even the Reds have acknowledged that they now for the first time have competition for fans. 

 

And in Los Angeles, LAFC's attendance into its second season has been just as good as the Galaxy's.  This league is scoring regularly with its selection of new teams; and there is every reason to expect that Nashville will continue this trend next year.

 

 

22 hours ago, Red Comet said:

That and the insistence on building soccer-specific stadiums before getting a team along with the aforementioned expansion rate is giving me the vibe that the taxpayers are going to be left holding the bag again when that house of cards finally collapses.

 

Don't forget that the soccer-specific stadium thing is a preference, not a requirement. NYCFC have no concrete plans for a stadium. While this annoys some fans, the fact is that playing at such a historic location as Yankee Stadium (even if it's not the real one) and at a park that is so easily accessible by transit have been large positives for the team, whose attendance has been superb since its debut.

 

And the Seattle Sounders, the league's attendance champ until Atlanta came along, are getting it done in an NFL stadium. So the league wisely takes this on a case-by-case basis.

 

Furthermore, we see that "soccer-specific stadium" does not mean "soccer-exclusive stadium", as the Galaxy's park hosts the NFL's Chargers and Toronto FC's park hosts the CFL's Argonauts. So these new stadiums are likely to be community assets for a long time.

 

MLS does not resemble a house of cards, as the Arena League did. It vets its ownership groups well; and it has the unique soccer advantage of being able to see these groups in action in lower leagues. Thus several of the new teams have come into MLS with existing fanbases, and having already surpassed the hurdle of getting covered by local media. These teams also have typically had no trouble attracting local sponsorship.

 

The values of MLS teams (that is to say: the values of investor-operator shares of MLS) are skyrocketing, with the most valuable MLS teams having already surpassed the least valuable NHL teams. And the league is steadily rising amongst world football leagues in terms of overall profitability.

 

MLS has some labour trouble on the horizon; but its financials are sound. It is in a state of health that the Arena Football League never even sniffed. It is here to stay.

 

[Gothamite]

21 hours ago, Red Comet said:

I'm getting the feeling that the fifth major league might be headed for something similar because the rate of expansion in MLS is too high to the ratio of any supposed profit.

 

MLS would be plenty profitable if it chose, but they are instead plowing their earnings back into infrastructure at a clip not seen in any other sport.  MLS clubs are building stadiums, training facilities, scouting networks, youth academies, and everything else the sport demands.  They’re actively working to make up the decades’ worth of head start leagues have around the globe.

 

So don’t mistake “not profitable” for “not making enough money.”  The owners are foregoing short-term profits to invest heavily in the future of their businesses.  That is a sign of strength, not weakness.

[The_Admiral]

Investing in the product, what a concept, wish old NHL teams had thought about that instead of seeing themselves as an event date for when the Ice Capades weren't in town yet.

 

Speaking of the north, the best hope for alt-football at this point would have to be expanding the CFL into the Maritimes and a couple of cities near the border (think Rochester and maybe the Detroit burbs). I think the reliable old Birmingham-Memphis-Orlando circuit has to be deader than dead by now.

[Scrumptious Ham]

I love football. My favorite sport by a mile. Come February, I'm burnt. I need a break. Time to focus on NHL and NBA conclusions. The start of baseball is fun. Come June, sports are boring until the fall. The is nothing but dead zone baseball. I hunger for football again. 

 

You have to start these leagues closer to summer. Play inside or night games only to escape the heat. IMO, that is the best time. Summer.

[GDAWG]

There is only one alternative league to the NFL, and they play a different version of the game.

 

 

[GDAWG]

I would have also said the Arena League, but it's not a stable league right now. 

[CaliforniaGlowin]

On 4/28/2019 at 11:00 PM, Scrumptious Ham said:

I love football. My favorite sport by a mile. Come February, I'm burnt. I need a break. Time to focus on NHL and NBA conclusions. The start of baseball is fun. Come June, sports are boring until the fall. The is nothing but dead zone baseball. I hunger for football again. 

 

You have to start these leagues closer to summer. Play inside or night games only to escape the heat. IMO, that is the best time. Summer.

Seems like that's the consensus.  There are really only a few thousand fans who want to watch football all year long.  That's one reason why these minor leagues on TV don't last.

[JayMac]

On 4/29/2019 at 2:00 AM, Scrumptious Ham said:

I love football. My favorite sport by a mile. Come February, I'm burnt. I need a break. Time to focus on NHL and NBA conclusions. The start of baseball is fun. Come June, sports are boring until the fall. The is nothing but dead zone baseball. I hunger for football again. 

 

You have to start these leagues closer to summer. Play inside or night games only to escape the heat. IMO, that is the best time. Summer.

Football is not my favorite sport. It used to be but with all of the head trauma and the rule changes to benefit offenses for fantasy football purposes, my opinion has changed dramatically. However, I still watch mostly every week. Football is a fall/winter sport and I think everyone should need a break from it come spring, even if you don't enjoy other sports.