The N.F.L. is under pressure from falling television ratings, lawsuits over its handling of concussions, and fan opposition to player protests during the national anthem.
Yet investors keep lining up to help start new football leagues. On Tuesday, the longtime N.F.L. executive Bill Polian and the television and movie producer Charlie Ebersol became the latest entrepreneurs to join the fray when they unveiled plans for the Alliance of American Football.
There have been several short-lived football leagues before, including the United Football League, United States Football League and XFL. Like others before them, Polian and Ebersol say they have a formula for success. They have acquired investments from Silicon Valley firms that will allow their eight-team league to start playing a week after the Super Bowl in February 2019. Their partners include CBS, which will show a few games on its main channel and some on its cable network. They will also launch a smartphone app on which fans will be able to stream games and play fantasy football.
The league will also aim for two-and-a-half hour games (N.F.L. games generally last at least three hours). To achieve that, there will be no kickoffs or extra points — only 2-point plays — and a 30-second play clock, as opposed to the N.F.L.’s 45-second clock. There will also be no television timeouts, which will lead to about 60 percent fewer commercials. [Reply]
I saw a YouTube of another league that the NFL needs to mirror. Like the old bonecrusher tournament I play in. Tackle, no pads or helmets.
7 v 7, xps are from different spots on the field. No kicks. Throw offs. It was fun to watch. People would lay wood without using the head. Offensive players can't really use their head either as a weapon for yards.
Originally Posted by Valiant:
I saw a YouTube of another league that the NFL needs to mirror. Like the old bonecrusher tournament I play in. Tackle, no pads or helmets.
7 v 7, xps are from different spots on the field. No kicks. Throw offs. It was fun to watch. People would lay wood without using the head. Offensive players can't really use their head either as a weapon for yards.
Wasn't bad.
I’m a strong believer that helmets and pads are the #1 cause of serious football injuries. [Reply]
Build a league around popular players like Manziel and Tebow who couldn't make the NFL. Put teams in off-NFL markets like Austin, OKC, Portland, Columbus, Des Moines, etc.... Hire innovative offensive/defensive minds. Play real football, but get rid of the excessive flags and let players have personality. And unlike the NFL, make an effort to make the game entertaining. Good music, top shelf liquor, food trucks, on-field entertainment, and tickets affordable to the average fan. Unlike the NFL, let fans stream any game anywhere. Don't compete with the NFL - go after different players, play during the offseason.
A league like this would do really well. Better talent than college FB but played in a more college like atmosphere. [Reply]
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501:
Build a league around popular players like Manziel and Tebow who couldn't make the NFL. Put teams in off-NFL markets like Austin, OKC, Portland, Columbus, Des Moines, etc.... Hire innovative offensive/defensive minds. Play real football, but get rid of the excessive flags and let players have personality. And unlike the NFL, make an effort to make the game entertaining. Good music, top shelf liquor, food trucks, on-field entertainment, and tickets affordable to the average fan. Unlike the NFL, let fans stream any game anywhere. Don't compete with the NFL - go after different players, play during the offseason.
A league like this would do really well. Better talent than college FB but played in a more college like atmosphere.
The XFL sold themselves on gimmicks. This would be real football. It would be college football on steroids, arguably more exciting in some ways than the NFL because the coaches wouldn't be afraid to try out legal exotic offenses & defenses. The XFL had shitty players. Tebow/Manziel on the other hand are 2 great examples of players that would draw tons of fan intrigue. The XFL tried to compete with the NFL. The markets I proposed don't have an NFL team and most are nearby a huge college football market. Columbus would get lots of fans if they had a few very popular Buckeyes, Austin with Longhorn alumni, etc.... These are markets that are already getting great attendance from shitty minor league baseball and getting 15-20K per game at 5th rate MLS soccer.
You're not going to sell out this type of football. But that's the wrong mentality. They could easily beat MLS attendance and that's nothing to sneeze at. [Reply]
The game has gone totally beta.. Needs a return to its roots.
Back in the day. We played football with no pads, in 12 inches of snow, going up hill both ways. [Reply]
Interesting market choices. I don't totally understand the strategy behind the West Coast teams vs. the Midwest. The markets should follow college football. Those Western teams will fail miserably. They got the SEC part right. They should have cornered the Big 12/Big 10 market. A team in markets like Oklahoma City, Des Moines, Omaha, and Columbus could absolutely crush it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501:
Interesting market choices. I don't totally understand the strategy behind the West Coast teams vs. the Midwest. The markets should follow college football. Those Western teams will fail miserably. They got the SEC part right. They should have cornered the Big 12/Big 10 market. A team in markets like Oklahoma City, Des Moines, Omaha, and Columbus could absolutely crush it.
Originally Posted by KChiefs1:
I was thinking Omaha or OKC too.
Yup. If this league thinks they're going to win because large cities will draw fans, they're delusional. Nobody in SD will give 2 shits about a B-league team. At least minor league baseball understands nobody cares about the actual baseball.
Now if you put Tebow on a team in Orlando, Johnny Manziel in San Antonio, JT Barrett on a team in Columbus, Tommy Armstrong on a team in Omaha... that's something locals would actually get excited about. [Reply]
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501:
Interesting market choices. I don't totally understand the strategy behind the West Coast teams vs. the Midwest. The markets should follow college football. Those Western teams will fail miserably. They got the SEC part right. They should have cornered the Big 12/Big 10 market. A team in markets like Oklahoma City, Des Moines, Omaha, and Columbus could absolutely crush it.
I sent them an e-mail offering to become their market research firm, but they never responded. I predict failure for them because of that. [Reply]
