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I’m getting really excited about the AAF! I ended up snagging a pair of season tickets to the Orlando Apollo’s for $50 each and then three more single game ticket for $10 each. I’m going to have fun tomorrow night. It’ll be interesting to see how it does.

I was also a season ticket holder for the AAFL which sadly never saw its first game due to the 2008 downturn. I like supporting alternatives to the NFL.

https://aaf.com/orlando-apollos/

https://www.cbssports.com/aaf/news/2019 ... re-season/

The inaugural AAF games are at 8PM EST tonight. Here is the complete regular season schedule:

Week 1
Atlanta at Orlando
Saturday, Feb. 9, 8 p.m., CBS

San Diego at San Antonio
Saturday, Feb. 9, 8 p.m., CBS

Memphis at Birmingham
Sunday, Feb. 10, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Salt Lake at Arizona
Sunday, Feb. 10, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 2
Salt Lake at Birmingham
Saturday, Feb. 16, 2 p.m., TNT

Arizona at Memphis
Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m., NFL Network

Orlando at San Antonio
Sunday, Feb. 17, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Atlanta at San Diego
Sunday, Feb. 17, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 3
Arizona at Salt Lake
Saturday, Feb. 23, 3 p.m., B/R Live (Bleacher Report streaming service)

Memphis at Orlando
Saturday, Feb. 23, 8 p.m., NFL Network

Birmingham at Atlanta
Sunday, Feb. 24, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

San Antonio at San Diego
Sunday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 4
Orlando at Salt Lake
Saturday, March 2, 4 p.m., B/R Live

San Diego at Memphis
Saturday, March 2, 8 p.m., NFL Network

San Antonio at Birmingham
Sunday, March 3, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Atlanta at Arizona
Sunday, March 3, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 5
Orlando at Birmingham
Saturday, March 9, 2 p.m., B/R Live

Salt Lake at San Diego
Saturday, March 9, 8 p.m., NFL Network

Memphis at Atlanta
Sunday, March 10, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

San Antonio at Arizona
Sunday, March 10, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 6
Memphis at Salt Lake
Saturday, March 16, 4 p.m., B/R Live

Arizona at Orlando
Saturday, March 16, 8 p.m., NFL Network

San Antonio at Atlanta
Sunday, March 17, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Birmingham at San Diego
Sunday, March 17, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 7
Orlando at Atlanta
Saturday, March 23, 3 p.m., B/R Live

Salt Lake at San Antonio
Saturday, March 23, 8 p.m., NFL Network

San Diego at Arizona
Sunday, March 24, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Birmingham at Memphis
Sunday, March 24, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 8
Orlando at Memphis
Saturday, March 30, 2 p.m., B/R Live

San Diego at Salt Lake
Saturday, March 30, 8 p.m., NFL Network

Atlanta at Birmingham
Sunday, March 31, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Arizona at San Antonio
Sunday, March 31, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 9
Memphis at San Antonio
Saturday, April 6, 4 p.m., B/R Live

San Diego at Orlando
Saturday, April 6, 8 p.m., NFL Network

Salt Lake at Atlanta
Sunday, April 7, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Birmingham at Arizona
Sunday, April 7, 8 p.m., NFL Network


Week 10
San Antonio at Salt Lake
Friday, April 12, 8 p.m., B/R Live

Atlanta at Memphis
Saturday, April 13, 8 p.m., NFL Network

Birmingham at Orlando
Sunday, April 14, 3:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Arizona at San Diego
Sunday, April 14, 8 p.m., NFL Network

Which AAF team will win the first championship?
https://www.cbssports.com/aaf/news/aaf- ... -football/

AAF league management: Charlie Ebersol, Bill Polian, J.K. McKay, Hines Ward
Team - Coach, General Manager
Arizona Hotshots - Rick Neuheisel, Phil Savage
Orlando Apollos - Steve Spurrier, Tim Ruskell
San Antonio Commanders - Mike Riley, Moose Johnston
Salt Lake Stallions - Dennis Erickson, Randy Mueller
Atlanta Legends - Kevin Coyle, Bill Devaney
Birmingham Iron - Tim Lewis, Joe Pendry
San Diego Fleet - Mike Martz, David Boller
Memphis Express - Mike Singletary, Will Lewis

Here's a quick FAQ:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2590 ... all-season
https://www.cbssports.com/aaf/news/aaf- ... ll-league/

That was a blast! It was very exciting, especially since we won. The rule differences versus both college and NFL all felt pretty good. The game pace was really good.

I’m rooting for my home city to do well. Also, seeing Astronaut Walter Cunningham of Apollo 7 was pretty amazing.

It's always more fun when your team is winning. I would argue that Steve Spurrier makes entertaining football games, too.

It looked rather wet towards the end of the game. A Floridian probably knew to bring a poncho.

It never got heavier than a drizzle, so I was fine in my hoodie. A Floridian isn’t scare of getting a little wet.

AAF opening week attendance:
San Antonio Commanders attendance: 27,857. Alamodome capacity: 64,000
Orlando Apollos attendance: 20,191. Spectrum Stadium capacity: 44,206
Birmingham Iron attendance: 17,039. Legion Field capacity: 71,594. (New field under construction for 2021.)
Arizona Hotshots attendance: between 10,000 and 15,000. Sun Devil Stadium capacity: 53,599
Atlanta Legends - Georgia State Stadium capacity: 24,333
Salt Lake Stallions - Rice-Eccles Stadium capacity: 45,807
Memphis Express - Liberty Bowl capacity: 58,325
San Diego Fleet - SDCCU Stadium capacity: 70,561
The Fleet's official twitter account: "Fun fact, the LA Chargers’ stadium has a maximum capacity of 27,000." That's smaller than 107 NCAA college football teams' stadiums. The LA Chargers had a great NFL team in 2018 but had an average home attendance of only 25,406.

The UCF stadium felt tiny at only 45k capacity. It was about half-full. I don’t know how much of that was the threat of rain keeping people away.

20k is pretty good attendance for this level. The alliance also has revenue from broadcast, streaming and gambling. All eight teams are owned and operated by Legendary Field Exhibitions LLC, so individual teams aren't depending on just their home ticket sales to keep that team afloat. I hope that they succeed, especially with the revived XFL set to challenge them next year.

https://www.cbssports.com/aaf/news/aaf- ... landscape/

Ben Kercheval wrote:

Each player is on a three-year, non-guaranteed $250,000 contract. However, there are still two ways AAF players can earn bonuses: team-based, performance incentives and individual, fan engagement incentives. The team bonuses are achieved whenever one side of the ball does something significant, like score touchdowns. If, say, the Orlando Apollos have the highest scoring offense in the alliance, every offensive player gets an equal amount of "coins." Similarly, if San Antonio's defense leads the league in scoring defense, the defense gets a bonus. On an individual level, players can earn bonuses through their work in their local communities and social media outreach for good causes because that builds the goodwill between teams and fanbases.

"If you're a person that really gives back to your local community, and goes above and beyond, you're gonna earn more in the way of bonuses," Polian said. "If you happen to play on a team that has a great defense, because it's a team game, you'll earn money there. Whether you're the marquee corner or the backup nose tackle, everybody will get the same, so you're incentivized to play great as a team, not as an individual."

https://www.cbssports.com/aaf/news/aaf- ... ch-online/
Ben Kercheval has picked the under for all four games this weekend. With new offenses still getting themselves sorted out, it may be a few weeks before we see a lot of scoring.

https://www.cbssports.com/aaf/news/aaf- ... arterback/

Ben Kercheval wrote:

The story of Birmingham Iron quarterback Luis Perez is among the most unique examples of determination and perseverance in professional football. Yet, few people know the full scope of it.

Grammar peeve: Something is either unique or it isn't. There are no varying degrees of one-of-a-kind.

Perez' story is still quite amazing. This is the sort of opportunity that the Alliance aims to provide. All of these players are plucky underdogs trying to make it to the big time in the NFL.

Apparently, the brand-new alliance had already run out of cash in its second week.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/r ... story.html

JustAnEngineer wrote:

Apparently, the brand-new alliance had already run out of cash in its second week.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/r ... story.html

Well, Dundon has a track record of making money off his teams, so maybe he sees something here

Crash and burn.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/282 ... -0-3-start
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/one- ... -pick-was/

Meanwhile, a five-time loser is favored to get another chance.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/282 ... es-release
That is a huge mistake for the AAF. They need to keep playing up the story of the plucky underdogs trying to get a shot at the big time.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

Apparently, the brand-new alliance had already run out of cash in its second week.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/r ... story.html

Just to clarify on this. From everything I've heard, they switched to a new payroll provider who flubbed the first week of paychecks. At the same time, Dundon decided to invest in the business for future profit potential. While they happend at the same time, the 2 activities were independent.

Turner will show this Saturday's afternoon game between the top two teams in the eastern conference (Apollos at Iron) on their TNT cable network instead of their B/R Live subscription streaming service.

Four weeks into the ten week schedule, the Orlando Apollos are the only undefeated team remaining in the league. Mostly, this is because they've gotten more consistent play from their quarterback and leading receiver than the other AAF teams. It's also because Steve Spurrier seems much more willing to change up his offensive play calling when something isn't working. For the most part, those halftime adjustments have worked. Sure, you'd think that the "Sun & Gun" offense is all about slinging the ball deep downfield or tricky halfback passes, but Spurrier has also shown that he's willing to have his quarterback run the option to pick up first downs or switch to a power running game to chew up the 4th quarter clock to seal a victory.

Each team will play the other three teams in its division twice and the four teams in the opposite division once in the regular season. At the end of the season, the top two teams in each conference will have a playoff game, then the winners of the first round will play for the league championship in Las Vegas.

The ole head ball coach has still got it. At times (e.g.: the opening drive from the second play onward) during yesterday's game between the top two teams in the AAF, the Orlando Apollos offense made it look all too easy to carve up the league's best defense. Tim Lewis' Birmingham Iron team plays more varied looks on defense than most of the league's teams do, but Steve Spurrier's team exploited holes in the zone and loose coverage to move the ball down the field with short to intermediate passes. It also seems that (excepting the first play), the Apollos receivers didn't drop as many balls as most of the AAF's teams do.

As a UF alumnus, I am entertained to see how passionate the 73-year-old Spurrier is about the game of football. Whether it's crafty offensive play selection during the game, an effective job of coaching up the players during the week or just the luck of having key players with superior talent, things continue to roll the Apollos' way halfway through the first season of the Alliance. I'd like to see them take fewer penalties than they have, but they do seem to be a step ahead of the other seven AAF teams so far.
https://aaf.com/league/stats

Interesting development: http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news ... xifl67rhf2

Hope they strike the deal sooner than later

https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/201 ... 554225439/




At least it lasted longer than the AAFL that I bought season for right before the 2008 economic burp.

Bummer. You're going to miss out on the last two regular season home games and the eastern division playoff that would have been held at Spectrum Stadium. Minor-league and semi-pro sports venues are always coming up with innovative promotions, but the juxtaposition of the Apollos' planned promotions for the final two games ("Pride Night" and "Faith & Football") had me scratching my head just a bit.

*shrug* it didn’t bother me. Orlando is pretty big on having pride night after the Pulse shoring last year. I’m just happy they were having the Faith night also. Reaching out to multiple demographics isn’t a bad thing. Is rather them do that than neither.

https://www.cbssports.com/aaf/news/aaf- ... abilities/
Chapter 7 liquidation.

https://www.cbssports.com/aaf/news/aaf- ... ly-misled/

Charile Ebersol wrote:

We spent less than $30 million getting to kickoff. We didn't overspend and run out of money. We were not able to get access to the capital. We weren't going to spend $200 million on Feb. 9 [when the season began]. We were going to spend $200 million over the course of two-and-a-half years. What happened was -- really in the weeks leading up to the first game -- we started getting nervous about issues that were popping up with access to the capital. There were draw-down issues, a variety of different things that started happening that were preventing us from getting access to the capital. The money was on an as-needed basis so we could draw down. When that started happening we weren't in immediate trouble, but we knew we were going to have to find another protective source.

Our business plan called for an investment of $200 million over three years to establish enterprise value at which point there were a couple of exit scenarios where investors would get their money back. That $200 million initially came from our initial investors and primary investor. And then Tom replaced that investor and bought a majority of the company, took over the board, and took over the liabilities of the company as the majority owner of the company. So he became the control owner at which point in time he made decisions about how the company was financed moving forward. Our original business plan of $200 million to be investment in the cost of running a business for three years. My business model was single-entity football league where all the operations saved the league long enough to establish its partnerships. And then there were a bunch of exit scenarios that could occur at that point in time.

Our expenses fell almost exactly in line, within a couple of million dollars, of our original business plan. We had no real surprises in expenses. Our surprise was in financing. Which, again, I cannot emphasize this enough: We had signed contracts -- not just investors, but with banks, that were vetted by multiple parties. We had legally tendered documents to give us access to capital. That's the whole purpose of having contracts, vetting them and running them through banks.

That paints Tom Dundon in a very bad light; the main reason it failed. Good information overall though.

Usacomp2k3 wrote:

That paints Tom Dundon in a very bad light; the main reason it failed. Good information overall though.

Roger Goodell goes to the owners and says "for $5 million a team, we can shut the AAF down. It's not turning out, it's just a pain in our arse". Owner's are annoyed Goodell called them to discuss a matter about such a small amount of $, but agree anyway. Goodell calls Dundon. "What to make a quick $50M? Go Chap 7, I'll give you your $70M buy-in, plus $50M for your trouble. It'll be 10 years before your league make any serious money. Maybe never. Win-win."