Is the AAF the future of Football?(Luke)
As the NFL season ends Millions of football fans are left in a state of depression. No more touchdowns or big hits, no more tailgates or rivalries. No more football for nearly six months. That was until out of the blue, raining down from the heavens came the AAF, the future of American football. Boasting new camera angles, new players, and best of all huge hits.They have caught the eye of football fans all across the country. In their debut alone they had over 2.9 million views which exceeded the 2.5 million viewers that watch the huge NBA rivalry game, OKC Thunder vs the Houston Rockets. Fans just love the thought of football after January. Because of this many other organizations will try to copy this idea, but here’s why the AAF will succeed over them.
The AAF, or The Alliance Of American Football is a 8 man league with teams all over the country. Its rosters is made up of some college stars like Trent Richardson, but also made of everyday people. For example the story of Luis Perez, a quarterback for the Birmingham Iron, who went from almost becoming a professional bowler, to teaching himself to throw a football on Youtube and finally becoming a QB in this league. It’s amazing comeback stories like this that you just don’t find in the NFL, and it’s why I love this league so much. It acts as a second chance to players who maybe we’re not good enough to play in the national football league. It allows players who still want to play the ability to play, and even if they aren’t getting paid millions they still get to play the sport they love. Now they have even begun to attempt to pull in big time names like former quarterbacks like Colin Kaepernick and Johnny Manziel! They have begun to make a name for themselves and draw attention on the national level.But the main reason the AAF will last is due to timing. During this time there is really no big sporting events. Baseball hasn’t started. Basketball is in full swing and it doesn’t interfere with the playoffs. For many sports fans it is the most interesting thing on. It allows the sport we all love so much to continue on and it allows for us to cheer on a new team and new players. Also they acted on this idea quickly. The XFL, which is coming out in 2020 will be its main competition, but since they are already late to the party it will struggle in the cut throat industry of entertainment.
Another the reason the AAF is doing so well is rule changes.They are trying to make the game safer while also keeping the spirit of football alive. Last year in the NFL fans were furious over referees. They made calls when people barely even tapped the quarterback. This is when the AAF decided to let qb hits go uncalled. This drew major attention in week one when a quarterback got drilled. Huge hit, everyone loved it! At the same time they are also trying to make the game safer, by taking out kickoffs they have found a new way to make things safe. Instead they just start on the 25 yard line, and this will decrease the number of injuries. Also teams are now forced to go for 2. Not only is this safer but it makes the game a lot more interesting since NFL kickers don’t normally miss the PAT.Another rule change that’s interesting is the onside kick. Instead of a dangerous play where players can get blindsided or “lit up”. The team will get the ball on their 20 and its a 4 and 12. If they convert for the first down they keep the ball, if not the other team will get in already in their red-zone. It’s a very risky play but then again, so is an onside kick. This attempt to make the game changing is truly astonishing and I wouldn’t be surprised if other league begin to use some of these ideas too.
One more cool thing the the AAF is doing is paychecks. Instead of allowing teams to pick salaries, and draft players and trade, the players try out for a team they would like to play for. This gets rid of some of the big name drama that you see in the NFL, for example Le’veon Bell. He chose to sit out this year because he felt that he wasn’t getting paid enough. This lost the Steelers millions of dollars in revenue and caused the steelers to have a bad year, which in turn brought NFL ratings down during games they played in. In the AAF every player gets the same base salary. They get paid 250k for 3 years, but here’s the thing that makes this interesting. They can actually receive bonus money for how well they play. They get paid thousands of extra dollars for wins, and tackles, and touchdowns scored. This adds excitement to every game and make players play hard, even when they are losing by a lot!
The true test for the AAF is to see if eventually they could beat out the national powerhouse of the NFL. The one thing the AAF lacks right now is big time athletes and drafting from the college teams, and this is why they can never beat the out. But these new ideas are genius and are changing the game of football for the better. They have brought new energy and have redesigned the way we know the game. And fans have loved it based on ratings! They have also made the sport a lot safer for the players and this will show in the amount of injuries this year. They have given a second chance to all the players in the league and have begun to draw in huge names like Johnny Manziel. They have all the necessary components for a successful league and they will last! So if you are a huge football fan like me I suggest you turn to CBS sometime and watch a game. The AAF is the future of football.
