What A Super League --- Not!!

[FootballFan9]

I was buying into the AIFA as a premier league. Until this week! Lets look at it:

1) Montgomery Folded (M & M Brothers Team)

2) Erie Folded

3) Johnstown Folded

4) Lakeland Folded

5) Danville Folded

6) Gulf Coast (should be ghost coast) Who knows

7) Florence (was going to fold now league owned)

Baltimore (again league owned) see the trend

So truly there are 10 teams in the AIFA. The M & M brothers talked themselves up so much I was buying into it. Now I see them as the NIFL part 2. How can we consider them a premier league when they are imploding before the season starts?

[exit322]

I will say that right now on the surface, the league telling two problem franchises to fix their issues before playing here (Erie and Johnstown) is a positive statement for the sport.

[FootballFan9]

There are more problems than 2 teams.

[exit322]

Oh, I know. But I say that it is probably not appropriate to include those two in the 'problems' category, as removing two bad ownership groups is not a mistake by the AIFA.

[Fez]

Originally Posted by exit322

I will say that right now on the surface, the league telling two problem franchises to fix their issues before playing here (Erie and Johnstown) is a positive statement for the sport.

I agree. The AIFA is doing the right thing by holding owners to the standards/requrements for franchises. I expect to see the CIFL do this more this year as well.

[exit322]

I don't expect the CIFL to do that, but they need to.

If the AIFA puts new teams in Erie and Johnstown (and now there's a big void up north, so just about everything is fair game), then the "good job, guys" is totally null and void.

[FootballFan9]

Pittsburgh
Canton
Baltimore (league owned)
Reading
Huntington

So those guy will probably join with the West to play Wyoming. That will be a fun trip. Unless Wyoming is going to play with themselves.

[exit322]

if Wyoming gets teams out west like they're supposed to, then they shouldn't need to cross-play.

Bottom line - you're gonna play two teams thrice and two teams four times to make it work. The WIFL did fine at the gates and such, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

[tony-o]

1) Montgomery Folded (M & M Brothers Team)
Only 250 fan/game? The league is better off without them.
2) Erie Folded
That's been rumored for a long time. I've heard the owner was cheap, so another team they are better off without.
3) Johnstown Folded
Not exactly. On hiatus, and they probably won't come back. Another team I didn't heard a lot of good things about.
4) Lakeland Folded
I haven't heard anything about this.
5) Danville Folded
They got kicked out of their arena, and they were far away from the other AIFA teams. Another team the league is better off without(noticing the trend).
6) Gulf Coast (should be ghost coast) Who knows
I doubt they were meant to be long-term.
7) Florence (was going to fold now league owned)
The league will prop them up for a year, and then cut them loose unless they find a new owner. Honestly not a great market, and we probably won't see them next season.
8 ) Baltimore (again league owned) see the trend
They already had a lease agreement with the arena. Why would they just let that go to waste? Plus, if this works out M&M look like geniuses. Since one of those guys is from Baltimore, I doubt they want the market to go to waste.

So, yeah, it's not as bad as you think.

[exit322]

A league-owned team being folded is a problem (Montgomery).

Florence hasn't ever had good enough ownership to know if it's legitimate, and I think they still suffer from whatever that dreck was that was the old Myrtle Beach team.

Danville wasn't a good geographic fit, especially with Springfield leaving.

Though it is a PR hit, Tony's probably right in that this doesn't really hurt the AIFA that bad yet.