Over a Cup of Coffee

by Jerry Hewitt
October 16, 2010 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)

Since the original Arena Football League fell into bankruptcy, followed by the folding of its official minor league, arenafootball2, the reemergence of the new AFL has resulted in an uneasy truce with indoor football. The new AFL has been concentrating on large markets while the indoor leagues felt satisfied to continue to develop the more midsize cities. I thought this was working pretty well as for the first time in a long time, the indoor leagues didn't have the AFL/af2 trying to grab up markets and fighting a turf war with them. That uneasy truce may be close to ending.

I have no problem when leagues merge as the end result normally is a stronger and better organization, and I normally have no problem with an indoor team moving to the AFL or vice versa, but when I hear that one indoor league may be trying to sell out to the AFL so they can use it to relaunch af2, I question the wisdom.

I thought the old af2 model was better than anything any indoor league had offered in some ways and still do believe that to a degree, but the fact of the matter was that it was just too expensive. With the money removed from the model that went for patent rights to the AFL, maybe a new af2 will be less costly than the previous version, but I still suspect teams might find it more expensive than any of the current leagues, including the IFL.

If what I hear is true, I have to believe it comes down to two things: ego and money. Some of those involved with the league mentioned thinking they can pound their chest a little harder if they were associated with the AFL. I also believe there is a profit to be made for some in this transaction and I think maybe turning that profit is the biggest motivator.

I try to always look at how something benefits the sport, which means in part, examining if any move makes teams more stable. This doesn't, it will only add big dollars to teams budgets that already struggle to find black ink.

Let's say you are a fan of Team X in this league and already know ownership struggles to keep the team going. How would an increased budget help that cause? I know that some will argue that being a part of the AFL, even at a second tier would improve attendance, but I dare anyone to show me proof of that. Old af2 attendance figures don't present a valid argument. Sorry, but they don't.

And this is ignoring that fact that not all the arenas in any indoor league can support the Arena game's net system. If this deal goes through, some teams are once again simply going to be tossed aside, much as they were when af2 gained control of the original Indoor Football League in 2000. I can't help but think back to the original Indoor Football League which was purchased by the AFL's Orlando Predators. Their first step was to pick and choose what teams they wanted in the af2 and just dump the majority. It was some of those markets such as Billings, Sioux Falls, and Sioux City that were cast aside that gave the new NIFL a strong start. I believe the motivation for the AFL at that time was to kill off the indoor version, a move that back fired and ended up giving indoor an even stronger position in the scheme of things.

If the AFL is out to grab up some indoor league, or perhaps a combination of leagues, to once again try to gain a foothold in midsized markets I see this only as an ego trip by the AFL leadership and another avenue to pad their pockets. The other side of this ego trip is feeling that Arenaball should be the only version of the 50 yard type. That in my opinion, has long been the misguided thinking of those at the top of the Arena sport.

I am hoping that what I heard is just a wild rumor and that if the AFL is bound and determined to reinvent the af2 they do it the old fashioned way: build it and not at the expense of tearing down any current indoor leagues.

"The vision we had at the beginning, what drew me to be involved and build it, is not the direction it is heading. It was time to go," said Robert Winfrey, former SIFL Director of Operations, on why he stepped down from the league.

Most will be sorry that Robert has left the SIFL as he was one of the good guys, one of those that truly cared about the sport and tried to make a difference. We will miss you, Robert!

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American Indoor Football Association Stories from October 16, 2010

• Over a Cup of Coffee - OSC Original by Jerry Hewitt

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