Does the avg fan care

[Alhammer]

I wonder if the average fan thinks about the league their team is in. Does it mean anything to be in a certain league.

It's funny, but so many of the indoor leagues do not seem to get how damaging it is to let teams in that clearly have no chance to sustain themselves.

Its almost as surprising as how many of the arenas let the teams play there with no checks into what it does to their reputation when some of these guys start a new team every year.

[DFWCC]

Well Yeah. You betcha, it sure does make a difference. Let me ask
would you rather be in the AIF or the PIFL?
I think if you rate the IFL as a 10 the CIFL & PIFL come in at about 9.5+.
They're that close.
LSFL about a 7.
The AIF & UIFL comes in around 3 or less.

[Minor League Man]

[quote=""DFWCC""]Well Yeah. You betcha, it sure does make a difference. Let me ask
would you rather be in the AIF or the PIFL?
I think if you rate the IFL as a 10 the CIFL & PIFL come in at about 9.5+.
They're that close.
LSFL about a 7.
The AIF & UIFL comes in around 3 or less.[/quote]
Where would the CPIFL rank?

[indooreast]

I would not value the IFL at a 10 and above the PIFL, and this is coming from a Steelhawks fan who has been in both leagues. The IFL in their heyday at 22 teams...in those years since how many have they lost via folding or jumping leagues? They were guilty of letting many under financed teams come in and play for the sake of it. I think the PIFL owners have it down better then any of these leagues around with smart, safe expansion. Shoot, I talk w the steelhawks GM all the time. He even worked at the IFL league office and left the IFL for the PIFL. That is saying a lot I think. I think it goes 1. PIFL 2. IFL 3. CPIFL 4. CIFL That's my opinion

[tops804]

It may also depend on the market size, or location of a particular franchise verses the geographic footprint of the other teams.

As a Clevelander, I doubt if I would follow a team outside of the AFL, CIFL(really), or AIF. I like the IFL, but don't see much reason for a local franchise, as most teams are too far west.

Also, if I see drama unfolding (like the future XIFL, or past UIFL) I have no interest. I'd rather see box scores then no-shows, mid-season folds, and bickering among league brass and/or team ownerships.

[Pounder]

[quote=""DFWCC""]Well Yeah. You betcha, it sure does make a difference. Let me ask
would you rather be in the AIF or the PIFL?
I think if you rate the IFL as a 10 the CIFL & PIFL come in at about 9.5+.
They're that close.
LSFL about a 7.
The AIF & UIFL comes in around 3 or less.[/quote]

But are you the average fan?

I look at this from the standpoint of probably half the crowd that opts for this over a movie... or do you think the crowd is 100% football frenzy folk? That probably varies from city to city.

[exit322]

[quote=""Alhammer""]I wonder if the average fan thinks about the league their team is in. Does it mean anything to be in a certain league.

It's funny, but so many of the indoor leagues do not seem to get how damaging it is to let teams in that clearly have no chance to sustain themselves.

Its almost as surprising as how many of the arenas let the teams play there with no checks into what it does to their reputation when some of these guys start a new team every year.[/quote]

If the HOME GAMES for a team are reasonably competitive on a week-to-week basis, it does not matter what league the team is in. It matters much less how competitive road games are for a team.

[VinnyTheViper]

To answer the question as it was asked, I think the average fan by and large, has no clue what league their local team plays in, they are more concerned about whether their local is playing competitive football, are they worth the price of admission? As to the point about leagues letting any snake in to the league that has $50,000 in his pocket, this will matter to the average fan only when the fan is asked to endure a travel team because one of the fly-by-night teams is now defunct, the easist way to turn any fan off is to serve them up a 96-7 game, why would any fan even remotely want to come back again after witnessing a product that was obviously fradulent? I have never understood how the owners of the AIF and the UIFL seemingly use this practice continually as if it were standard operationg procedure.

To the knowledgable fan, you bet the league makes a difference, it is all about brand name, that goes for both the league and the individual teams, would you as a fan rather have a Yugo or a Cadillac? In this regard, the PIFL has done a fantastic job in developing brand name. Two short years ago, people were saying the PIFL was just going to be another one of those ABC leagues, particularly after rising out of ashes of the SIFL. Now, just two seasons latter, people are commonly acknowledging that the PIFL is one of the best, if not, the best league out there. The strength of the individual teams and the strength of the league help one another, they are intertwined. The better the brand name projected by the league and its member teams, the better the chance will be for a trickle down effect where that average fan might take notice of what league their team is playing in.

League rankings:

AFL - 10.0 This league has done everything in it power to implode but it is still the largest and most prestigous league out there based upon reputation, however, it is just a glorified version of the af2.

PIFL - 9.0 Up and comer, nipping at the heels of the AFL, puts a quality product on the field at a fraction of the cost of the AFL. Regional geographic integrity is one of its strengths, rock solid franchises. If problems have arisen, the league stepped in to make sure the quality of play on the field did not suffer (Louisiana).

IFL - 7.0 Footprint of this league is certainly not what it used to be, in fact, its current geographic footprint is a mess, teams are too spread out.

CPIFL - 5.0 Not bad for a first year league

CIFL - 5.0 Good regional mix but the league has had issues with some of its franchises not finishing seasons.

LSFL - 3.0 League has had it problems, at one time was supposed to be sister league to PIFL, PIFL has left the LSFL in the dust, Chad Dittman was a huge black mark against this league that it may never recover from.

UIFL - 2.0 League is a joke, a travel brochure league where the fan needs to consult their local travel agency to find out which travel team is showing up in a given week, can be summed up in two words, Andrew Haines.

AIF - 2.0 League is a joke, just another travel brochure league that can be summed in two words, John Morris.

[exit322]

[quote=""VinnyTheViper""]To answer the question as it was asked, I think the average fan by and large, has no clue what league their local team plays in, they are more concerned about whether their local is playing competitive football, are they worth the price of admission? As to the point about leagues letting any snake in to the league that has $50,000 in his pocket, this will matter to the average fan only when the fan is asked to endure a travel team because one of the fly-by-night teams is now defunct, the easist way to turn any fan off is to serve them up a 96-7 game, why would any fan even remotely want to come back again after witnessing a product that was obviously fradulent? I have never understood how the owners of the AIF and the UIFL seemingly use this practice continually as if it were standard operationg procedure.

To the knowledgable fan, you bet the league makes a difference, it is all about brand name, that goes for both the league and the individual teams, would you as a fan rather have a Yugo or a Cadillac? In this regard, the PIFL has done a fantastic job in developing brand name. Two short years ago, people were saying the PIFL was just going to be another one of those ABC leagues, particularly after rising out of ashes of the SIFL. Now, just two seasons latter, people are commonly acknowledging that the PIFL is one of the best, if not, the best league out there. The strength of the individual teams and the strength of the league help one another, they are intertwined. The better the brand name projected by the league and its member teams, the better the chance will be for a trickle down effect where that average fan might take notice of what league their team is playing in.

League rankings:

AFL - 10.0 This league has done everything in it power to implode but it is still the largest and most pretigous league out there based upon reputation, however, it is just a glorified version of the af2.

PIFL - 9.0 Up and comer, nipping at the heels of the AFL, puts a quality product on the field at a fraction of the cost of the AFL. Regional geographic integrity is one of its strengths, rock solid franchises. If problems have arisen, the league stepped in to make sure the quality of play on the field did not suffer (Louisiana).

IFL - 7.0 Footprint of this league is certainly not what it used to be, in fact, its current geographic footprint is a mess, teams are too spread out.

CPIFL - 5.0 Not bad for a first year league

CIFL - 5.0 Good regional mix but the league has had issues with some of its franchises not finishing seasons.

LSFL - 3.0 League has had it problems, at one time was supposed to be sister league to PIFL, PIFL has left the LSFL in the dust, Chad Dittman was a huge black mark against this league that it may never recover from.

UIFL - 2.0 League is a joke, a travel brochure league where the fan needs to consult their local travel agency to find out which travel team is showing up in a given week, can be summed up in two words, Andrew Haines.

AIF - 2.0 League is a joke, just another travel brochure league that can be summed in two words, John Morris.[/quote]

Given the proximity of cities in the two leagues' regions, it would not be completely unfair to insinuate the PIFL is more spread out than the IFL.

[LewInDenver]

9.0... I dont think so. If based off of last season, the PIFL lost 29% of it's membership in the off-season. I know Knoxville hasnt folded yet but you have hinted that it's more then likely and Louisiana. Thats 1 more then the LSFL which you rate as a 3. The IFL returns ALL the teams that played last season. I would rate them and the IFL as both a solid 7 each. You cant put them 1 point below the AFL just because of the market size and value of the franchises are not apples to apples, and to the point of this thread, 90% of the fans that attend the AFL have no idea what the af2 was or care. They have 1, soon to be 2 National TV deals, that alone values more then 1 point. I know this is the PIFL thread but seriously it's not 2 better then the IFL and only 1 less then the AFL. KISS alone is worth a 7 by itself for national attention. Competition wise it's a dead heat. I agree the average fan doesnt know the difference or probably doesnt even know about the other leagues throughout the country, good or bad. Just MHO.