The AIF has ceased to be, it is pining for the fjords...

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robster2001
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The AIF has ceased to be, it is pining for the fjords...

Post by robster2001 » Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:28 pm

http://www.aifprofootball.com/news-h/12 ... tions.html

Morris has pulled the plug, likely because nobody wanted to play in his league anymore.

Teams are expected to join either the ADL or SIFL, according to the Burlington Press at http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/stor ... /87273062/

Minor League Mania
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Post by Minor League Mania » Tue Jul 19, 2016 2:44 pm

[quote=""robster2001""]Teams are expected to join either the ADL or SIFL[/quote]

Does the SIFL still exist?

Looks like the ADL will get to handpick whatever teams they like.

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Post by suge night » Tue Jul 19, 2016 8:59 pm

Supreme Indoor Football League, ML Mania. As for hand picking it looks like it will be a southeast league the bulk of the AIF teams were in that area but its not that many teams either.

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Post by Minor League Mania » Wed Jul 20, 2016 12:09 pm

Man, this is getting hard to keep up with. I think the ADL will be a solid league but the others will be a couple steps behind them.

I have noticed recently that many teams are playing with the smaller fields in Civic Centers and not real arenas. Not that there can be a place for this, but seems to me like the leagues need to keep these two setups separate.

Does not make sense to go to one home filed and have a 25 yard field with full end zones and the go to another and have a 20 yard field with 5 yard end zones.

I felt like the AIF has so many teams in so many different building configurations.

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Post by suge night » Wed Jul 20, 2016 2:46 pm

Great, point ML Mania these knuckle heads have hurt their own opportunity to advance the sport in any manner simply because they appear to be completely unaware :confused: of how to, adjusting these leagues into levels is needed they are already operating as Rookie, A, AA, AAA and just for argument reasons the Arena league could be considered the major of the sport just from the players aspect of something bigger to shoot for.

But nooo they all think we are the best the biggest the on and on, and there is no cooperation between the leagues because they spend much of their time down talking the other, when the facts are not one has a hold on the industry as its leader, as a structured concept every level would have a clear understanding of who they are and stay in there lane causing a reason for a cooperative attitude for each as players could move up the fans wouldn't be stuck watching the same team getting old right before them, meaning interest falling off, I was in a meeting with some current NFL players we moved into the topic of indoor/arena football and many of them had never watched a game nor even understood the concept, also a few asked the question of why if the game is good for development why no players make any noise if or when given the opportunity to enter the highest outdoor level. The question spoke loudly of what has went wrong and has continued to be the norm in the sport of arena/indoor football.

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Post by Minor League Mania » Thu Jul 21, 2016 3:38 pm

Looking back at my last post I must have been half asleep when I wrote that thing lol.

I agree that times are different now for indoor football. Back when the AFL was at it highest point it was cool to have those smaller AFL2 teams around in smaller cities. Now I think there are really only maybe 10-20 teams around the country that can really draw well in a full scale arena outside the AFL.

Columbus has ALWAYS been one if not the best team on and off the field. I am confident in their ownership's ability to put together a solid league. Having been to several games over the years, I think less than 50% of the fans can even tell you what league they play in. Especially since they have played in a handful the last decade.

It is all about building a local brand and giving the fans a good experience. Lately I hear of some many people on forums complaining about players fighting each other on the field, and players yelling foul language loudly where the young fans can hear it. It really puts a damper on the what I think the small leagues need to succeed, fan interaction.

I am interested to see what the ADL offers. I do expect 8-10 quality teams with the rest of the former AIF/X-League teams forming a smaller scale league.

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Post by Orders » Tue Aug 02, 2016 2:44 pm

Funny, reading the quotes in the article of the demise, I am sure the AIF left a trail of debt behind it, with bill collectors hot on the trail as with every failed league run by this outift. Did the Columbus Lions ownership group led by Hargrove sell their interest? Hargrove was a class act, and his team deserved better than the annual sh&t show under various names. However, the upstart ADL is probably bound to fail, despite good intentions by good people. You gotta' love the spin put on the final chapter of the (yet again) failed league operated by the Charlatan.

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Post by Minor League Mania » Tue Aug 02, 2016 3:32 pm

I see where you are going assuming that the ADL has some fences to mend.

I do wonder how much outstanding issues there will really be though. The league (AIF) obviously took in money and had things to pay for. Like their website, officials, etc.

A lot of the major costs and contracts are with the team itself though. Contracts with the buildings and players being the two biggest.

Maybe the AIF did leave some trail of debt but that may just mean the ADL uses a different provider for those things. Not like they are legally liable to pay off the AIF's debt.

Should be interesting to see. I still feel that if the Columbus ownership can run things at the same level they ran their own franchise they will be OK. I don't see any issues with the two additional teams announced so far. Anyone else?

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Post by suge night » Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:07 pm

MLM, one of the biggest problems being completely over looked about teams recruited from the AIF. That should already be well known by the ADL is monthly franchise fee payments teams that were in the AIF did no such thing so how does the ADL propose to get them to pay it?

Secondly they paid no worker compensation insurance payments which can reach into the thousands per month, there are a few more I could cover but I think all here get the picture.

This is not as simple as it looks on paper, one final point if the ADL is going to model its game after the Arena game those nets are trademarked and costly so each team would be in much deeper than they have ever operated before, which usually means bleeding red ink. This could go bad quicker than anyone would expect, as for the new teams joining they have no idea the amount of cash lost before the season ends for a first year organization, if just a few of the things mentioned above are covered they will be well into six figures and its only mid season. I know but on paper it looks so easy anyone could do it right :confused:

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Post by Minor League Mania » Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:43 pm

I agree with just about everything you said.

I dont know that the ADL intends to use the rebound nets. I do think we they will focus on actually using "Arenas" and not civic centers, convention halls and everything else that was used in the AIF.

That in itself will eliminate over half of the AIF teams.

Your mention of needed substantial funding to start or carry on with a team is not a negative to me. I think many of the teams in leagues of the past did not have the right financial structure to compete on and off the field.

I personally don't expect to see many new from scratch teams. Maybe a handful over the next season or two. I just expect that the stronger teams located in the Southeast up to the Atlantic coast will join and be fine. Maybe 8 to 10 teams. I did notice they have already added divisions to the website so I would assume 8 to 10 the teams minimum.

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