Good article by Adam Markowitz
http://www.arenafan.com/news/?page=orig ... ticle=3973
I'm not in San Jose, so maybe this is easy for me to say as a fan of the Arena Football League who lives some 3,000 miles away from the SAP Center. But the news of the exit of John and David Fry from the AFL was not only a necessity, but it was actually a net positive in the long run for those of us who are more fans of the game and the sport of arena football rather than fans of individual teams.
There's no doubt that this flat out sucks for San Jose fans. There's no two ways around that. If the SaberCats find an owner and play next year (something this writer doubts happens but hasn't ruled out as a possibility), they probably won't be any good, and all signs point to their home games being played in Stockton where the ArenaBowl was held, something which many ticket holders will surely view as unsatisfactory. Having been at both Stockton Arena and the SAP Center in the last 10 months, I can safely say that the atmosphere in Stockton isn't anywhere close to what it is in downtown San Jose.
San Jose exit unfortunate, but future plan is coming together for AFL
Thanks for nothing Fry
I've been a SaberCats fan since their inception in 1995 and this really sucks. They've always had good fan support and they just had the best season in AFL history with 20 wins. So Fry closes shop. He's such a jerk! He has a feud with the league's Commissioner and takes it out on the fans, by taking the team away. If he wasn't happy with the AFL he should have moved the team to the IFL where other former AFL teams have gone. But no, Fry shuts it all down. 
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suge night
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Let's say he is a jerk even so its his money that you the fan is upset about him spending, I'm pretty sure at your house you have a cut off point in how much loss you can or will continue to take, its that simple sorry the road to hell is filled with good intention but without that money bucket being passed around how much blessing can you claim to give... 
sorry the road to hell is filled with good intention but without that money bucket being passed around how much blessing can you claim to give... 
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nksports
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[quote=""crixus""]If he wasn't happy with the AFL he should have moved the team to the IFL where other former AFL teams have gone. But no, Fry shuts it all down. [/quote]
Although not mentioned in the reports I've seen in this case, this gets back to an issue indoor football has had in California — workman's comp and other insurance. Other leagues have avoided Cali because workman's comp is extremely expensive in the state.
That may have played into the owner's decision to shut the team down instead of changing leagues. In the last few years, there have been no non-AFL teams in the state, and that has been a stated factor in teams there moving or folding.
The other factor (and I can tell you this as a fact, seeing it happen in our area several times) is, when fans perceive a team jumping from a higher-level league to a lower level, there is less enthusiasm among fans and people are less likely to buy tickets.
The local indoor teams in our area have been in the first IFL, the old af2, the APFL, the new IFL and the CPIFL and crowds have often increased or decreased with each change depending on what the level of the league is.
I know that hardcore IFL fans will dispute this, but for most, there is a perceived drop off from the AFL to the IFL. While that drop off is probably less today because as the AFL shrinks, some of that talent goes to the IFL, among many it is still real (and, in many ways, perception is reality).
As several others have pointed out, you may not like the owner(s), but it is the owner's money and that person is free to do with it as they will.
At least it's not an underfunded group that shuts down in the middle of the season, leaving players, coaches and vendors unpaid with ticket holders unable to get a refund.
[/quote]Although not mentioned in the reports I've seen in this case, this gets back to an issue indoor football has had in California — workman's comp and other insurance. Other leagues have avoided Cali because workman's comp is extremely expensive in the state.
That may have played into the owner's decision to shut the team down instead of changing leagues. In the last few years, there have been no non-AFL teams in the state, and that has been a stated factor in teams there moving or folding.
The other factor (and I can tell you this as a fact, seeing it happen in our area several times) is, when fans perceive a team jumping from a higher-level league to a lower level, there is less enthusiasm among fans and people are less likely to buy tickets.
The local indoor teams in our area have been in the first IFL, the old af2, the APFL, the new IFL and the CPIFL and crowds have often increased or decreased with each change depending on what the level of the league is.
I know that hardcore IFL fans will dispute this, but for most, there is a perceived drop off from the AFL to the IFL. While that drop off is probably less today because as the AFL shrinks, some of that talent goes to the IFL, among many it is still real (and, in many ways, perception is reality).
As several others have pointed out, you may not like the owner(s), but it is the owner's money and that person is free to do with it as they will.
At least it's not an underfunded group that shuts down in the middle of the season, leaving players, coaches and vendors unpaid with ticket holders unable to get a refund.
Last edited by nksports on Tue Dec 29, 2015 7:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It's not that these teams drop to lower levels to save money and part of that saving money is cutting their front office staff, is it? The people who actually sell tickets (tickets do not just sell themselves)?
Most of the knockoff arena teams seem to be haphazard at best (to be honest, the LA KISS was pretty haphazard, too). That's because it costs money to generate revenue and they do not have money to begin with (part of the reason they are where they are).
If level is the thing, why did the teams that lead the AFL in attendance once average almost 17k and now they average under 13k? Same league. Same level. But the post-hiatus AFL is a leaner organization. Hard to sell tickets without spending on sales and marketing.
Most of the knockoff arena teams seem to be haphazard at best (to be honest, the LA KISS was pretty haphazard, too). That's because it costs money to generate revenue and they do not have money to begin with (part of the reason they are where they are).
If level is the thing, why did the teams that lead the AFL in attendance once average almost 17k and now they average under 13k? Same league. Same level. But the post-hiatus AFL is a leaner organization. Hard to sell tickets without spending on sales and marketing.
Old enough to remember when bashing the ABA was fun.
