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Alliance of American Football 2019

  • 21-03-2018 5:18am
    #1
    TOss Sweep
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,905 ✭✭✭


    Charlie Ebersol with the help of Bill Polian and others bringing us an attempt of more Football They plan to start post Superbowl 53 in 2019. CBS already signed up to air some of it. CBS will air the league's debut game on Feb. 9, 2019, one week after Super Bowl LIII on CBS

    Their aim is to target unemployed football players and guys who don't make the NFL. Not a bad idea if it works. Gives guys a chance to prove themselves post college.

    Grabbed this from PFT. The bit in bold is interesting
    The XFL is planning a return in 2020, but football fans looking for gridiron action when the NFL hits the offseason won’t have to wait that long.


    Charlie Ebersol directed an ESPN 30 for 30 about the first iteration of the XFL, which was a partnership between his father Dick as head of NBC Sports and Vince McMahon, and he announced on Tuesday that the Alliance of American Football will kick off following the Super Bowl in February 2019. Hall of Famer Bill Polian will help oversee the league, which aims to have eight 50-man teams playing a 10-week schedule.


    “There are 28,000 Division I football players,” Ebersol said, via ESPN.com. “Only 1,700 have NFL jobs. We’re looking for those Kurt Warners working in grocery stores and we think we will find them.”


    One twist planned is the elimination of kickoffs as teams will start on their 25-yard line. Teams that want to try an onside kick will instead get one play from their 35 to gain 10 yards and keep possession of the ball.

    Dick Ebersol, Troy Polamalu Hines Ward and Justin Tuck will also be involved with the league, which is set to air its first game and title game on CBS. Other games will appear on CBS Sports Network and streaming on the league’s app.


    The league, which has financial backing from Peter Thiel and The Chernin Group, is expected to announce the locations of the eight teams in the coming months.

    More detailed on CBS website

    https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/spring-league-alliance-of-american-football-to-launch-in-2019-on-cbs/


«1345

Comments

  • #2
    Justin10
    Registered Users Posts: 3,188 ✭✭✭Justin10


    First thing that springs to mind is the XFL, which is starting back up.


  • #3
    OldMrBrennan83
    Closed Accounts Posts: 26,658 ✭✭✭✭OldMrBrennan83


    This post has been deleted.


  • #4
    LuckyLloyd
    Registered Users Posts: 36,083 ✭✭✭✭LuckyLloyd


    I think the non NFL NFL league that will ultimately work is one that doesn't aim to compete in anyway with the NFL, and is not looking to achieve anything like the revenues of the NFL. This in essence sounds like an attempt to set up a pro 'minor league' A 10 week league running through Feb to mid April would offer an excellent opportunity for players to showcase themselves and potentially spring board into an NFL roster.

    I think that - ultimately - any such league should ape the standards and rules of the actual NFL so I think they're making a mistake tampering with kickoffs and such. But the basics of this idea sound okay to me.

    There's a potential ton of interest in more pro football that feeds into the NFL, and if you could gamble on it, etc it could have a future.


  • #5
    TOss Sweep
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,905 ✭✭✭TOss Sweep


    I would prefer to see this one work over the XFL and I think they are smart to get in a year ahead of time. Give guys a chance to showcase without the showbiz crap of the WWE and Vince McMahon.

    I agree taking on the NFL will never work so why not work outside their realm and get players in the NFL off season who love to have a shot of proving themselves. I do agree with the rules though. They really should stick as close to possible to the NFL as possible rule wise.

    Hopefully this works for them Im all for leagues in the off season to fill the gap that are not run by the WWE and Vince McMahon :D


  • #6
    jack presley
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,687 ✭✭✭✭jack presley


    Another article on it

    http://thecomeback.com/nfl/10-things-need-know-dick-ebersol-new-football-league.html


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  • #7
    eagle eye
    Registered Users Posts: 37,484 ✭✭✭✭eagle eye


    If they do it from February through April this will get a lot of interest. They finish just in time for the draft which means that young players who might be rated UDFA's for the draft can sign up to this and create interest for themselves.

    Likewise players who haven't work out for one reason or another in the NFL have a chance to try and get a roster spot for the next NFL season.

    I think this could take off, as much as I dislike the man Bill Polian is perfect for something like this. I think there is a real good chance that it works.

    As Lloyd says above, if they know their place and don't try to compete with the NFL they will do business. I know I'll watch it if it's not ridiculous. I would never watch the XFL because that is going to be ridiculous.


  • #8
    BizzyC
    Registered Users Posts: 3,010 ✭✭✭BizzyC


    I never understood why the NFL itself didn't have a minor league....
    NFL Europe was essentially that league for a while, but they need one in the US.


  • #9
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    BizzyC wrote: »
    I never understood why the NFL itself didn't have a minor league....
    NFL Europe was essentially that league for a while, but they need one in the US.

    Ironically there would be more appetite for a NFL Europe now than ever before.


  • #10
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    Starts this weekend anyone going to check it out?

    Pleasantly surprised the NFL Network will be showing 2 games a week, hopefully there's a recap show of sorts as well.

    Be interesting to see the standard of football.


  • #11
    cena
    Registered Users Posts: 9,961 ✭✭✭cena


    Loughc wrote: »
    Starts this weekend anyone going to check it out?

    Pleasantly surprised the NFL Network will be showing 2 games a week, hopefully there's a recap show of sorts as well.

    Be interesting to see the standard of football.
    Xfl games this weekend?


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  • #12
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    cena wrote: »
    Xfl games this weekend?

    XFL isn't back until 2020. AA starts this weekend.


  • #13
    Salt Lake Stallion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 89 ✭✭Salt Lake Stallion


    I'm excited for this, been following it for months, all the blogs and podcasts. You can guess by my username who I'll be rooting for! I'm really intrigued by the lack of a kickoff and onside kick being a 4th and 10 play.

    They have put an emphasis on player quality and speeding up the game, rather than any real gimmicks. Getting operational a year before the XFL and getting a broadcasting deal with the NFL should set the league up on a good footing.

    Really want to see this app and how their daily fantasy will work.
    At the very least it has to be more entertaining than that game last night.


  • #14
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    Salt Lake Stallion wrote: »
    I'm excited for this, been following it for months, all the blogs and podcasts. You can guess by my username who I'll be rooting for! I'm really intrigued by the lack of a kickoff and onside kick being a 4th and 10 play.

    They have put an emphasis on player quality and speeding up the game, rather than any real gimmicks. Getting operational a year before the XFL and getting a broadcasting deal with the NFL should set the league up on a good footing.

    Really want to see this app and how their daily fantasy will work.
    At the very least it has to be more entertaining than that game last night.

    Any podcasts you could recommend? I wouldn't mind giving it a listen to before the launch.

    It'll be interesting to see if the game flows as quick as they are making out it will. The are expecting games runtimes to be shorter by at least 30 mins compared to NFL games.

    Last night's game wasn't too bad... it was more of a defensive showdown in the end than an old fashioned shootout.


  • #15
    Salt Lake Stallion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 89 ✭✭Salt Lake Stallion


    Loughc wrote: »
    Any podcasts you could recommend? I wouldn't mind giving it a listen to before the launch.

    It'll be interesting to see if the game flows as quick as they are making out it will. The are expecting games runtimes to be shorter by at least 30 mins compared to NFL games.

    Last night's game wasn't too bad... it was more of a defensive showdown in the end than an old fashioned shootout.

    That's a fair point, defense wins championships I suppose.

    Podcast wise:

    Alliance Football Podcast is a league wide one, can be drawn out at times but the guy speaks really well and has people on from individual team podcasts.

    The Shipyard is a San Diego Fleet one, these guys are the most entertaining out of all the AAF team podcasts, if you were only going to listen to one I'd go with this one.


    The Wild Stallyns is a Stallions podcast, as the name would suggest. Particularly good listening if you're a Bill and Ted fan as the name references the Wyld Stallyns band from the movie and they talk quite a bit about the movies. For the younger posters Bill and Ted is iconic for most people who grew up in the 80's.

    All these podcasts have twitter accounts and interact with each other reagularly, been a lot of smack talk all ready between the fans. It's a good indicator of how much interest there could be in this league.


  • #16
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    Salt Lake Stallion wrote: »
    That's a fair point, defense wins championships I suppose.

    Podcast wise:

    Alliance Football Podcast is a league wide one, can be drawn out at times but the guy speaks really well and has people on from individual team podcasts.

    The Shipyard is a San Diego Fleet one, these guys are the most entertaining out of all the AAF team podcasts, if you were only going to listen to one I'd go with this one.


    The Wild Stallyns is a Stallions podcast, as the name would suggest. Particularly good listening if you're a Bill and Ted fan as the name references the Wyld Stallyns band from the movie and they talk quite a bit about the movies. For the younger posters Bill and Ted is iconic for most people who grew up in the 80's.

    All these podcasts have twitter accounts and interact with each other reagularly, been a lot of smack talk all ready between the fans. It's a good indicator of how much interest there could be in this league.

    Legend!

    I hope it is successful, there's plenty of undrafted quality players out there and there is a gap in the market during the off-season it makes sense.

    Next year will be interesting when the XFL goes live.


  • #17
    Frankie Cortese
    Registered Users Posts: 177 ✭✭Frankie Cortese


    Are these Sunday night games also? I must look into the teams & give it a shot


  • #18
    eagle eye
    Registered Users Posts: 37,484 ✭✭✭✭eagle eye


    I might give it a look but no Boston team makes it less interesting to me. I hope it succeeds though because that xfl thing is a joke and I'd hate to see it gain traction. If this takes off the xfl won't I think.


  • #19
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    eagle eye wrote: »
    I might give it a look but no Boston team makes it less interesting to me. I hope it succeeds though because that xfl thing is a joke and I'd hate to see it gain traction. If this takes off the xfl won't I think.

    Why is the xfl a joke? Their new attempt seems a lot more professional. They did a good job with their COO and commissioner selection. They seem to be all about the football this time round and they’ve learned their lesson from their last failure.


  • #20
    eagle eye
    Registered Users Posts: 37,484 ✭✭✭✭eagle eye


    Loughc wrote: »
    Why is the xfl a joke? Their new attempt seems a lot more professional. They did a good job with their COO and commissioner selection. They seem to be all about the football this time round and they’ve learned their lesson from their last failure.
    I don't believe for one minute that Vince McMahon will play it straight.


  • #21
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    eagle eye wrote: »
    I don't believe for one minute that Vince McMahon will play it straight.

    Vince is old now. He wants to leave a legacy and the xfl is one way to leave a mark. I think he’ll TRY to play it straight. Then if ratings fall apart there’ll be a gimmick coming :D


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  • #22
    Frankie Cortese
    Registered Users Posts: 177 ✭✭Frankie Cortese


    I see each team is aligned with a college & NFL team. Birmingham Iron linked up with my college team (Alabama) & NFL team (Browns)

    Makes picking a team a lot easier!


  • #23
    Fr Tod Umptious
    Registered Users Posts: 14,990 ✭✭✭✭Fr Tod Umptious


    Is there a TV contract this side of the world ?


  • #24
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »
    Is there a TV contract this side of the world ?

    Other than NFL Network on gamepass, no.

    i imagine they'll want to see how popular it is in the states and if it survives for a second season first before investing in it.


  • #25
    boccy23
    Registered Users Posts: 2,913 ✭✭✭boccy23


    Frankie Cortese wrote: »
    Are these Sunday night games also? I must look into the teams & give it a shot

    There's a game at 9PM GMT next Sunday night. Memphis at Birmingham.

    The Head Coaches are interesting. Will be interested to see if this really can be a feeder league or a redemption league. I think there is definitely a place for this in the US media market now. Regular season NBA Basketball is non-existent as it's all down to the playoffs and whether anyone can beat Golden State. The NHL is a poor fourth when it comes to the the major sports and MLB only begins in April.


  • #26
    boccy23
    Registered Users Posts: 2,913 ✭✭✭boccy23


    Frankie Cortese wrote: »
    I see each team is aligned with a college & NFL team. Birmingham Iron linked up with my college team (Alabama) & NFL team (Browns)

    Makes picking a team a lot easier!

    Did you see who is listed at RB???....

    Only one Trent Richardson. :eek:


  • #27
    BaronVon
    Registered Users Posts: 1,646 ✭✭✭BaronVon


    Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »
    Is there a TV contract this side of the world ?

    CBS will be showing it Stateside, but there is supposed to be an app being released, which will have most of the games, highlights etc. Not out yet though....


  • #28
    ScrubsfanChris
    Registered Users Posts: 8,599 ✭✭✭ScrubsfanChris


    Any news on an NFL network highlights show?


  • #29
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    ScrubsfanChris wrote: »
    Any news on an NFL network highlights show?

    Nothing yet... but I imagine they'll be showing clips on their Breakfast/weekday shows on the network.


  • #30
    rebelyell99
    Registered Users Posts: 394 ✭✭rebelyell99


    Loughc wrote: »
    Nothing yet... but I imagine they'll be showing clips on their Breakfast/weekday shows on the network.

    Nfl network are showing two games live every week im sure


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  • #31
    Loughc
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,714 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    rebelyell99 wrote: »
    Nfl network are showing two games live every week im sure

    I know but the poster was asking about a highlight show, to show highlights of the other games.


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