Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was established in 1987 as a response to the popularity of indoor soccer in the United States during the 1980s. The league aimed to create a fast-paced, high-scoring version of American football that could attract fans of NFL and NCAA football during their off-seasons. Initially consisting of four teams based in Denver, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Washington, the AFL saw its first championship won by Pittsburgh amidst enthusiastic crowds. Over the years, the league underwent significant expansion, with teams frequently relocating, reflecting a nomadic franchise pattern.
The AFL carved out a unique identity, contrasting with the corporate structure of the NFL by highlighting its underdog image and appealing to players overlooked by larger leagues, who played for their love of the game. The league featured innovative strategies, most notably the "run and shoot" offense, developed by Darnell "Mouse" Davis, which became a hallmark of AFL gameplay. Despite its successes, including major broadcasting contracts, the AFL faced financial difficulties that led to a suspension of operations in 2009. Although it attempted to revive itself with a new business model, the league continued to struggle with team defections and diminishing numbers, ultimately reducing its roster to just eight teams by 2016. The AFL's legacy includes notable NFL transitions, such as that of quarterback Kurt Warner, who helped bridge the gap between the two leagues.
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Arena Football League
Professional sports league
Date Began in 1987
Arena football is a version of the game that is played indoors, on a fifty-yard-long playing field, in order to increase its tempo and scores. The modest success of the Arena Football League established that a fan base existed that was eager to watch football twelve months a year.
The Arena Football League (AFL) was designed to capitalize on the success of professional indoor soccer in the United States during the 1980s. Organizers believed that if they could duplicate the torrid pace and high-scoring action of indoor soccer in a football game, they could attract fans of the National Football League (NFL) and of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football during those leagues’ off-seasons.
The launch of the new league was delayed by the short-lived United States Football League (USFL), but the initial four teams of the AFL began to play in 1987. The teams were located in Denver, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Washington. Pittsburgh won the league’s first championship, playing its games before substantial crowds. Based on the modest success of the first season, the league embarked on an ambitious expansion program in 1988. This expansion established a nomadic pattern for many of the league’s franchises: over the next twenty years, forty-five American cities would be home to AFL teams, often for just a single season.
Despite this constant franchise relocation, the league benefited from its emergence at a time that several cable television channels, especially the fledgling ESPN network, had an urgent need to fill their schedules with sports programming. Later, ESPN would rely on major college and professional sports, but in the early years the AFL provided just the sort of inexpensive programming that ESPN needed at the time.
By the 1980s, the NFL was an entirely corporate operation, presenting a slick sports package overseen by billionaire owners. It featured millionaire players, many of whom saw stardom as an entitlement. The AFL marketed itself in a way designed to capitalize on its shoestring budget and underdog image. The league’s players were too small to play in the NFL or came from small colleges that NFL scouts ignored. They played for the love of the game, for a very modest paycheck, and in the hope that—despite very long odds—they might someday be recruited to play in the NFL. The games were high scoring, and the action literally wound up in the stands sometimes, with players landing among the fans on some sideline plays. NFL teams were organized into highly specialized units, but many AFL players played both offense and defense, nostalgic reminders of the blue-collar origins of the NFL. The offensive strategy benefited from Darnell “Mouse” Davis, who reached legendary status as the originator of the “run and shoot” offense. At the NFL and NCAA levels, run and shoot was a fad that faded, but it became the staple of the AFL, driving the league’s popularity.
Impact
The success of the AFL contrasted with the demise of the World League of American Football and the Extreme Football League (XFL). American football proved unpopular in Europe, and even NFL affiliation failed to save the international league. The XFL tried to blend the best of professional wrestling and football traditions, and it disappeared after one season. The AFL remained stable for many years, won major network broadcasting contracts by 1998, and even set up a minor-league network in smaller markets. The AFL never challenged the NFL, but it thrived based on more modest goals and a solid marketing strategy.
However, in 2009, following a declaration of bankruptcy largely due to the 2007 recession and a poor financial structure, the league suspended operations for the season. While the league did continue in 2010, its new business model focused on leaner strategies, including smaller salaries for players. By 2014, the AFL had begun experiencing hard times as it continued to lose teams. That year alone, the Pittsburgh Power and the San Antonio Talons had ceased operations while the staple Iowa Barnstormers had left to join the Indoor Football League (IFL). The following year, the announcement was made that the Las Vegas Outlaws, the New Orleans VooDoo, and the San Jose SaberCats had also folded; meanwhile, the Spokane Shock had also defected to the IFL. As a reflection of the diminishing size of the league and the increasing weight of drama plaguing its operations, the AFL's 2016 schedule only included eight teams.
Subsequent Events
The high point of the AFL came in 2000, when former Iowa Barnstormers quarterback Kurt Warner led the NFL’s Saint Louis Rams to victory in the Super Bowl. Warner’s career established the possibility that other AFL players could make a successful transition to the NFL and could bring their AFL fans with them.
Bibliography
Bissonnette, Zac. "Goodbye, Casino Business. Hello . . . Arena Football?" CNBC. CNBC, 6 Oct. 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.
Brucato, Thomas. Major Leagues. New Brunswick: Scarecrow, 2001. Print.
Campbell, Andy. "6 Reasons the Arena Football Fan Experience Is Better Than the NFL." Huffington Post. TheHuffington Post.com, 15 June 2015. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.
Evey, Stu. ESPN. Chicago: Triumph, 2004. Print.
Kleps, Kevin. "Cleveland Gladiators Continue to Thrive amid Difficult Times for Arena Football League." Crain's Cleveland Business. Crain Communications, 14 Aug. 2015. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.