Arena Football 2008

[Young Drachma]

Chicago and Dallas on ESPN2. I'm glad they stopped letting Mike & Mike call the games. The crew on is decent, I'm glad it's not Philly playing and the wired mic situation with the coaches and stuff is fun, because they have to kill the sound every once in a time because the coaches are cursing their players out.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I watched earlier in the season, and I was very pleased with the network's coverage. They're treating the AFL like a real professional league instead of as a sideshow. It's been pretty good.

I'll follow the playoffs when they start next week, but I'm disappointed that my favorite team will not be participating. The VooDoo started the season 7-2, and they proceeded to drop 6 of their final 7 games to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs. Their final game was a stinker for their defense, as they lost 86-70 at home to the 5-10 Grand Rapids Rampage. Ugh.

To go off on a bit of a tangent here, it's a shame that the AFL can't keep its team membership up. Last year, when the VooDoo returned from its Hurricane Katrina suspension, the league had 19 teams. This year, they lost Austin (dropped down to AF2) and Nashville (folded). With 17 teams, it kinda sucks that 12 teams still make the playoffs and only 5 miss out. With so few teams, I wish they'd kinda drop the "top 6 teams from each conference make the playoffs" idea. The VooDoo finished 8-8 in a tougher conference and miss the playoffs. The other, weaker conference ends up with 3 teams in the playoffs with 6-10 records.

Maybe I only care about that because I'm a VooDoo fan, but it does kinda suck that two 8-8 teams are out (New Orleans and Tampa Bay), while three 6-10 teams are in. Hell, just make it so the top 12 records get in and just use the conference/division setups for scheduling.

[Young Drachma]

That's strange that three 6-10 teams made it in. I guess I never really keep up with how the playoffs work anymore, with the way the league works now. Kinda crazy that teams are still folding and moving down to AF2 willy nilly. That's ridiculous and very bush league. But i guess that's what happens when the sport turns into a hobby for rich dudes who wanna have a summer toy.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

That's strange that three 6-10 teams made it in. I guess I never really keep up with how the playoffs work anymore, with the way the league works now. Kinda crazy that teams are still folding and moving down to AF2 willy nilly. That's ridiculous and very bush league. But i guess that's what happens when the sport turns into a hobby for rich dudes who wanna have a summer toy.

FYI, the playoffs work exactly like they do in the NFL. The division winners get the top spots, and the other spots go to the teams with the best records in each conference. The only difference is that each AFL conference has only 2 divisions, so there are 4 wild card teams on each side, while the NFL is the other way around, of course. This year, it just happened that the 4th, 5th, and 6th best records in one conference were all 6-10.

As for the teams folding as such, it looks like that's just how the league is going to be, much like the minor hockey leagues around North America. It's a shame. I guess there's a bright side to it. Most of the newer franchises have been very successful as far as attendance and performance go. Austin didn't work out, and Nashville was a special case, but everyone else is doing fine. New Orleans, Dallas, Colorado, Philadelphia, and Kansas City look like they'll be around for years to come. I have questions about Utah, but they do draw big crowds there, so maybe they'll last, too.

I've come to accept it. I wish that the league could get 20-24 stable teams each year, but I guess it'll never happen.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

To go off on a bit of a tangent here, it's a shame that the AFL can't keep its team membership up. Last year, when the VooDoo returned from its Hurricane Katrina suspension, the league had 19 teams. This year, they lost Austin (dropped down to AF2) and Nashville (folded). With 17 teams, it kinda sucks that 12 teams still make the playoffs and only 5 miss out. With so few teams, I wish they'd kinda drop the "top 6 teams from each conference make the playoffs" idea. The VooDoo finished 8-8 in a tougher conference and miss the playoffs. The other, weaker conference ends up with 3 teams in the playoffs with 6-10 records.

I use to love Arena Football before it got "NFL-ized". Now, I just can't get into it. I don't know why.