Alliance of American Football

[revrew]

Not seeing another thread or discussion on the newest competitor to the NFL, I begin one.

Alliance of American Football reveals team names, logos with kickoff drawing near | Fox News

Interesting: Coaches Mike Singletary, Steve Spurrier, and others.

Not so interesting: Team names/logos look like they were designed with an internet tool by a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks like us. Not looking like a pro did them. Smacks of USFL.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by revrew

Smacks of USFL.

We should only be so lucky if that were the case. The USFL was a blast to watch back in the day.

[Ksyrup]

There definitely feels like a major opportunity for a new league to bring football back to what people want to see, given all of the safety rules the NFL is implementing that is ruining the game (at least the way they are officiating them). Moral objections to the game of football aside, there is definitely a large contingent of fans who want to see something that more closely approximates the NFL of yesteryear. There's no reason why a league can't find a good middle ground with sensible safety guardrails played by athletes willing and able to accept the risks associated with the game.

And I still don't understand why football is being targeted (pun intended) on this issue while MMA and similar sports continue to grow in popularity with nary a bit of outrage. It smacks of how baseball was the only major sport where PEDs mattered to anyone, even though they were being used by many athletes in nearly every sport.

[Kodos]

I think players like Junior Seau killing themselves because of the debilitating effects of their playing days pushed the NFL in this direction.

[NobodyHere]

Didn't John McCain once refer to MMA as "human cockfighting"?

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by revrew

Not so interesting: Team names/logos look like they were designed with an internet tool by a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks like us. Not looking like a pro did them. Smacks of USFL.

One thing that makes the logos seem so poor, is they are all the same style. It'd have been nice to have different takes on the logo art.

[NobodyHere]

I really hope this succeeds. It'd be nice to have some spring football to watch.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Breeze

One thing that makes the logos seem so poor, is they are all the same style. It'd have been nice to have different takes on the logo art.

Yeah I think that's a large part of it. Feels like they brought in a single co-op student and had him/her design all the logos.

[JPhillips]

Are the Atlanta Legends sponsored by a strip club?

[molson]

Originally Posted by Breeze

One thing that makes the logos seem so poor, is they are all the same style. It'd have been nice to have different takes on the logo art.

Every fringe pro sports league in my lifetime has had this problem - they all come off as phony and artificial. They're just all scrapped together out of thin air in some meeting and then collectively announced. No successful league or college sport/conference was created like this.

I don't know if there's a way to replicate the more organic and unique creations of established teams that have long-term loyal fanbases, but I don't think San Diego football fans are ever going to care about "The Fleet".

[ISiddiqui]

The other interesting thing about the AAF is that they appear to be focusing on college players from the areas of the teams (using territorial rules). So UGA's Aaron Murray is on the Atlanta squad. That could help boost some of the interest.

Also it has a TV deal with CBS (likely on their Sports Network, but who knows). That should help.

[molson]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Didn't John McCain once refer to MMA as "human cockfighting"?

He was a big opponent of early UFC but changed his mind after the sport became heavily regulated.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I think players like Junior Seau killing themselves because of the debilitating effects of their playing days pushed the NFL in this direction.

Solely for liability reasons, not because they care about any kind of overriding societal concern. Although I see getting hit repeatedly in the head the same as inhaling smoke - it kinda stands to reason that there are adverse health effects just based on common sense, regardless of what the people who are running those industries tell you.

There are plenty of occupations with risk factors - both specifically known/defined and inherent in the nature of the job. If someone is willing to risk their life or shortening their life to participate, why can't they?

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Are the Atlanta Legends sponsored by a strip club?

Won’t be long before that is photoshopped to become the Atlanta Bellends!

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

If someone is willing to risk their life or shortening their life to participate, why can't they?

I think a lot of players signed up knowing that they were in for torn ACLs, broken bones, etc. I think many didn't realize how much their brains would be injured. I'd say current players have certainly been made more aware of the possible downsides, and that's why we've seen some guys walk away from the game at a younger age than one would expect.

[revrew]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

The other interesting thing about the AAF is that they appear to be focusing on college players from the areas of the teams (using territorial rules). So UGA's Aaron Murray is on the Atlanta squad. That could help boost some of the interest.

Just like the Des Moines Dragons!*

*(See signature line)

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

And I still don't understand why football is being targeted (pun intended) on this issue while MMA and similar sports continue to grow in popularity with nary a bit of outrage. It smacks of how baseball was the only major sport where PEDs mattered to anyone, even though they were being used by many athletes in nearly every sport.

As far and long term brain injuries go, the incidence in football far outweighs boxing or MMA. The jury is still out on MMA, but the punishment to the head and brain is more punishing in the NFL where guys slam helmets together 70 times a game over 3 hours. 250 lb linebackers with pads, hitting full speed collisions to the head and body, where in MMA, blows of that nature are few and far between. Even where a guy may take 10 repeated head shots, the ref is going to step in and end it. Those shots still don't compare to the jarring shots that football players take. Then you add in all the practices over years and years and I think that's why you don't see the big issues in pugilistic sports. Sure, some guys in boxing have gone far beyond and clearly have brain injuries, but incidence rate between the sports is higher in football.

[molson]

Plus most MMA fighters are competing for a max of 15 minutes about 3 times a year, with a lot of that time spent grapling.

It's also a fringe sport compared to football. Nobody who has stopped watching the NFL due to brain injuries is now adopting MMA as their favorite sport. The danger of brain injuries has been an understood part of combat sports for many decades, and mitigation efforts have been going on longer than they have been in the NFL. So it's going to be the bigger sport, with more casual fans suddenly alarmed that football is bad for you, that is going to face more impactful scrutiny. MMA and boxing have already been living in that world.

[bhlloy]

I’m also not sure there are many or any professions left in the western world where people are killing themselves or forgetting their families names at 40 years old. I think we have pretty much legislated those out of existence, replaced humans with machines or improved the safety to the point that people actually still want to work there.

I would have no problem with the NFL if I felt all the safety rules were actually intended to tackle the head injury problem, even if it was taking away from the enjoyment of the game. But realistically it doesn’t feel like the League gives a shot about anyone not named Aaron Rodgers or Antonio Brown who can’t make them millions in terms of marketing, so fuck them.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

replaced humans with machines

Cyberball's time is now!