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BlackAthlete Sports Network-www.blackathlete.net BASN BLACKBOX
Hope springs Eternal REALLY springs Eternal for the NEW AAFL YES yet another Football League That BELIEVES it can compete against the NFL and college ball and succeed where others have failed. The All American Football League thinks it has found the formula first and foremost by 1) playing in the SPRING ( what a novel idea ) and 2) focusing its attention in metro areas where college football is Big. That logic being this is an insatiable football market outside of the orbit of most NFL teams and by featuring the many many college players who are memorable performers but don't make it to the NFL there exploits will bring out the Fans. Here are the Fatal Flaws in all these "other" professional football leagues that come and then go away 1) the costs associated with running a pro league is always far higher than projected, 2) the sponsorship interest is always far less than projected, but most of all 3) as BIG a football is the concept that enough fans want all football all the time always proves to be NOT true. The fact that football like all "commodities" is to some extent hard to find creates "value." In this case in football fans ( or fans of any sport for that matter ) it is the ABSENCE of football for part of the year that makes its return so compelling. Regardless IF AAFL somehow succeeds it has meaning here in that more BLACK football players work Chris Leak is a notable example. Even though he led Florida to the national championship and was named MVP of the BCS Championship Game he was not drafted and after a try-out by the Chicago Bears he was told Good BYE. That was probably the end of Chris Leak except now he has signed up with the AAFL to play SPRING football. And of course Leak can dream of doing well enough to get another look by some NFL teams and the AAFL itself fantasizes become a for-profit official or unofficial minor league for the NFL. Of course others have had both DREAMS and in the past they have crashed and burned never to be heard from again. So what can the AAFL do that others have not to possibly give it a chance to catch on OUR SECRET FORMULA make a change in the game It can't be "radical" surgery or it will be dismissed as some kind of fun house - meaning comical - version of Football. But it needs to be more than changing the color of the Football or even changing the size of the Gridiron. It must be a meaningful change but WITHOUT changing the integrity of the game. Our SIMPLE solution Changing the strategy of the game. Add another element that doesn't change the action but changes how games flow and add a NEW scoring element. The solution lies in the FIELD GOAL. Where is the logic that a team that kicks a 10 yard field goal should get the same number of points as for a 50 yard field goal. There is NO logic. But while the NFL will never change that rule The All American Football League can a SIMPLE rule change will ENERGIZE the NEW League All field goals of 30 yard or less 3 points All field goals between 30 - 40 yards 4 points All field goals 40 - 50 yards 5 points And all field goals over 50 yards 6 points To some of you it will seem Absurd ( those with less than half a brain ). To others it will seem Radical but it isn't. All that will change are judgment calls coaches make throughout the game now having reason to factor Field Goals into their strategy like never before. Kicking which is an EXCITEMENT factor in Football but that has been downplayed by the NFL and the NCAA - has the potential for differentiating the AAFL just enough and without changing the look and feel of Football at all. THE POINT IS ..... While it is too "deep" a thought for most fans to realize it BURIED in their sub-conscious it is the STRATEGY and the complexity that really makes Sports appealing beyond the knee-jerk rooting for the home team and unnatural worshipping of star players. AS SHAKESPEARE SAID LONG AGO " THE PLAYS THE THING." Changing the scoring element in kicking the football is like making normal chess THREE dimensional chess adding endless new moves A secondary but VERY important aspect of making the KICKER far more important to each football game is convincing more African Americans to get EXCITED about kicking the football which few do now. In this NEW version the KICKER becomes a key element in a team's STRATEGY for winning the game and KICKERS will often play a more prominent role in many games, getting more attention, making more money. Final thought to make our Point if you encounter an alien species from across the universe and explain football to them GUARANTEED it will make NO sense to them that a player who successfully KICKS A FOOTBALL 48 yards gets the same number of points as for kicking it 10 yards sadly on this planet it might take an alien INVASION for Field Goals to get the credit they deserve. Whenever you want to reach us
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