ARENA SET FOR DEMOLITION

I am sorry to interupt Shark Week for all of you but I have to announce that these poor economic times seem to have claimed its next victim. Reports have surfaced that the Arena Football League will fold after 21 seasons of play. The AFL launched in 1987 and have had varying levels of success ending with a contract deal with ESPN and ABC.

The AFL was a really fun league. It was a casual league to follow, in which you are suppose to have fun and a stress-free afternoon. It is the only league in the country in which its owners were more famous than the coaches and players. The owners included Ron Jaworski, Jon Bon Jovi and John Elway. It also had the coolest team monikers such as the VooDoo, Desperados, Sabercats, Blaze, Gladiators and Storm. The AFL featured players that made minor league money and drove to the game in worse cars than the fans. It showcased offense and points and basketball score like outcomes. If a runningback broke off a 60 yard run, he has run too far and will find himself in the seventh row. The shortened field intesified the bone-crunching hits which made for some really fun TV. It even made its own EA Sports video game in the mid 2000s.

The AFL provided me with one of my favorite sporting events that I have ever attended. I went to the divisional round playoff game between the Philadelphia Soul and the New York Dragons. The final three minutes of the game had three touchdowns and a last second win for the Soul. My Soul went on to beat Michael's San Jose Sabercats in the final Arena Bowl. It was the most watched "minor-league" event for television ever.

But since that game the league has had a rough go of it. Two days before the Arena Bowl the commisioner and creater of Arena football David Baker resigned from his post leaving the leauge in confusion. During the next offseason the league decided to close up shop for the 2009 season to redraft the finances. And now when it seemed like 2010 was a possibility the Arena Football League looks like it is closing down for business. Along the way the AFL gave us cheap and affordable entertainment while being exciting on the field. It gave football fans something to do in the NFL offseason to scratch their itch for good ole' gridiron fun.