Football lovers hoping for an alternative to the NFL won’t have to wait for the return of Vince McMahon’s XFL in 2020. As a matter of fact, fans are less than a year away from the kickoff date for the new Alliance of American Football, which is scheduled to debut on February 9, 2019.
For those wondering about the particulars; the league promises to deliver the same old pass, run, and tackle style of play – minus the kickoffs and the timeouts.
The AAF is reportedly establishing eight teams that will compete through a 10-week season. What cities they are going to represent will be determined over the next several months, as will the players who man the roster of each franchise.
The places selected to host teams will be fundamental to the development of the league, as the plan is to run regional drafts that pull players together based on where they played college or semi-pro ball in proximity to the drafting team.
“There are 28,000 Division I football players. Only 1,700 have NFL jobs. We’re looking for those Kurt Warners working in grocery stores, and we think we will find them,” AAF founder Charlie Ebersol said while announcing the formation of the league.
Ebersol has been open about his intention to fill the void that is left when the National Football League completes each of its season’s with the Super Bowl.
Thus, scheduling the first game for the week that follows the big game is purposeful, as is his foresight to have fantasy football sites exploit the opportunity to have fans bet on the teams. CBS will air one game per week as well as the championship game.
If people are already complaining there’s too much football on TV, which I think is crazy, why is there a demand for more leagues? Personally I’ll give any sports league a shot, as long as it’s not trying to replace the NFL, it might be able to carve out a nice little niche.
