AAF KICKOFF WEEKEND

El Paso Eagle · February 7, 2019

Not sure how this will go. Are there any former Mean Green players anyone knows of?

edcollopy · February 8, 2019

Houston chronicle listed all the players from Texas and we didn’t have anyone on it

Monkeypox · February 9, 2019

Yeah I looked through the rosters. Couldn't find anyone.

97and03 · February 9, 2019

Seems like Lance could have found a spot if he was interstellar. Any news in Dunbar anyone?

Marty · February 10, 2019

wonder if Trevor Moore got a tryout?

KRAM1 · February 10, 2019

I watched about a half after the men's BB game last night...not bad, and it was good to see Daryl Johnston as the GM for the San Antonio Team. This AAF thing...by the way...must have some tie-in to the NFL as the NFL Network is showing a game this evening....and the new XFL. Just have to wonder how it will work out. Hard to compete with the machine that is the NFL.

El Paso Eagle · February 10, 2019

I believe they are working "with" the NFL. Not sure the arrangements. There were some comments that certain rule changes being considered in the NFL might be tried out in the AAF

FYI - UNT players are aligned with the San Antonio team

Edited February 10, 2019 by El Paso Eagle

Monkeypox · February 10, 2019

Yes, it's attempting to act as a bridge/developmental league for the NFL. NFL teams don't have the reps/opportunities to give to a lot of fringe guys. This gives them opportunities to play and develop NFL skills during the off-season and get paid to do it, while delivering football to some markets that show a willingness and ability to support at this level.

There's a lot of guys out there between 22-28 that it's probably unfair to say are DONE with football, but there's not much chance for them to prove anything.

The way it's scheduled, it should be wrapping up during free agency/pre-draft, so I think it will provide a good look for NFL execs.

The Ebersols understand the NFL. They're not trying to take down the giant. They want to supplement it. They've put a ton of research into it, with lessons learned from the failure of the XFL, and clear goals in mind. The result is a much better product/production than we got before.

I really expected it to be a lot rougher than it was (not that it was perfect).

ntmeangreen11 · February 10, 2019

If I remember correctly players have to have graduated and they get a pretty decent salary ($100k+)

You have to wonder what the hell Vinny Mac was thinking bringing back the XFL.

The first attempt was a colossal failure. They lost millions and at the same time saw that venture take attention and resources away from the WWF which resulted in it becoming less and less popular.

Monday night raw barely brings in 2 million viewers in 2019 and has been on a downward trend for a while.

I think there is definitely a market for football in the spring, something tells me this will be successfull in the long run and the XFL will be a short lived failure once again.

Matt from A700 · February 12, 2019

Hopefully a Guyton, Moore, Keena (is he trying to play?) find a spot on a team in either of the leagues.

Attendance was 27K in San Antonio, 21K in Orlando, 17K in Birmingham (looked like more to me), and 11K in Arizona.

Let's see how San Diego, Salt Lake City, Memphis, and Atlanta do.

UNTLifer · February 12, 2019

The original version of the XFL started out strong with good television ratings but it wasn’t sustainable. Time will tell if this makes it.

El Paso Eagle · February 12, 2019

13 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

The original version of the XFL started out strong with good television ratings but it wasn’t sustainable. Time will tell if this makes it.

IMO too many gimmicks. Looks like they will try and be a little more serious this time.

Monkeypox · February 13, 2019

8 hours ago, El Paso Eagle said:

IMO too many gimmicks. Looks like they will try and be a little more serious this time.

Agreed.

The XFL also failed because it was a crap product. They're very focused on it being quality football here.

AND they're not trying to compete. It's a developmental league and one which they'll use as a testing ground for the NFL. They're not pulling out all the stops in costs and expectations, like the XFL did. I think Ebersol learned from his mistakes.

Edited February 13, 2019 by Monkeypox