AFL Silence Not Good
(July 3, 2009)

"The Arena Football League today announced that it has finalized a revitalized business model that will enable the league to return to competition in time for the 2010 season."

That was April 23, 2009 and the league also said the restructuring process "should be completed in the next 30 days."

We have heard absolutely nothing from the league since and that cannot be good news for the future of the AFL.

Chicago Rush owner Alan Levin stated a couple of weeks ago, "It's too late to commit to a 2010 season because we don't have enough time to properly prepare. I'd rather see us commit to resuming operations for the 2011 season." In that same interview with the Chicago Sun Times, Levin said, "Our problems have started with bad leadership from the commissioner on down."

So are the dominoes beginning to fall? The St. Petersburg Times reported this week that the Tampa Bay Storm have released Tim Marcum from his head coaching duties.

If the Arena Football League does fade from existence, there will plenty of postmortems. The lack of leadership comment has been heard repeatedly. It is hard to believe a league that had a decent enough fan base to survive would be allowed to flounder. Part of the problem is some owners thought the AFL could become the fifth major sport, comparing it to the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. Arena football has always been a niche sport. There are other leagues, including afl2, that are playing the indoor game successfully.

In that April 23rd press release, Philadelphia Soul co-owner Craig Spencer was quoted, "The owners of the AFL realize we have the most fan-friendly, affordable and accessible sport anywhere. The process of revamping our business model will ensure that the AFL continues to provide value to its fans, not only surviving in the years to come, but thriving. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I am excited that we are close to bringing this great game back to the fans."

Today, it does not look like the league is close to bringing that game back. Hopefully, the AFL get its act together and get back on the field. It would also be nice to hear something from the league.