Arena Football League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Arena Football League | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Sport | Arena football |
| Founded | 1987 |
| No. of teams | 19 |
| Country |  United States |
| Current champions | Chicago Rush |
| Official website | Arena Football |
The Arena Football League (AFL) was founded in 1987 as an American football indoor league. The AFL's attendance has increased dramatically over the last few years, rising to an average of 12,400 people per game in 2005. The AFL also maintains a minor league called af2.
Contents |
[edit] Formation
[edit] "Playtest Game"
Eventual Arena Football League (AFL) founder Jim Foster, a former National Football League and United States Football League executive, originally had a contract in hand in 1983 to play an exhibition game on the NBC television network, two decades before the first regular season games appeared on that network. He abandoned the plan, though, when the USFL was formed and did not return to his newly created sport until 1986. The first AFL game was played, called a "playtest game", in Rockford, Illinois at the MetroCentre between the Rockford Metros and the Chicago Politicians. These teams were the first ever arena football teams.
[edit] The AFL Begins
The AFL was founded in 1987 as an American football indoor league. The league's inaugural season featured four teams: the Chicago Bruisers, Denver Dynamite, Pittsburgh Gladiators, and Washington Commandos. The teams played a six-game season, culminating in Arena Bowl I, where Denver defeated Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh.
In 1990, Foster was awarded a patent for arena football and the equipment unique to it—the only known instance of a game being patented anywhere in the world. This means that other indoor football leagues must play under significantly different rules; the patent, however, is scheduled to expire in September 2007.
[edit] The Rules
- The Field: An indoor padded surface 85 feet wide and 50 yards long with eight-yard endzones. Goal posts are nine-feet wide with a crossbar height of 15 feet (NFL goalposts are 18 1/2 wide with the crossbar at 10 feet). The goalside rebound nets are 30 feet wide by 32 feet high. The bottom of the nets are eight feet above the ground. Sideline barriers are 48 inches high and made of high density foam rubber.
- The Equipment: The official football is the same size and weight as the National Football League ball. Each ball is manufactured by Spalding Sporting Goods.
- The Players and Formations: Eight players on the field; 20-man active roster; four-man inactive roster. Substitution: The league originally allowed only 2 substitutions per quarter, however starting in 2007 the AFL instituted free substitution, which almost completely removes the ironman aspect from the game. Formation: Four (4) offensive players must line up on the line of scrimmage. Three (3) defensive players must be down linemen (in a three of four-point stance). One linebacker may blitz on either side of the center. Alignment is two (2) or more yards off the line of scrimmage. No stunting or twisting. Offensive motion in the backfield: One receiver may go in a forward motion before the snap.
- Timing: Four 15 minute quarters with a 15-minute halftime. The clock stops for out-of-bounds plays or incomplete passes only in the last minute of each half or when the referee deems it necessary for penalties, injuries or timeouts. Each team is allowed three (3) time-outs per half.
- Movement of the Ball and Scoring: Four (4) downs are allowed to advance the ball ten (10) yards for a first down, or to score. Six (6) points for a touchdown. One (1) point for a conversion by place kick after a touchdown, two (2) points for a conversion by drop kick and two (2) points for successful run or pass after a touchdown. Three (3) points for a field goal by placement or four (4) points for a field goal by drop kick. Two (2) points for a safety.
- The Kicking: Kickoffs are from the goal line. Kickers may use a one-inch tee. Punting is illegal. On fourth down, a team may go for a first down, touchdown or field goal. The receiving team may field any kickoff or missed field goal that rebounds off the net. Any kickoff untouched which is out of bounds will be placed at the 20-yard line or the place where it went out of bounds, whichever is more advantageous to the receiving team.
- Passing: Passing rules in Arena Football are the same as outdoor NCAA Football in which receivers must have one foot inbounds. A unique exception involves the rebound nets. A forward pass that rebounds off of the endzone net is a live ball and is in play until it touches the playing surface.
- Overtime Rules: Overtime periods are 15 minutes during the regular season and the playoffs. Each team gets one possession to score. If, after each team has had one possession and one team is ahead, that team wins. If the teams are tied after each has had a possession, the next team to score wins.
[edit] Early Years
From its inception, the AFL operated in a state of semi-obscurity; many Americans had heard the term "arena football" but knew little to nothing about the league itself.
From the 1987 season until the late 1990s, the most exposure the league would receive was on ESPN, which would air tape-delayed games, often well after midnight. The league would receive its first taste of wide exposure in 1998, when Arena Bowl XII was televised nationally as part of ABC's Wide World of Sports.
One of the league's early success stories was the Detroit Drive. A primary team for some of the AFL's most highly regarded players, including George LaFrance, [[Garyand Alvin Rettig, as well as being a second career chance for quarterback Art Schlichter, the Drive regularly played before sold out crowds at Joe Louis Arena, and went to the ArenaBowl every year of their existence (1988-1993). However, the AFL's first dynasty came to an end when their owner, Mike Ilitch (who also owned Little Caesar's Pizza) bought the Detroit Tigers, and sold the team.
Although the Drive left the league, the AFL still has a number of teams today which it considers "dynasties", including the Tampa Bay Storm (the only team that has existed in some form for all twenty seasons), the Orlando Predators, and the Arizona Rattlers. The Albany/Indiana Firebirds, though they only won one championship, could also be considered a dynasty, based on the fact that they achieved the rare feat of remaining in one city for ten years.
In 1993 the league staged its first, and only to date, All-Star game in Des Moines, Iowa, the future home of the Iowa Barnstormers, as a fundraiser for flood victims in the area. The National Conference defeated the American Conference 64-40 in front of a crowd of 7,189.
While the aforementioned teams have enjoyed success, many teams in the history of the league have enjoyed little to no success. There are also a number of franchises which existed in the form of a number of unrelated teams under numerous management groups until they folded (an example is the New York CityHawks whose owners transferred the team from New York to Hartford to become the New England Sea Wolves after two seasons, then after another two seasons were sold and became the Toronto Phantoms, who lasted another two seasons until folding). There are a number of reasons why these teams failed, including lack of financial support from owners, lack of media exposure, to the city's plain disinterest in the team. Today, this isn't seen as much of a problem, as team owners typically own other sports franchises as well, receive adequate media coverage from their home cities, and most teams have a sizeable fan base.
[edit] The Next Millennium
The year 2000 brought a heightened interest in the AFL. Then-St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, who was MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV, was first noticed because he played quarterback for the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers. While many sports commentators and fans continued to ridicule the league, Warner's story gave the league positive exposure, and it brought the league a new television deal with TNN, who, unlike ESPN, would televise regular season games live. While it was not financially lucrative, it helped set the stage for what the league would become in the new millennium. Also, the year 2000 brought a spin-off league, the af2, intended to be a developmental league.
[edit] Growth of the League
[edit] Television
Beginning with the 2003 season, the AFL made a deal with NBC to televise league games, which was renewed for another two years in 2005. In conjunction with this, the league moved the beginning of the season from May to February (the week after the NFL's Super Bowl) and scheduled most of its games on Sunday instead of Friday or Saturday as it had in the past. In 2006, due to the XX Winter Olympic Games, the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Daytona 500, NBC scaled back from weekly coverage to scattered coverage during the regular season, but committed to a full playoff schedule ending with the 20th ArenaBowl. NBC and the Arena Football League officially severed ties on June 30, 2006, having failed to reach a new broadcast deal. Las Vegas owner Jim Ferraro stated during a radio interview that the reason why a deal failed is because ESPN refused to show highlights or even mention a product being broadcast on NBC.
For the 2006 season only, the AFL added a national cable deal with OLN (now Versus) for eleven regular-season games and one playoff game.
On December 19, 2006, ESPN announced the purchase of a minority stake in the AFL. This deal includes television rights for the ESPN family of stations. ESPN will televise a minimum of 17 regular season games, most on Monday Nights, and 9 playoff games, including Arena Bowl XXI on ABC. [1]
The AFL also has a regional-cable deal with FSN, where FSN regional affiliates in AFL markets carry local team games.
- See also: List of ArenaBowl broadcasters
[edit] Expanding the season
The practice of playing one or two preseason exhibition games by each team prior to the start of the regular season was discontinued when the NBC contract was initiated, and the regular season was extended from 14 games, the length that it had been since 1996, to 16.
[edit] Video Games
On February 7, 2006 EA Sports released a video game based on the AFL, titled Arena Football, for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. EA Sports released another AFL video game, titled Arena Football: Road to Glory, on February 27, 2007, for PlayStation 2.[2]Previously an AFL game titled Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed had been released for the Playstation.
[edit] Literature
In 2001, Jeff Foley published War on the Floor: an average guy plays in the Arena Football League and lives to write about it. The book details a journalist's two preseasons (1999 and 2000) as an offensive specialist/writer with the now-defunct Albany Firebirds. The 5-foot-6 (170 cm), self-described "unathletic writer" played in three preseason games and had one catch for -2 yards.
[edit] Teams
| National Conference | ||||
| Division | Team | Arena | Year built | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Columbus Destroyers | Nationwide Arena | 2000 | Columbus, Ohio |
| Dallas Desperados | American Airlines Center | 2001 | Dallas, Texas | |
| New York Dragons | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 1995 | New York area | |
| Philadelphia Soul | Wachovia Center | 1996 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Southern | Austin Wranglers | Frank Erwin Center | 1977 | Austin, Texas |
| Georgia Force | Philips Arena | 1999 | Atlanta, Georgia | |
| New Orleans VooDoo | New Orleans Arena | 1999 | New Orleans, Louisiana | |
| Orlando Predators | Amway Arena | 1989 | Orlando, Florida | |
| Tampa Bay Storm | St. Pete Times Forum | 1996 | Tampa, Florida | |
| American Conference | ||||
| Division | Team | Arena | Year built | City/Area |
| Central | Chicago Rush | Allstate Arena | 1977 | Rosemont, Illinois Chicagoland |
| Colorado Crush | Pepsi Center | 1999 | Denver, Colorado | |
| Grand Rapids Rampage | Van Andel Arena | 1996 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | |
| Kansas City Brigade | Kemper Arena | 1974 | Kansas City, Missouri | |
| Nashville Kats | Nashville Arena | 1996 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Western | Arizona Rattlers | US Airways Center | 1992 | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Los Angeles Avengers | Staples Center | 1999 | Los Angeles, California | |
| Las Vegas Gladiators | Orleans Arena | 2003 | Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| San Jose SaberCats | HP Pavilion | 1993 | San Jose, California | |
| Utah Blaze | EnergySolutions Arena | 1991 | Salt Lake City, Utah | |
Source: [3]
[edit] Expansion
The AFL has expanded to 19 franchises for the 2006 season. The league conducted an expansion draft in September of 2005 in order to stock the Utah Blaze. Because of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans VooDoo announced that they would suspend operations for 2006. Players under contract to the VooDoo were transferred to the expansion Kansas City Brigade franchise. The 2007 season saw the return of arena football to New Orleans.
[edit] Championship Games
On June 11, the Chicago Rush defeated the Orlando Predators to win ArenaBowl XX in Las Vegas. It was the second straight year the game was played in Las Vegas. All previous title games were on the home field of the team with the better record. On December 4, 2006, the New Orleans Arena, home of the New Orleans VooDoo was announced as the site of ArenaBowl XXI.[4] The game, scheduled for July 29, 2007, will be the first professional sports championship to be staged in the city since Hurricane Katrina.[5]
[edit] Commissioners of Arena Football
- C. David Baker - 1996-Current
- Jim Drucker - 1994-1996
- Joe O'Hara - 1992-1994
- Jim Foster - 1987-1992
[edit] Trivia
- The league also has contracts with Russell Athletic[6], Upper Deck and Foot Locker (through their Champs Sports division).
[edit] Possible Expansion
The following cities were publicly speculated by the AFL as possible future expansion sites during the Commissioner's conference call prior to ArenaBowl XX.[7]
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Houston, Texas
- Miami or Sunrise, Florida
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- St. Louis, Missouri
The following markets have potential owners with expansion rights:
- Sacramento or San Francisco, California - The San Francisco 49ers own expansion rights
- Washington, D.C. - Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder owns expansion rights to this market
[edit] See also
- Arena Football for league rules
- ArenaBowl for information on the AFL's championship game
- Defunct Arena Football League teams
- List of leagues of American football
- List of Arena Football League seasons
- List of Arena Football League Venues
- Sports league attendances
[edit] External links
- AFL Official Website
- Arena Football League on ArenaFan.com
- Arena Football League on ArenaFootballNetwork.com
- Arena Football League at Sportiki
Major: Arena Football League • Canadian Football League • National Football League
Minor: af2 • All American Football League • American Indoor Football Association • American Professional Football League • Continental Indoor Football League • Intense Football League • National Indoor Football League •Southern States Football League • United Indoor Football • United States Football Alliance • World Indoor Football League
Non-North American: Asia Pacific Football League • NFL Europa • Southside Football League • X-League
Defunct: All-America Football Conference • American Football League • Continental Football League • Eastern Indoor Football League • Hawaii Football League • Indoor Football League • Indoor Professional Football League • Professional Indoor Football League • United States Football League • World Football League • XFL
