Knee-Jerk Reaction to Week 1 of the AAF
The inaugural season of the Alliance of American Football debuted last weekend and here are my quick take aways:
Level of Play:
Better than I expected - definitely somewhere between College and the NFL. You can see there is a speed on the field, but sometimes offenses looked predicatbly sloppy. This wasn’t unexpected as these teams have only been together for a few months, but I’m hoping cohesion increases, because there is certainly talent on display. I think, from a purely football perspective, there is a ton of potential for the AAF to grow into a solid product.
Uniforms/Team Names:
Very poor. Have to question a lot of the team names - feels like WNBA meets the Arena Football League. A few particularly brutal names that stuck out to me were the Atlanta Legends, Orlando Apollos, Arizona Hotshots, Birmingham Iron, and San Diego Fleet (5 out of the 8 teams in the league).. Uniforms were pretty awful. Except for the Birmingham Iron’s classic black and white look, it seemed like most of the uniforms were ripped right out of Any Give Sunday (Although now that I think about it, the Birmingham Iron’s uniforms may actually be carbon copies of the Miami Sharks’). I guess that’s what you get when Starter has the uniform rights to your league.
Team Most Excited by:
Orlando Apollos. Steve Spurrier’s squad definitely posted the best performance of week 1 as they christened their maiden match-up by blitzing the Atlanta Legends 40-6. The Head Ball Coach had some fun too - calling for a “Philly Special” to former Texas and SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert. In a week where most teams looked rusty, the Apollos gelled effortlessly and seemed a step ahead of the pack.
Best Moment:
When Mike Bercovici was murdered - hand’s down. This hit will go down as one of the best football hits on anyone, in any league, anywhere. Really set the tone for the viewer about what this league is about. Would’ve been a borderline ejection in the NFL (definitely a penalty), but wasn’t flagged in the game.
Missed the Mark:
Flags for unsportsmanlike conduct on TD celebrations. NFL has caught a lot of heat for their strict rules on TD cellys so it was disappointing to see Trent Richardson flagged for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ when he spiked the ball and it landed in the stands. Similar to the removal of kickoffs, the AAF had a great opportunity to further point out perceived inadequacies with NFL rules, but missed the mark. The league should reevaluate their TD celebration policy, because it’s a tremendous chance for an infant league to attract new viewership and it’s fun for fans.
Other Random Musings:
I don’t know why, but it really bothers me that social media, and pundits alike, have incessantly compared the AAF to the popular Netflix series Last Chance U. While there are certainly similarities regarding the themes of second chances and personal redemption, this narrative has been entirely overplayed, if not beaten to death. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why this comparison drives me insane, but it does and I think it’s valid.
The lack of marketing for this league was wildly inadequate. Only after reading an ESPN article on the eve of the AAF’s debut did I remember that I had heard about the league a few months before. I had not seen any commercials. articles, billboards, or press about the AAF’s launch in the lead up to its debut last weekend and I’m pretty confident that I fit their target demographic. It’s mind-boggling that in this day and age a league who’s front office has so NFL experience would completely botch their marketing. A suckling league like the AAF should have pitched a comprehensive campaign to raise general awareness about their launch. The AAF consciously admit that they aren’t trying to compete with the NFL, but at least let your potential fan base know that you exist and what time you kick off.
