Football Junkies Unite

Are you like me?

If so, then this past December 20, when Utah and Navy locked horns in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, you were locked into coverage, despite having absolutely zero rooting interest.

Same goes for when Memphis tangled with Florida Atlantic, East Carolina blitzed Boise State and for the rest of this college football season's 32 bowl games. The reason: because I'm a football junkie, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

I get overly agitated when people who claim to be college football loyalists moan about there being too many bowl games. To a football junkie, there is no such thing. Think about it: it's a random Thursday night in December; all of your TV shows are in reruns; it's too cold to do anything outside; and the glory that is college football rewards you for your loyalty with free football! How is this bad?

Just as we begin our entry into the coldest, darkest months of the year -- Spring -- a time when football as we know it ceases to exist and junkie's like me are cast into withdrawals scraping for anything to satisfy our addiction, a new shimmer of hope is emerging. It's called the All-American Football League, and I am already an ardent fan.

True, sports fans have seen professional football leagues come and go. We all remember the wildly popular but short-lives USFL; Vince McMahon's XFL debacle; and who could forget NFL Europe's failure despite the backing of the most powerful professional sports league in the world. But I believe, with a few modifications, the AAFL could work. I mean, really work.

The league is made up of six teams without mascots and bearing only the name of the state it represents: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas. The goal is to create border loyalty as is often demonstrated in college football. Think Tennessee-Alabama in the Spring instead of October. Franchises have been cemented in areas saturated with football-crazed fans dying for a football fix in the Spring (Notice four of the six teams are in SEC states). Teams are also allowed to "protect" players who played college ball in their designated area, allowing the local fan bases a greater familiarity with its players. Oh, and most importantly, the games are played in the Spring, so there is no direct competition with the NFL.

Another important factor that the AAFL is addressing is perception. If these games were to be played at local high school facilities where fans line up at a Pot-O-Gold to use the restroom and purchase concessions from the bed of a pick-up, attendance would dive and the league would be a laughing-stock. Instead, the AAFL has reserved major venues to feature their games: Ford Field, Neyland Stadium, War Memorial Stadium, Legion Field, and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to name a few. By holding its games in larger, historic venues, the league is granted instant credibility and allows fans the feeling of a "big game" atmosphere.

The AAFL also gains instant credibility with several players currently on AAFL rosters. Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch will play for Team Texas. Former NFL No. 1 draft pick Peter Warrick has agreed to suit up for Team Florida. National Championship quarterbacks Chris Leak of Florida and Tee Martin of Tennessee are also on board. All six rosters are littered with names football fans will recall from their days playing major Division I football.

While I am jazzed about the opportunity to see quality football in the Spring, I do believe the AAFL might be shooting itself in the foot in one area. The league requires all of its players to have exhausted their college eligibility and and to have received their college degree. Sadly, this eliminates a chunk of potential talent on AAFL rosters. For example, Trev Faulk was an All-SEC linebacker at LSU before leaving school early for the NFL. Faulk went undrafted and is bouncing around the league as nothing more than a practice squad player. Faulk could be an impact player on an AAFL roster, but will not get the chance because he left school before finishing his degree.

Fans will watch, but they will also want to watch a quality product. The AAFL only hinders that effort by instituting this rule. While I believe the essence of the rule is good in forcing players to consider life after football, it will only hurt the bottom line. Consider the aforementioned XFL. It was a ratings bonanza in Week 1. However, a sub par product caused ratings to sink so far that Saturday night programming on PAX and UPN were outpacing the XFL. Yes, PAX was beating a live football game! It's no wonder the league bottomed out after one season.

The AAFL will also need to address fan bases in states outside of those hosting teams. The protected player rule extends for smaller states to include neighboring states. Team Arkansas, for example, can protect players from Oklahoma and Louisiana as well. However, while there are 11 players currently on the Arkansas roster from Louisiana, all five home games are being player in Little Rock. Honestly, there is little to no likelihood of any LSU fan driving to Little Rock to watch an AAFL game. Team Florida has the right idea. To galvanize their fan base throughout the entire state, games will be played in Jacksonville, Gainesville and Tampa. Arkansas should be open to playing home games in Baton Rouge and Stillwater as well. Don't designate fans for your team and then shun them.

The AAFL has potential. Any league willing to provide relief to football junkies in dark times of Spring is welcomed. It would be a shame to see poor planning send the AAFL into a tailspin and football junkies like myself back into withdrawals.