Recently, the Arena Football League lost two teams in a matter of a couple of weeks. First, the Cleveland Gladiators announced they were taking two years off while their arena The Q is getting renovated during the NBA and AHL offseason and the other team to suspend operations are the Tampa Bay Storm. They explained that rising costs and low revenue were the reasons they elected to suspend operations.
With these two teams gone, the conversation has fired up again as for how long will the AFL last. Truth is, it’s better for the league to fold and not come back. Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Albany should go join another indoor league like the IFL.
When the original AFL folded in 2009, no one knew if it were ever coming back. The AFL had rising player salaries and low revenue and in the end, caused the league to fold. After the AF2, (AFL development league) folded after the 09 season, a new league was created in Arena Football 1. Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cleveland, Arizona, and Chicago returned to a new league called AF1 (Arena Football 1).
Not long after that, AF1 rebranded as AFL or AFL 2.0. The 2010 season seemed to promise so much for AFL fans, There were 15 teams from a mixture of original AFL teams, AF2 teams and a reincarnation of Utah Blaze, who were known at the time as Utah Valley Thunder in the AIFA. The following year, Philadelphia, New Orleans (Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings), San Jose, Kansas City, Georgia (Alabama Vipers) along with expansion Pittsburgh made the league up with 18 teams.
This seemed good for the league but that’s the last time they ever had success. From there on, teams folded or left for another league. Now, the league is just down to 2 owners and 4 teams. Former AFL teams Arizona Rattlers and Iowa Barnstormers have found success in the IFL since leaving the AFL. Jacksonville has also found success in the NAL.
While there are rumors of Jacksonville Sharks owner Jeff Bouchy waiting for the league to fold just so he can buy the assets of the AFL and maybe create AFL 3.0, it’s best for all parties that the AFL disappear for good. The only names that should be bought are the team names that were in the AFL like Georgia Force, Chicago Rush, New Orleans Voodoo and so on.
The Arena Football League was good while it lasted and now it’s time to move on. You can’t bring back what’s already dead.
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