The NFL Is King And All Others Shall Fail....

When is too much of a good thing a bad thing?

That's a question that you may ponder on a daily basis, that extra cup of coffee for example, It tastes so good that you desire that 6th 2nd cup of it but you know the caffeine levels will mess you up for the rest of your workday. When you have a good thing you have to take it for all it's worth and enjoy every last bit of it.

There came news Monday that another Arena Football League would be surface with 16 teams ready to play some football starting next year. This news came as a surprise to me because I can recall Arena Football (although thoroughly exciting for the lowest common denominator of football fans) folded it's operation for the indefinite future. The league formed in 1987 and did reach a pinnacle when national networks (ABC/ESPN/NBC) decided to start carrying games on television. Unfortunately (for some) the league had extreme financial problems and therefore declared bankruptcy therefore shutting down the league.

Why do so many people believe they can take a superior product like the NFL and try a new spin on it? It's never worked and never will. Don't they know that too much of a good thing is a bad thing?

Remember the Vince McMahon/WWE creation of the XFL? Remember the Chicago Enforcers who finished the season at 5-5. It had many elements of the NFL's game with a few twists which included an opening 20 yard scramble for the ball which determined opening possession. How about the concept of you had to win to get paid? What an idea! In fact most fans of the NFL game like that idea. Remember that rule that every game must be played on a grass field outdoors because that's how football was meant to be played. One year after their debut....the XFL folding due to HORRENDOUS television ratings. There were shows on the Discover Channel doing better ratings than the "Million Dollar Game" which was the XFL's "Superbowl."

How about the more recent upstart league...the LFL. You haven't heard of the LFL?? The Lingerie Football League! Can you imagine listening to that business pitch. "Let's put girls in spandex and pads and play some full contact football!!"

Maybe it's me, or is this a perfect example of the decline of the western civilization??

Seriously, if you're gonna pay your hard earned dollar to go see a bunch of women play football in spandex, you should really get some help. This has got to be one of the dumbest concepts ever for the football fan. Where's the value of the sport in a venture like this? It's really just a bunch of guys going out and hoping something "pops out" or some kind of "cat fight" breaks out. This is an embarrassment to the sport and if schedule conflicts with arenas and teams cancelling their seasons till the following year, don't expect this monstrosity to last as well.

Then there is this United Football League which starts up next Thursday with the California Redwoods taking on the Las Vegas Locomotives. This is a four team league which spans from early October to Thanksgiving. The games are exclusively broadcast on cable networks HD Net and Versus and the rosters are comprised of D list players from the NFL. If the competition level of this league is any better than Division II NCAA football...I'll be extremely shocked.

These three football leagues are example of when too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Why anyone invest their money in a product that takes the NFL which is viewed by over 30 million people every Sunday, and try a new spin on it is just ridiculous waste. If you want to throw out money like that, why not put it towards something that will at least benefit somebody that needs it.

The NFL is a freight train that can't be derailed by any other organization. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but no one watching the impersonations.

Give me more NFL before trying to replicate it.

-RoCk