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Marcus Katz, a San Diego entrepreneur who's bankrolling the fledgling All American Football League, apologized for sounding weary. Seems he's been putting in 18-hour days as his enterprise prepares for the mid-April start of its inaugural season.
The AAFL initially will play in six college football hotbeds on otherwise sleepy spring and summer Saturdays (the season ends in early July), and feature alumni from major colleges. The 60-year-old Katz, who made his fortune in the student loan business, grew up an avid University of Georgia football fan, and he's trying to profit from the adoration fans have for former college players.
Sometime soon, Katz says, he will dial up Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne and gauge his interest in allowing an AAFL team to rent Memorial Stadium for home games, possibly as soon as 2009.
I'm a sucker for these types of leagues, so here's hoping Osborne gives Katz a long listen. The AAFL is intriguing. At this point, however, Osborne knows little to nothing about it.
Of course, one thing Katz will use to get Osborne's attention is money (the AAFL reportedly is paying the University of Tennessee $3 million to rent 102,000-seat Neyland Stadium). Another thing Katz might pitch is 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch's involvement.
The 29-year-old former Husker quarterback was drafted third overall this past weekend by Team Texas. (Don't ask me why they call it "Team Texas" as opposed to a more conventional name. Whatever.) Crouch is elated to have a chance to extend his career. He says he has a lot of football left in him, having appeared in only 20 games since his senior season at NU.
"I feel like I'm at the beginning of my career, not the end," he says.
Crouch seeks to prove himself as a quarterback in a passing offense. He will operate in former University of Houston coach John Jenkins' run-and-shoot system, which may be a nice fit for the fleet and athletic Crouch, who's comfortable throwing on the run.
So, can Crouch still electrify the way he did at Nebraska?
Dunno. But I'd pay to find out.
And I'm guessing tens of thousands of fans in our neck of the woods would join me.
"Nebraska Cornhusker fans feel like they know the players on the team," Crouch says. "You start rattling off the names of ex-players, and fans sometimes remember the names better than the players themselves remember them. I think there would be a good following here because it's such a tight community when it comes to the Husker program.
"Initially, I was a little bit leery of the AAFL, to be honest," Crouch admits. "But I researched it and found out the league is going to be tied in with universities, and that you have to have your degree to participate. Right away, I think they're trying to set a high standard. Just looking at those two things, I knew it was going to be a quality league."
With teams in Detroit, Little Rock, Ark., Gainesville, Fla., Birmingham, Ala., Knoxville, Tenn., and Houston, the AAFL hopes to build on fans' identification with former college stars. In some cases, the team's colors will be similar to the local college team.
In addition to Crouch, Team Texas features former Texas Tech quarterbacks Kliff Kingsbury and B.J. Symons, as well as ex-Husker Willie Amos (2000-04).
The AAFL is wise in waiting to begin its season until after the NCAA men's basketball Final Four (April 5-7). But will fans in each AAFL city shell out significant money — the league hopes to keep its average ticket price at $25 — to watch a first-year franchise end its season about six weeks before their favorite college football team starts fall camp? At what point will enough be enough?
What's more, AAFL teams likely will be vying for many of the same corporate sponsors as the college teams.
Will fans stream into Rice Stadium in Houston (capacity 70,000) to watch Crouch and Co.?
Katz has plenty of money to toss around. He anticipates a $12 million budget for each team, and players will make $50,000 to $100,000 for a 10-game regular season. The AAFL and the eight-team United Football League — which plans to play games on Fridays in the fall — will help fill the void in the wake of NFL Europe's demise.
In addition to Crouch, ex-Husker center Josh Sewell was a first-round AAFL choice, selected with the sixth pick by Birmingham. Sewell, a starter at Nebraska in 2003, has been working in Lincoln as a banker. Like Crouch, Sewell's objective is to get another chance in the NFL. Also like Crouch, Sewell has high hopes for the AAFL.
The XFL was too gimmicky. The USFL got too greedy.
Maybe the AAFL will beat the odds, although nobody's saying it'll be easy.
Sewell thinks the new league will be embraced in the southeast region.
"You understand being from Nebraska, people here are crazy about football," Sewell says. "You go down there, and it moves to another level. It's like Nebraska tenfold. Starting it down there and building a good base, I think makes sense.
"Plus, let's face it, there's no such thing as too much football."
Maybe he's right. Just me talking here, but I could use a big dose of football in Lincoln in spring and early summer.
Marcus Katz, a San Diego entrepreneur who's bankrolling the fledgling All American Football League, apologized for sounding weary. Seems he's been putting in 18-hour days as his enterprise prepares for the mid-April start of its inaugural season.
The AAFL initially will play in six college football hotbeds on otherwise sleepy spring and summer Saturdays (the season ends in early July), and feature alumni from major colleges. The 60-year-old Katz, who made his fortune in the student loan business, grew up an avid University of Georgia football fan, and he's trying to profit from the adoration fans have for former college players.
Sometime soon, Katz says, he will dial up Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne and gauge his interest in allowing an AAFL team to rent Memorial Stadium for home games, possibly as soon as 2009.
I'm a sucker for these types of leagues, so here's hoping Osborne gives Katz a long listen. The AAFL is intriguing. At this point, however, Osborne knows little to nothing about it.
Of course, one thing Katz will use to get Osborne's attention is money (the AAFL reportedly is paying the University of Tennessee $3 million to rent 102,000-seat Neyland Stadium). Another thing Katz might pitch is 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch's involvement.
The 29-year-old former Husker quarterback was drafted third overall this past weekend by Team Texas. (Don't ask me why they call it "Team Texas" as opposed to a more conventional name. Whatever.) Crouch is elated to have a chance to extend his career. He says he has a lot of football left in him, having appeared in only 20 games since his senior season at NU.
"I feel like I'm at the beginning of my career, not the end," he says.
Crouch seeks to prove himself as a quarterback in a passing offense. He will operate in former University of Houston coach John Jenkins' run-and-shoot system, which may be a nice fit for the fleet and athletic Crouch, who's comfortable throwing on the run.
So, can Crouch still electrify the way he did at Nebraska?
Dunno. But I'd pay to find out.
And I'm guessing tens of thousands of fans in our neck of the woods would join me.
"Nebraska Cornhusker fans feel like they know the players on the team," Crouch says. "You start rattling off the names of ex-players, and fans sometimes remember the names better than the players themselves remember them. I think there would be a good following here because it's such a tight community when it comes to the Husker program.
"Initially, I was a little bit leery of the AAFL, to be honest," Crouch admits. "But I researched it and found out the league is going to be tied in with universities, and that you have to have your degree to participate. Right away, I think they're trying to set a high standard. Just looking at those two things, I knew it was going to be a quality league."
With teams in Detroit, Little Rock, Ark., Gainesville, Fla., Birmingham, Ala., Knoxville, Tenn., and Houston, the AAFL hopes to build on fans' identification with former college stars. In some cases, the team's colors will be similar to the local college team.
In addition to Crouch, Team Texas features former Texas Tech quarterbacks Kliff Kingsbury and B.J. Symons, as well as ex-Husker Willie Amos (2000-04).
The AAFL is wise in waiting to begin its season until after the NCAA men's basketball Final Four (April 5-7). But will fans in each AAFL city shell out significant money — the league hopes to keep its average ticket price at $25 — to watch a first-year franchise end its season about six weeks before their favorite college football team starts fall camp? At what point will enough be enough?
What's more, AAFL teams likely will be vying for many of the same corporate sponsors as the college teams.
Will fans stream into Rice Stadium in Houston (capacity 70,000) to watch Crouch and Co.?
Katz has plenty of money to toss around. He anticipates a $12 million budget for each team, and players will make $50,000 to $100,000 for a 10-game regular season. The AAFL and the eight-team United Football League — which plans to play games on Fridays in the fall — will help fill the void in the wake of NFL Europe's demise.
In addition to Crouch, ex-Husker center Josh Sewell was a first-round AAFL choice, selected with the sixth pick by Birmingham. Sewell, a starter at Nebraska in 2003, has been working in Lincoln as a banker. Like Crouch, Sewell's objective is to get another chance in the NFL. Also like Crouch, Sewell has high hopes for the AAFL.
The XFL was too gimmicky. The USFL got too greedy.
Maybe the AAFL will beat the odds, although nobody's saying it'll be easy.
Sewell thinks the new league will be embraced in the southeast region.
"You understand being from Nebraska, people here are crazy about football," Sewell says. "You go down there, and it moves to another level. It's like Nebraska tenfold. Starting it down there and building a good base, I think makes sense.
"Plus, let's face it, there's no such thing as too much football."
Maybe he's right. Just me talking here, but I could use a big dose of football in Lincoln in spring and early summer.
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