Yesterday, with nothing to do on a cold, dreary night in San Antonio, my mom and I decided at the last minute to hop in the car and head over to the Alamodome to see the inaugural game for the Alliance of American Football. The AAF is a new league with many former NFL players and coaches that hopes to fill the dreadful period without football after the Super Bowl for the most passionate of fans.
I didn’t really know what to expect, but I’m so glad I made it to the game. For 16 years living in San Antonio, I’ve desperately wanted an NFL team. While this isn’t the NFL, it seems like a promising opportunity that the city is sure to rally around. Already it’s clear that the city will embrace the Commanders, with more than 27,000 fans in attendance for the game against the San Diego Fleet. Also, the game was nationally televised on CBS, and the game drew more viewers than the NBA game between the Thunder and Rockets on ABC.
Last night’s game was lively, exciting and incredibly entertaining. Some new rule changes proved to be refreshing, such as a lack of kickoffs and shorter timeouts between drives. The talent also definitely appears to be there, as many of the players have been in the NFL or come from college football, and the game-play is at a high level.
It will be interesting to see what comes in the next few weeks as the newness of the league wares off, but my first impression is that the Alliance is here to stay! And for football fans, will anyone complain about more quality football?