Uncategorized

Score one for nostalgia.

While some of the stars of today are preparing themselves for the biggest game of the NFL season, and some of the stars of tomorrow are preparing themselves for April’s draft, many stars of yesterday are getting one more shot in the game that they love.

The first draft for the newly-formed All-American Football League was held on Saturday, and there are quite a few familiar names among the 300 players drafted.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of the AAFL, the best way to describe it might be to say it’s a nostalgic version of NFL Europe, with a collegiate feel to it.

The league is starting out with teams based in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas, and the teams will play their games in a mix of collegiate and professional stadiums, with play starting in April and stretching into July.

Arkansas had the first pick of the draft and selected former Troy offensive lineman Zarah Yisrael. Never heard of him? Neither have I, but this much is apparent - he’s strong. Yisrael benched 225 pounds an astounding 48 times in Troy’s pro day in 2006. That’s 48 more times than I can do it, so I’m certainly impressed.

Former Virginia Tech QB Bryan Randall was picked second by Tennessee, who also picked former Tennessee QB Tee Martin.

Texas picked third and selected 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch, who will once again be playing QB, instead of receiver, as he did when he was in the NFL.

Florida’s first-round pick was used on Eric Kresser, who backed up Danny Wuerffel at Florida before going to Marshall, beating out Chad Pennington to be starting quarterback, and tossing touchdown passes to Randy Moss for a season before moving on to a short NFL career.

There are a lot of other notable names among those drafted, including Chris Leak, Peter Warrick, former Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury, former Clemson QB Woody Dantzler, along with ‘He Hate Me,’ Rod Smart.

A lot of these guys are no doubt still harboring some hopes of getting a shot in the NFL, and with NFL Europe no longer in existence, this league offers the opportunity to make that happen. Who knows, maybe the next Kurt Warner, Jon Kitna, Jake Delhomme, or Aaron Stecker could be on a field near you in the next few months.

For others, it’s just a matter of having the chance to play the game that they love, may they be coming back to the game after a few years away, like Kresser, or guys who may well not get that NFL chance but still want to keep the ride going as long as possible.

Just how well the league is going to do remains to be seen, but it should draw a fair amount of fans, at least right off of the bat.

Not only will the league provide hardcore football fans something to watch while the NFL and college football are on break, but the nostalgia factor is pretty big as well.

The Florida team will feature numerous players from the Steve Spurrier days, in running backs Terry Jackson and Elijah Williams, receivers Chris Doering, Willie Jackson, and Travis McGriff, along with kicker Judd Davis. The only guy missing, outside of Wuerffel, is Jacquez Green.

And, some of the matchups are pretty eye-catching, like Florida-Tennessee, Alabama-Arkansas, along with Tennessee-Arkansas, which will tickle SEC fans‘ palettes.

I wonder how many Tennessee fans will come to their game against Arkansas with signs for Arkansas QB Clint Stoerner referring to his memorable late fumble in Knoxville in 1998, as the Razorbacks were up 24-22 and trying to run the clock out. That fumble opened the door for a 28-24 Tennessee win, which kept the eventual national champion Vols in the hunt, ended Arkansas’ unbeaten season, and made a kid in Mississippi especially happy.

It’s not as if this new league is going to threaten the popularity of the NFL, and it won‘t even be competing with the NFL. And, if you’re thirsting to see Hall of Famers in action, you might not see that in the AAFL, though a few could be future inductees in the College Football Hall of Fame.

At the least, it will provide a quality alternative to sitting at home and watching DVDs of the past season, while allowing people to get one more look at some of their favorite college players. And, the AAFL might also appeal to those who are turned off by the NFL due to the $$$$$ that seems to dampen the passion for the game that the players are supposed to have.

One interesting thing to point out is that all of the players must have a four-year degree, which emphasizes the importance of education and the fact that life is about a heck of a lot more than stepping on the field and scoring touchdowns.

The Texas team will be playing at Rice Stadium in Houston, and it sounds pretty tempting to make the drive up and see at least one of their five home games this coming season. It won’t be just for the sake of satisfying my curiosity and my fanaticism, but also because it will provide a reminder of where that fanaticism started, and it’s good to have a reminder sometimes, whether you need it or not.

If you want to learn more about the new league, visit http://www.allamericanfootballleague.com.

Related posts on The Red Zone Report

• Top 5 BCS Games from the First 10 Years of the BCS (0)