Af2

af2 (short for arenafootball2) is the name of the Arena Football League's minor league, which started play in 2000. The rules are the same as for the parent league. While the parent league moved its season opening to February to accommodate a television contract with the National Broadcasting Company in 2003, af2 stayed with the "traditional" Arena season of April-July.

Baker's Vision

In a June 2003 interview with Sports Illustrated, AFL commissioner David Baker briefly mentioned the af2, saying how one day, he envisions the league growing to 100 teams. As of 2005, this vision seems rather unlikely. The af2 is fielding twenty teams in 2005, down from twenty-five in 2004. In fact, the league has seen declines in the number of teams every year since the 2002 season, when they fielded thirty-four teams. This is possibly due to the fact that the league grew too quickly (the league saw thirteen new teams in 2001, and ten in 2002), since historically, massive expansions have little success (the NIFL, a rival indoor league, has seen large amounts of expansion teams since they began in 2001 but many struggle financially). Four new expansion teams have been approved for 2006 in the af2. Biloxi, Miss., Stockton, Calif., Everett, Wash., and Spokane, Wash.

Related Topics:
June - 2003 - Sports Illustrated - David Baker - As of 2005 - 2005 - 2004 - 2002 - 2001

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