Spurrier said his team will look to sign players with ties to the state of FloridaGETTY IMAGES
Alliance of American Football CEO Charlie Ebersol over the weekend said the list of cities that will receive franchises will be announced this week, and announced "our first city will be Orlando." Ebersol, appearing on “CBS This Morning: Saturday,” also announced Steve Spurrier as the AAF’s first head coach. Spurrier said of what attracted him to the AAF, “The new rules I really like. Two-and-a-half hour games, 30 seconds in between plays and so forth -- the fans really want to see that” (“CBS This Morning: Saturday,” 4/7). In Orlando, Mike Bianchi reported there is "no name for Orlando's team yet, but games are planned to be played at UCF's Spectrum Stadium." Season-ticket seat deposits will "go on sale beginning" at 4:00pm ET on April 17 at aaf.com, with ticket pricing and seating to be "announced this summer." Other cities and coaches in the eight-team league "will be rolled out in the next few days." Rosters are to be "filled with a regional draft of players in each team's geographic area." Spurrier said, "Our plan is to get some [Univ. of Florida] Gators, some [UCF] Knights and a lot of other in-state players and SEC-type players" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 4/7). Bianchi noted Spurrier "badly wanted to scratch that perpetual coaching itch." This is the "perfect outlet" for Spurrier -- a spring league with a 10-week season where a "premium will be put on offense and scoring points" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 4/7). Meanwhile, SPORTING NEWS' Alex Marvez cites a source as saying that CBS Sports Net analyst Rick Neuheisel "will lead a Southern California-based team." An official announcement is "expected soon along with the exact location of where that club will be playing" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 4/9).
BEING DIFFERENT: Ebersol said of what did not work for other spring football leagues, “The USFL drew huge crowds. The XFL drew huge crowds in 2001 -- they were averaging like 25,000 tickets a game. So, what we looked at was, 'okay, what worked about that and what didn’t.' The number one thing that didn’t work was quality football. You’ve got to put (out) quality football. Football has to be the focus. ... You’ll see that our focus from now until February 9. You’ll see a ridiculous laser focus on the quality of the game” (“CBS This Morning: Saturday,” 4/7). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Michael David Smith wrote the NFL so far "hasn't had anything to say" about the AAF. Smith: "But you can bet they'll be watching how football without kickoffs works." If fans "like it and injuries are reduced, which are the two reasons" Ebersol "cited for changing the longstanding rule, don't be surprised if the NFL follows suit" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 4/8).
