Arena Football Is Back!

Your wails and lamentations have been heard, people! A year without indoor football is not a year worth living through, which is why the football gods—the really short ones—have resurrected arena football and saved your life.

The original AFL brought you 22 seasons of glory before flaming out in bankruptcy earlier this year. Thankfully, people who are so determined to play football that they will do so indoors on a 50-yard field are not easily discouraged. They're launching a new 16-team arena league that will start play next year.

In addition to several new franchises, the league will poach teams from both AFL and Arena Football 2 and play under the same rules of their predecessors. (Although it is not affiliated with either one.) The name of the new league is ... ready? ... Arena Football 1. How do they do it?!

The commissioner of the new league says the AFL's business model was broken, but that this time around they think they've found the key to running a viable sports league. "You can't spend more than you generate in revenue." Holy crap! It's like I'm talking to Warren Freakin' Buffett over here. It's time to raise the nets!

New arena football league launching [AP] Arena league will return, but Albany Firebirds may not [Albany Times Union]