The American Alliance of Football (AAF), the new-fangled minor league of American football, made its debut on Feb. 9, 2019, which was a red-hot start for the league matching if not surpassing the viewership numbers of the primetime NBA games during the same time slots.

Football is king in America among sports and this new AAF league plans to bridge the gap between the NFL and the college ranks by becoming a developmental league of sorts rather than a rival to the NFL like many leagues before it.

The AAF with the help of prominent NFL legends like Troy Polamalu and Michael Vick in executive and coaching roles has given many young and prominent players get second chances to play the game. A chance to fight for their returns to the NFL through a tweaked version of football more in touch with the outcries of the time.

Players such as Trent Richardson and Christian Hackenberg, have been given another chance at the gridiron and are making the most of it with breakout performances for their respective teams.

Dangerous plays such as the kickoff have been ruled out entirely as a response to the slow phasing out of the play through recent years in the college and pro leagues.

The use of a Sky Judge who views the game through a bird’s eye view in order to catch egregious officiating errors by officials has been implemented as well. This was seen as a direct response to recent controversies such as the Saints-Ram Pass Interference Debacle in the NFC Championship Game.

These new implementations, in a way, is a test for the NFL on whether these advances the masses are clamoring about are feasible in a professional game.

This new startup league will look to avoid the pitfalls of all the leagues before it such as the XFL who’s mediocrity and unprofessionalism left unprofitable after a single season.

The XFL, another startup league attempted to challenge the XFL and failed to have any long-term success because of lack of talent and an utter lack of professionalism and structure.

The faults of the XFL doomed it after just one season because of lack of viewership but the AAF has seemingly learned from their mistakes and moved on from trying to beat the NFL and really just supplement it during the offseason.

Here’s to hoping the AAF finds success because more football is always the answer.