The Alliance of American Football is nearing the final month of its inaugural season, and while there have been bumps in the road, overall it’s been a fairly successful start for the fledgling football league.
The AAF recently announced its championship game would move from Vegas to Frisco, Texas in order to upgrade the facility it will play at, moving to a Jerry Jones owned stadium in a state the league has a foothold in. It’s clear things are still fluid for the AAF and one prominent fan has a suggestion for a rule change that would guarantee more viewership.
Eminem had a thought while watching a game between the Birmingham Iron and the Memphis Express, and decided to fire off a tweet requesting the league allow players to fight like they do in hockey. If they were to make that change, he promised to be a fan for life — and also would like a team in Detroit.
DEAR @THEAAF,
PLEASE ENTERTAIN THIS THOUGHT REGARDING THE @AAFIRON @AAFEXPRESS GAME: ALLOWING THE PLAYERS TO ACTUALLY FIGHT WOULD BE KEY TO LEAGUE’S SUCCESS LIKE HOCKEY, I WOULD WATCH EVERY GAME (EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO DETROIT TEAM YET – HINT). DON'T BLOW IT.
SINCERELY,
MARSHALL— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) March 26, 2019
The AAF expanding to Detroit is a far better possibility than them sanctioning fighting during their games, but Marshall Mathers’ request is duly noted. He’s likely calling on the wrong startup football league for this potential rule change, as it feels much more like an XFL thing.
The AAF takes itself seriously and has a partnership with the NFL, so it is trying very hard to avoid being more sideshow than football, which is what a league allowing fighting would be. Beyond that, allowing players to punch each other in the head amid the increase in scrutiny about concussions and head injuries in football would probably not be the best idea — although I have no doubt there are more like Eminem that would tune in to watch.
