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Post by Nickybojelais on Jan 10, 2016 11:55:02 GMT -5
I remember it was a huge deal in the UK for one year when the London Monarchs won the World Bowl, we were getting crowds of around 50,000 at Wembley for Monarchs games. Then just a few years later they ended up playing in front of tiny crowds before they folded. I also remember that the entire league was effectively exclusive to German teams by the time NFL Europe folded.
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mizerable
Fry's dog Seymour
You're the lowest on the totem pole here, Alva. The lowest.
Posts: 23,475
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Post by mizerable on Jan 10, 2016 14:03:02 GMT -5
Let's Bowl on Comedy Central was sorta fun. It was solving a dispute with a bowling match including psych outs.
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kevin
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 7,499
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Post by kevin on Jan 10, 2016 16:17:23 GMT -5
For me the USFL. I had a video game as in a VCR game that used USFL footage it was great.
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Post by karl100589 on Jan 10, 2016 18:12:56 GMT -5
A1GP is the series that came to mind for me. The 'World Cup of motorsport' concept was a novel one, it had a good mix of promising youngsters and seasoned veterans (Jos Verstappen and Nico Hulkenburg come to mind) and filled the void left by F1 during the winter months.
It failed though because of bad management (introducing a new car in season 4 that teams couldn't afford), poor circuits (a Beijing street course with a hairpin too tight to get around) and the World Cup concept being nulified almost immediately (Graham Rahal representing Lebanon).
Plus there were some frankly bizarre champions as well, the best motor racing nation in the world being between Ireland and New Zealand?!
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Post by Danimal on Jan 13, 2016 11:15:49 GMT -5
How could we forget the USFL? The league founded by everyone's favorite windbag, Donald Trump. Trump didn't found it, he bought in by purchasing the New Jersey Generals after the 1983 season. In other leagues, the World Football League lasted all of a year and a half (1974-75). World Football LeagueYa, not many people remember the World Football League. Not surprised it didn't fly. The AFL was certainly a success but after that merged there was no real need for a major pro league outside the NFL. Love the earlier mention of Slamball, that was fun to watch, wish it had lasted. The roller derby show was good too. Chuck Norris was a big sponsor of the World Combat League. It had teams of kickboxers that fought each other. The bouts were short so they tended to be more active and they were fought in a circle with no ropes around them like BKB boxing. It didn't last long.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 17:16:59 GMT -5
In 1914 a third baseball league (the Federal League) began play, and only lasted for two years due to lack of finances. One of the teams, the Chicago Whales, were the original tenants of what is now Wrigley Field. Walter Johnson also nearly jumped to them at the height of his career. He would've gone to the Chicago Whales but Senators owner Clark Griffith drove to Kansas to retain him. The deal was considered so done in fact that Baseball Magazine already had a cover printed up:
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unc40
Dennis Stamp
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Post by unc40 on Jan 13, 2016 19:59:37 GMT -5
NFL Europe lasted for over 10 years but the only thing I remember about them is that the had teams on Madden Football and if you wanted an easy win just play one of the NFL Europe teams.
I liked Roller Jam but they didn't do themselves any favors with some of their corny storylines.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2016 12:53:45 GMT -5
As Andrew posted a week or so ago of its demise, there was a Senior Pro Baseball league for a cup of coffee. I remember Luis Tiant being traded for teddy bears, and that's about all.
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Post by Doogie Bowser, MD on Jan 14, 2016 23:39:37 GMT -5
Surprised nobody has mentioned the original WHA.
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Post by Hit Girl on Jan 15, 2016 6:41:55 GMT -5
The UEFA Intertoto Cup.
The most bafflingly confusing and pointless football competition ever.
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Post by HMARK Center on Jan 15, 2016 9:44:35 GMT -5
Surprised nobody has mentioned the original WHA. Beat me to it. Not a total failure, given that some of its teams made it to the NHL, but it was a league that changed the sport in an enormous amount of ways, many of them off the ice. Plus, it was where Gordie Howe finished and Wayne Gretzky began.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2016 10:13:42 GMT -5
WBF
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Post by Session Moth is over on Jan 15, 2016 12:47:25 GMT -5
The Nations cup in football which featured Ireland, N. Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Lasted all of one season.
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Post by Doogie Bowser, MD on Jan 15, 2016 13:27:05 GMT -5
Surprised nobody has mentioned the original WHA. Beat me to it. Not a total failure, given that some of its teams made it to the NHL, but it was a league that changed the sport in an enormous amount of ways, many of them off the ice. Plus, it was where Gordie Howe finished and Wayne Gretzky began. Gordie actually finished his career in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers - their first post-WHA season was his last.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2016 16:09:59 GMT -5
CFL is still around but they hilariously thought it was a good idea to expand into America. No American teams exist as well with expansion talks to the States. Baltimore is the only city that have won The Superbowl and The Grey Cup
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Post by Father Dougal McGuire on Jan 16, 2016 16:09:36 GMT -5
CFL is still around but they hilariously thought it was a good idea to expand into America. No American teams exist as well with expansion talks to the States. Baltimore is the only city that have won The Superbowl and The Grey Cup Closes the circle on failed footballs leagues in the US outside the NFL in the 90s. Some of the CFL teams were WLAF teams, the Sacremento team moved to San Antonio for example, and some of the European teams became NFL Europe teams.
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Post by Muskrat on Jan 16, 2016 19:58:06 GMT -5
Surprised nobody has mentioned the original WHA. Beat me to it. Not a total failure, given that some of its teams made it to the NHL, but it was a league that changed the sport in an enormous amount of ways, many of them off the ice. Plus, it was where Gordie Howe finished and Wayne Gretzky began. Bobby Hull signing the first ever million dollar contract changed the face of hockey forever. It's still a huge sports moment for Manitoba and the Winnipeg Jets
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Post by HMARK Center on Jan 16, 2016 20:10:24 GMT -5
Beat me to it. Not a total failure, given that some of its teams made it to the NHL, but it was a league that changed the sport in an enormous amount of ways, many of them off the ice. Plus, it was where Gordie Howe finished and Wayne Gretzky began. Bobby Hull signing the first ever million dollar contract changed the face of hockey forever. It's still a huge sports moment for Manitoba and the Winnipeg Jets Absolutely; in my ways that era was the greatest thing to happen to professional athletes, forcing the old codgers at the established leagues to sit up and take notice, and realize that their best talent wasn't going to just sit around and accept a pittance of what they should've actually been making because of the "prestige" of playing for the older leagues. Screw that, the WHA, the ABA, and the AFL are all out there throwing money around in their desperate bids to get off the ground, and that money is there for the taking! Would've loved to seen those days where you had more legitimate options (shaky though they may have been) and a more heterogeneous sports scene. Kind of funny how those are the three leagues that had stiff competition in the 60s and 70s, yet it's MLB where the player's union, and thus a player's salary, has grown strongest. That's largely due to the '94 strike, of course, but still, I find it interesting.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2016 20:46:59 GMT -5
Looking at sports leagues of the '60s & '70s, two things killed them: overspending without money coming in, and oversaturation. The new leagues were so hellbent on being immediate competition, they lost their minds financially. It caused the ABA to basically limp along all 9 years of existence, the WHL & NHL damn near bankrupted each other with skyrocketing salaries, and the North American Soccer League had 20+ franchises in 1977 with ONE making money that year. (If you guessed the Minnesota Strikers, you get a cookie. The Cosmos lost over a million.)
The AFL did it right. Start slow, build a following, then add.
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Post by Jedi-El of Tomorrow on Jan 17, 2016 6:09:51 GMT -5
As Andrew posted a week or so ago of its demise, there was a Senior Pro Baseball league for a cup of coffee. I remember Luis Tiant being traded for teddy bears, and that's about all. Also, one of the owners in that league was Phillip Breen, who would get profiled on Unsolved Mysteries due to being wanted for fraud and embezzlement. He hasn't been caught, I'm guessing he became a member of the IOC or FIFA.
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