There were some who questioned that moving minor league af2 teams in with some of the best AFL teams would create a big mismatch and boing, 30-point margin victories.
To take a line from Lee Corso, "No so fast my friends!"
Actually, the opposite of that theory has ensured. Parody is running rampant throughout the league. Teams we thought had no chance are proving themselves by beating the "big boys" of the AFL. On the flip side of that, teams we thought we ArenaBowl contenders are undershooting and underperforming against these "cupcake" af2 teams.
Case in point, the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings. The Battle Wings were not picked by many, including me, to go very far and stand a chance against some of the tougher teams in the league. However, through two games this season Bossier has gone 2-0 including a big win over historical favorite Orlando. Likewise Milwaukee has done the same thing. Nobody gave them a single chance against Spokane, yet they came out and showed everyone that a new league equals new results.
On the flip side, Cleveland and Orlando have failed to show their old AFL form. To their defense, Cleveland has played two former AFL foes in Arizona and Chicago, but led Arizona late at home and should have come away with a win there. Orlando, on the other hand, has no excuse for their loss. Playing an "easy" af2 opponent, the Predators should have been able to put that game away early, but instead let Bossier hang around too long and subsequently lost their season opener.
But the most exciting part isn't necessarily the parody running around the young league. What has stuck out the most is what the AFL always has done best: scoring. Five games this year have been decided by seven or less and even more decided in the fourth quarter when one team just decides to pull away.
Need more proof? Take a look at two games this past week alone. The AFL Game of the Week, Cleveland at Chicago, was a classic AFL-style shoot out. Each team went back-and-forth back-and-forth, matching score-for-score. At the end of each quarter, except for the fourth, the teams were always tied. Finally, Chicago's Chris Gould ended it with a 20-yard field with:02 seconds left in the game to cap off an outstanding game.
Still looking for more? Just 24 hours later, Dallas traveled to Tulsa in an early season epic divisional battle. Dallas led the whole game, but two untimely fumbles helped the Talons get back in the game and ultimately win the game in the final minute.
"This is arena football at its finest. You're never out of game," Talons head coach Mitch Allner said to the Tulsa World after the game.
So the teams may have changes and some faces may have changed, but this is still the same old surprising league. You never know what's going to happen and that's what makes this league absolutely amazing.
So while "minor" league teams are mixed with "major" league teams, Yogi Berra would say, "It ain't over 'til it's over."