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Why Are Fans Wild Over Arena Football?

The Arena Football League (AFL) is in full swing, attracting
fans with fast, hard-hitting action, a lot of scoring, and
dazzling plays made in tight quarters. The AFL, which has just
entered its twentieth season, features 19 teams in two
conferences - the National and American. Each conference is
divided into two divisions, with the Eastern and Southern
divisions in the National Conference and the Central and
Western in the American.

If you've ever watched an AFL game, you certainly recognize
it as being similar to the NFL version. Scoring is basically the
same, although there are variations, and rules are also
similar but, again, with some wrinkles that give the indoor
version of American style football an added edge. The sport
is a whole lot of professional football with some racket ball,
basketball, and shrinkage thrown in. It's the Mini-Me of NFL
football.

The Teams

The National Conference contains ten teams with the Dallas
Desperados, New York Dragons, Philadelphia Soul, and
Columbus Destroyers in the Eastern Division and the
Orlando Predators, Austin Wranglers, Georgia Force, Tampa
Bay Storm, and Kansas City Brigade in the Southern
Division. Last season the Dragons and Force were tops in
their divisions.

In the Central Division of the American Conference the four
teams are the Colorado Crush, Chicago Rush, Nashville
Kats, and Grand Rapids Rampage. The Western Division
includes the Los Angeles Avengers, San Jose Sabercats,
Las Vegas Gladiators, Arizona Rattlers, and Utah Blaze.
There are a total of nine teams in the American Conference
of which the Crush and Avengers were the best in their
respective geographical divisions.

The Field

The dimensions of the AFL field are what help make this a
unique brand of football. The indoor surface, which is
padded, is 50 yards long and 85 feet wide. The goal posts,
like the field, are also smaller than those in the NFL - nine feet
high with a crossbar height of 15 feet as opposed to those in
the NFL, which are 18 ½ feet wide with the crossbar at 10
feet.

There are 48 inch high sideline barriers made of high density
rubber, which help to ease the impact of receivers, running
backs, and defensive players smacking into the stands as
they go out of bounds.

Each end zone, which is eight feet deep, has a rebound net
that is 30 feet wide and 32 feet high. The rebound net keeps
the ball alive after a missed pass. If a ball is caught off the
net, it is live and in play until it touches the playing surface.
This feature, which allows play to continue, provides
additional action. The nets and the short field help to increase
scoring opportunities and are partly responsible for the
typically high scores. It's not unusual in an arena game for
teams to put up a combined total of over 100 points! In fact
the field, along with the rulebook, is geared towards creating
a plethora of scoring opportunities, giving the AFL game an
ongoing give-and-take unpredictability you often don't find in
the NFL.

The Rules

The petite field demands fewer players; you'll find 8 rather
than the standard NFL 11 on either side of the ball. There are
also fewer specialists in the arena game - quarterback, one
offensive specialist, a kicker and two defensive specialists.
The offensive line must have four players and the defensive
line three.

A few ways in which the rules are focused on keeping play
continuous and action ongoing include the
offensive/defensive rosters, the substitution rule and the play
clock. Players, except for the specialists, play both offense
and defense, which means there is less change over when
the ball is turned over. Additionally, all non-specialists may
substitute only once during a quarter. Finally, unlike the very
long 45 second clock found in the NFL, the arena league has
a more basketball-like 25 second clock, which over the
course of a 60 minute game just about doubles the number of
plays run.

There are four 15 minute quarters; however, unlike the NFL,
the clock does not stop for out of bounds plays or incomplete
passes unless the game is in the last minute of play in the half
or the referee stops it for a penalty or injury. Once again, play
occurs at a very quick rate, making the game action-packed.
Each team gets three timeouts per half.

One thing that's missing from the AFL that you'll find in the
NFL is the punt. That means, with the shortened playing field
and the no punt rule, every play off the offensive line has the
potential to put points on the board. The offense has four
downs to move the ball 10 yards for a first down or to score.

Scoring is also a bit different from the other league with a
drop kick after a TD being given 2 points and a drop kick
field goal being awarded 4 points. All other scoring is the
same.

Passing follows NCAA rules, which state that a receiver must
have one foot inbounds when catching a pass. The nets are
the other variation from the NFL game. The receiving team
may also use the nets during a kickoff or a missed field goal
to field balls. Thus, as long as the kick doesn't stray off into
the sideline area, there is always the chance for a runback,
since the ball cannot be kicked beyond the end zone.

Overtime rules also vary a bit from those in the National
Football League. NFL football plays one sudden death
overtime period during the regular season. AFL overtime
runs the same number of minutes, but it is not a sudden death
situation. Each team gets one possession in the overtime
and if a team is ahead after that, they win. If the game is still
tied after both have had one possession, then the next team
that scores wins. A regular season game can end in a tie.

Wagering

With so many scoring opportunities and such a small playing
field, it's obvious that one of the hallmarks of AFL football is
high scores. Scores such as 62-63 are not unusual in the
arena league. Depending on the weekly match-ups,
over/unders can easily top 100 points, whereas NFL
over/unders tend to range between 33 and 46 points. Overall
point spreads are the same as typical NFL differentiations,
ranging from +/- 3 to the rare 10 ½ or 14 ½ variance.
However, the spreads are determined differently.

Scores in the games tend to be relatively close, although
there are your 65-25 blowouts. One of the great things about
arena ball for bettors is the league is much more open about
team information, willingly reporting injuries to odds makers.
Why is this the case? The AFL knows that one of the things
that has made the NFL so popular is betting, and they'd like
some of the recognition and mass appeal that comes with
Vegas and sportsbook "action."

This is a less defensive minded league, which makes
handicapping an AFL game different from analyzing an NFL
contest. Remember, there's much less specialization in arena
ball, which means players must have skills on both sides of
the ball. This also magnifies the importance of an injury, which
can have a bigger affect in the AFL than it does in the NFL.
Squads are also smaller in the 50-yard league, with 20 men
per team and four reserves. Again, that translates into each
player carrying more weight in the game.

The typical home field advantage in the NFL results in a 3-
point spread, whereas that advantage in the AFL is 5-points.
Two things influence the higher spread - the high scoring and
the intensity of AFL fans. In arena football, spectators are
extremely close to the game, making the experience more
like a NBA game than a NFL contest. The physical closeness
of fans to tough, unrelenting play can exacerbate emotions.
Arena football venues rock! Thus, the home field advantage
has more power over the outcome of the game.

When wagering, you should carefully consider the kicking
game. Remember, it's a fifty-yard field, which means an
accurate kicker with a good leg can score from anywhere.
Additionally, there are no weather conditions to influence
kickers or any other players. Finally, there's a lot more
passing in the AFL and when researching QB, offensive and
defensive ratings you want to keep this in mind. Player power
ratings are also determined differently because players
perform on both sides of the ball.

Arena football, with its emphasis on offensive action, creating
more scoring opportunities, and desire to have more
continuous play than the NFL, offers fans and bettors a venue
unlike any other. Rambunctious, fast-paced, and frenetic,
arena football has created its own niche in the world of
professional sports. Fans love it - take a look if you haven't
already. If you love the sport of football, you'll probably get
hooked.

About the Author

This article was written by Paul Mroczka for http://www.thegreek.com/. The Greek Sportsbook & Casino, winner of Gambling Online Magazine's Top Payouts Sportsbook two years in a row, is host to one of the top online sportsbooks. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online.

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2nd best ... sorry but Barry Sanders is #1

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