Columnist Dean Juipe: NBC trying to nurture the Arena League

Dean Juipe

Monday, March 1, 2004 | 9:51 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

The Arena Football League may not mean much to the National Broadcasting Co., but NBC means a great deal to the AFL.

The network gives the league a legitimacy that it would not otherwise possess, much as the Nike swoosh allows its athletic shoes to pass as the equal or better of any other (even if they were all made in some sweatshop in Thailand).

It's a stamp of approval.

But it's one the AFL is in danger of losing as its once-a-week telecasts continue to attract limited numbers. In fact, NBC has already let it be known that it is not adverse to dumping its Sunday afternoon AFL telecasts next year in favor of an even more specialized sport, the Pro Bull Riders Association tour.

NBC aired Sunday's AFL game at the Thomas & Mack Center between the Las Vegas Gladiators and New Orleans VooDoo to a national audience that had plenty of televised college basketball, golf, hockey and auto racing at its disposal. As the Gladiators pounded out a 50-30 victory before some 7,000 spectators, this much was clear: The success of this franchise and this league is almost totally dependent on exposure.

"NBC has already helped the Arena league by attracting some high-profile owners who probably wouldn't have otherwise gotten involved," said radio broadcaster Mike Pritchard of Las Vegas, who does the Gladiators' games along with Andrew Siciliano on ESPN 920-AM. "I don't think the league would have had John Elway (at Denver) and Jon Bon Jovi (at Philadelphia) investing as owners without its connection to NBC.

"The contract with NBC also puts the league on the verge of being generally accepted and recognized as a reputable sport. It's on the verge of becoming a major attraction."

While a lesser (cable) network could step in to replace NBC if the broadcasting giant cuts its ties with the AFL, the effect on the league as a whole would be significant. Pritchard, a great running back during his playing days at Rancho High, University of Colorado and through 10 seasons in the NFL, cited the reduced influence of NFL Europe in the wake of TV's declining interest as a possible parallel to what NBC means to the AFL.

"NFL Europe dropped off because of a lack of (TV) coverage in America," he said. "Whatever interest there was in that league dissipated when it wasn't on TV like it once was or could have been.

"It's not a question of talent. I'm sure NFL Europe has talented players and I know the Arena Football League has plenty of talent; the games are exciting and there's a lot of hard hitting.

"It's just a matter of exposure and of getting people used to the idea of football at this time of the year. That's the challenge."

That challenge, it can be argued, is being at least partially met.

NBC has blocked enviable time for the AFL and is doing its best to promote the league, going so far as to have Elway on its studio panel (at least this week).

The league has advanced to where its standings run regularly in the nation's newspapers and a paragraph or two on each game makes it into many of those outlets.

And locally, the Gladiators appear to be capable of retaining a niche audience if not a widespread fan base, although their future -- as is the case with any professional team in Las Vegas -- is far from secure.

"I think this is a city that craves a professional sports franchise," Pritchard said, "but there are so many people here from so many different areas of the country that it makes everything seem so transient."

The Gladiators, 2-2, have played two home games to similar-sized crowds, although they did extend the curtained-off area in the T&M's upper deck from where it had been for the team's home opener two weeks ago to where it covers at least half of the balcony. The move -- an aesthetics adjustment, shall we say -- allows for fewer vacant seats to be seen, yet indicates there is no growing demand for tickets.

"The UNLV (men's) basketball team almost draws this many fans," said wisecracking veteran radio man Bob Blum as he looked about the arena, getting a dig in on both the Rebels and the Gladiators for each's tepid support.

Just as the Rebels need their fans' forgiveness and patronage through thick and thin, the Gladiators and the AFL need to be seen to have any shot at being appreciated. And they'll never be seen on any greater or more influential media outlet than NBC.

"It's like a circle," Pritchard remarked of the relationship between the network and the league. "One needs the other."

Except the AFL has a dependency on NBC that clearly is not reciprocal.

If TV gives up on the league, particularly in favor of the Pro Bull Riders tour, it will be a difficult stigma to overcome. One thing the AFL cannot afford is to be bucked off at this stage of its development.