Only eight weeks into the inaugural season of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), the league announced it was ceasing operations due to a financial inability to run the league. It's a disappointing development considering this league was the last chance for many talented football players to find themselves back in the NFL. The football was actually pretty good and some familiar names were creating an intriguing comeback story for themselves.
Steve Spurrier, the head coach of the Orlando Apollos is particularly disappointed over the news. Perhaps this could be attributed to the fact that his team was first place in the league. In Spurrier's eyes, if the league was forced to crown premature champions, the Apollos would be the only viable option.
"We're all disappointed, but on the other side, we're the champs, right?" Spurrier told reporters. "We're 7–1 and the next teams are 5–3... The players have had wonderful attitudes, and the effort level they've played with has been very rewarding for me and the coaching staff. We started the season wanting to win the Alliance championship, and if they declare a champ, hopefully these guys will be declared the champ, because they certainly are deserving."
There are still technically two weeks left in the season. Had the league progressed past that, there would have been a four-team playoff in which the Apollos would have been the surefire favorite.
