By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I love Cinnamon Toast Crunch; so much so that for my birthday last year my children gave me a Family Size box of it, with the specific waiver they would not eat any of it.

I am also notoriously cheap, and I only buy “The Crunch”, as it is referred to in my house, whenever it is on sale. During those times it’s not on sale, I’ll opt for the generic store brand. It’s not as cinnamony, or toasty, or crunchy as the real deal, but it gets me through the cravings.

Besides hoping a General Mills employee will read this and bless me with copious amounts of free cereal, there is an actual reason I’m divulging my breakfast eating habits.

Even though the Alliance of American Football (AAF) is in its infancy, I feel like it will be a worthy alternative to the NFL, when the name brand isn’t available.

There have been leagues in the past that were either too gimmicky (XFL), too devoid of talent and coaching names (Arena Football), or foolishly tried to go head to head against NFL (American Football League), that ultimately folded. On the surface it seems as if the AAF is avoiding most of those pitfalls, at least to start with.

Their “gimmicks” are looser rules when it comes to penalties and allowing listeners to listen in on challenges; neither of which are very gimmicky, but rather things the average football fan would enjoy.

There is big name talent throughout the league, from those in advising positions, to the coaches and players on the field.

And while they might benefit more from starting a little later on in the year, they aren’t competing head to head with the NFL.

I also like, and this may be purely coincidental, but in the case of the Atlanta Legends, there is a certain local flavor when it comes to their roster. 14 of the 52 players on the roster, which equates to 27% of the team, played college ball in the state of Georgia.

Most everyone who follows college football, or any major college sport for that matter, has players they enjoyed watching that either never made it to the next level or didn’t last very long. This is just another avenue, a more legit one, to give us the opportunity to continue following those careers.

The ratings have been better than expected and the commentary for those who are tuning in has been positive for the most part, so the league is at least off to a good start.

Obviously, there are some issues that could pop up down the road: how do they keep the NFL from poaching their successful players and seeing that they’re not a niche league will fans tire of the product? (I’m contradicting myself somewhat, but Arena Football has done a great job of marketing their differences to the NFL, while not being over the top.)

Whether the league folds after this year or is around for the next fifty, it’s giving a group of players an opportunity to showcase their talents. And for the fans, it’s given us another outlet to enjoy the game.

Sure, it’s not the name brand product we’re used to seeing, but if you’re within driving distance of Atlanta it may be worth the time and minimal amount of money it will cost you, and give the league a chance by seeing a game. Sometimes those off brands will catch you by surprise.