Say It Ain't So, John...

Is this at all meant to be serious? The Arena Football League positioning itself to be the NFL's official Minor League?

If you that this Fanhouse post to be true, then there's about to be a civil war in the AFL.

Despite Michael David Smith's post, I don't see John Elway overthrowing David Baker as commissioner of the league and agreeing to make the AFL NFL-lite.

Yes, you can point to the rule changes regarding substitution as a sign of the Apocalypse (if you are an old-school fan). But Arena Football is a completely different game with different skill sets from the larger outdoor game. There's a reason quarterbacks such as Glenn Foley could not adapt to the small field, and it's because it's a faster-paced game played by more agile players.

There's also a reason many AFL players can't make it in the NFL. For every Kurt Warner who used the league as a stepping stone, there's a Sherdrick Bonner and an Aaron Garcia that decided that a career in the AFL is not all that bad.

Take it as a rumor. The NFL will start its own U.S.-based minor league system before it takes on a whole different game.