SAN ANTONIO- The American Alliance of Football is a new league for pro football lovers. The new league consists of eight teams and is slated for a February 2019 debut on CBS, following the NFL Super Bowl.
The league was created by Charlie Ebersol, who directed an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on why the XFL failed. To assist him with his new venture, he rallied former NFL general manager Bill Polian. The league also has an array of assistance including former Steelers player Troy Polamalu, and USC executive J.K. McKay.
Since the new league announcement, the AAF announced they will be coming to San Antonio and just recently introduced the team name, the San Antonio Commanders, and their team logo. The logo brings the heart of the Alamo City into their design. Their colors are maroon, silver, and red to represent the city, the dress swords, and the Texas flag. They also incorporated the historical Alamo building and the Texas Lone Star into their design as well.
The San Antonio Commanders announced their GM as former NFL fullback and Fox NFL broadcaster Daryl “Moose” Johnston. Johnston got his nickname from his large stature compared to his peers. He was a part of three Super Bowl winning teams and retired in 1999 from the NFL after suffering a neck injury. One of his new focuses as the GM for the Commanders is to recruit talented athletes who were on the cusp of making the NFL roster but fell short. He plans to “give them a chance to show the football world what they can do, that they do belong.”
Former San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley will be coaching the new San Antonio team. Riley has an extensive coaching background, coaching since 1977. He was a defensive coordinator at Linfield College in Oregon, and later became a head coach for the Canadian Football League. He spent two seasons as OSU’s head coach. He was also an assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints. During his introduction as the new head coach for the Commanders, he stated he was “really excited about Alliance San Antonio”.
So far, the San Antonio Commanders roster primarily consists of players that played for Texas Universities. The current roster consists of players from Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Texas State, West Texas A&M, and Incarnate Word. There are also former NFL players such as former Rams running back Daryl Richardson and former Saints running back Khiry Robinson.
The Commanders will be playing their home games at the Alamodome, the schedule and ticket prices have yet to be announce, but you can reserve your seating in advance for only $50.00 by visiting the AAF website.
