The Albany Firebirds hosted a press conference that they had been teasing for a week or so, where they ended up announcing that Upstate New York's prodigal son Sam Castronova was returning to Albany to be QB1 for the Albany Firebirds in 2025 -- which is a story in and of itself (and something that some savvy podcasters were able to sniff out more 3 weeks ago), but not what brings us together today to celebrate the life and memories of one of the most electric rules in sports that will be reportedly be no more.
Reporter Michael Kelly, who has been absolutely phenomenal covering the Albany Firebirds, had a conversation with Albany Head Coach Damon Ware (seemingly at the event) and was able to get some information of what is to come in regards to certain rules for AF1 in 2025.
Say it ain't so, Michael! A lot (and I can not emphasize the "A LOT" enough here) went wrong for the AFL in 2024. But one of the few things that they had working for them was the 3 point & 4 point conversions. It was pretty straight forward.
Your options after scoring a touchdown are:
Kick the Extra Point - 1 point
2 pt conversion from the 2.5 yard line - 2 points
3 pt conversion from the 5 yard line - 3 points
4 pt conversion from the 10 yard line - 4 points
This means that a 10 point lead is still technically a one possession game (TD + 4 pt conversion). This makes every single game more competitive and resulted in some wild endings for the Arena Football League in 2024. This also adds an interesting element of strategy to the game. Do you go for the 4 point conversion every time? Or do you lay it up and take the one point instead?
Unconventional? Yes. THRILLING?! Also yes.
I present to you Exhibit A. The last 39.6 seconds of the West Texas Desert Hawks vs the Albany Firebirds in Week 5 of the 2024 AFL season: (link if not working on mobile)
Just ignore the running clock towards the end there. Nothing like some good ol' Albany home cooking
Exhibit B. The last 24 seconds of the Albany Firebirds vs the Billings Outlaws in Week 9 of the 2024 AFL Season: (link if not working on mobile)
Bailey Giffen -- DOG
THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE TAKING FROM YOU!
THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO EXPERIENCE
OFF THE WALL CERTIFIED BANGERS!!
I mean, those endings were simply incredible. Fanbases went from "goddamnit this sucks, I can't believe we lost" to "OH MY GOD WE'RE THE BEST!!" in seconds.
But the most eyebrow raising thing to me was the following statement given to MK:
GIMMICKY?! Arena football is a niche sport that is fundamentally based on being gimmicky! The sport is unique because of the gimmicks that make it stand out from the outdoor game.
"Make it a true game that the best football team wins every night". If you score a touchdown and a 4-point conversion enough times in a game, you will have more points than your opponent -- therefore that would make you the better team, no? I digress.
Now, before we tread too much further, let's take a look at the definition of 'gimmick':
Huh. Device intended to attract attention, publicity or business. To me, having a gimmick is not a bad thing, the word is simply weaponized at times. But being different is a good thing.
Can you imagine if we didn't have that West Texas-Albany ending or that Albany-Billings ending? I was watching those games live and they are burned into my brain forever because of how they ended with the "gimmicky", unconventional 4-point conversion. Absolute thrillers.
You could make the case that there are FAR more gimmicky things in Arena Football than a 3 or 4 point conversion. If we're in the business of getting ride of gimmicky rules, let's go through the rule book and see what other gimmicks we can get rid of:
The Deuce:
Points scored by the kicking team on a free kick? Noooooooo thank you! Not part of the game of football that I am used to -- therefore it is toooooo gimmicky for me
The Rouge / Uno:
What did I just say about points being scored by the kicking team?! No thank you!
I prefer my kickers to be as nerfed as possible and I'll be DAMNED if I reward a team for having a quality one!! Hard pass!
The Rebound Nets:
That's the ultimate gimmick, brother! That thing sure does attract a lot of attention, publicity and business to arena football. Can't have that!
The Jack LB:
Folks, we haven't seen a Jack this restricted since a young man got arrested on a transatlantic cruise ship in 1912! I, for one, will not stand for it! #FreeTheJack
All jokes aside, I understand where they are coming from, even if I don't love it. In my conversation with Gary Compton a few weeks back, we talked about the rulebook and how they were looking to implement some changes.
With the goal of the league being to help get players to the next level of the outdoor game, I understand trying to make the rule set more in line with more 'standard' outdoor rules.
But not having the 3 or 4 point conversion in 2025 is going to be a bummer. It made every game so much more competitive and no team was ever really "out of the game" unless it was a 20-30 point game in the closing minutes. We literally had a team down by 11 points with 9 seconds left to win a game in regulation.
Like Shady Sports Network said, it created the craziest ending to a game he's EVER seen! An unbelievable finish! Only in arena football... well, not anymore I guess.
In 2025, if a team is down by 11 points with 9 seconds left -- they will have to score a TD, convert a 2 point conversion, recover an onside kick, and kick a field goal to tie it. Never mind being able to win it!
In a sport and league that self promotes itself as being for the fans, they are taking these unbelievable moments away.
But alas, it appears as though the 3-point & 4-point conversions will be officially announced as dead. It originated in the CIF and lasted one whole dysfunctional season in the AFL, but it made for some unbelievable endings that we will never forget.
R.I.P. 3 pt & 4 pt conversions -- We hardly knew ye
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