Utah Blaze, new Arena Football League are back in business

WEST VALLEY CITY — You've probably seen the billboards and heard the radio ads.

The Utah Blaze are back.

But are they really?

After nearly 22 months of dormancy, the Blaze — in a revamped Arena Football League, under new ownership, with a new coaching staff and an almost entirely new roster — will take to the field at the E Center hoping to win back the fan base that had the original team among the league leaders in attendance.

"I'm just excited to get back out there," said wide receiver Aaron Boone, the only member of the 2008 Blaze to be on the 2010 roster. "We've got a lot of guys who are ready to play and put on a good show."

The old Arena Football League collapsed after the 2008 season under the weight of some fairly hefty salaries for a minor league sport and a crumbling national economy.

Now, after a separate group of investors bought the names, logos and virtually everything associated with the old AFL, the league is reborn and is taking baby steps at rebuilding.

"With this new model, the league is trying to get back to a level where it can support itself," Blaze coach Ernesto Purnsley said. "Every team is starting from scratch, and it's going to take some time. … But with the new model, it looks good."

The new AFL has drastically cut its salaries. While it was never nearly on par with the NFL, the AFL of years past had several players earning $100,000 or more on each team.

With the new pay scale — and the extended time off that forced most AFL players to find new careers — the rosters are filled with a mixture of AFL rookies, af2 graduates and others hoping to keep the dream of playing professional football alive a little while longer.

"It's still the same game," said Blaze lineman Manny Wright, a USC product with a Super Bowl ring earned while playing for the New York Giants. "Fans can expect hard play. They'll get the best out of us."

Purnsley, a longtime defensive coordinator in the AFL, promises the new Utah Blaze will have a more legitimate defensive presence. While the Blaze were always capable of scoring loads of points, the defense kept the scoreboard operators busy by allowing eye-popping numbers.

Led by veteran players like Wright and Toure' Carter, the Blaze defense hopes to slow down opposing teams and allow the Utah offense to do its thing with less pressure.