Football teams fight to survive: Economy, disinterest have hurt fledgling league

Perhaps you've seen banners on buses, or billboards along I-15, or your child brought home a free ticket and asked you to take him to a football game.

But, you might also be asking yourself, what exactly is the Utah Valley Thunder? Who, exactly, are the Ogden Knights, and what is this league called the American Indoor Football Association?

The answer isn't quite as easy as you'd expect.

For starters, the AIFA is indeed a professional football league. But it is not to be confused with the Arena Football League — which, despite pulling the plug on the 2009 season, still plans on making a restructured comeback in 2010.

But no one plays for the Utah Valley Thunder or Ogden Knights expecting to live a life of luxury with a fat contract.

Unlike the AFL, where the operating budget was a seven-figure amount and many star players had salaries well above $100,000 per season, other minor-league indoor football players have far greater risks than rewards associated with their participation in the game.

"It definitely takes its toll," said Thunder player Akamu Aki, a former receiver at Weber State. "It's kind of busy right now. I think every one of us has a job that we have to work. So getting up for practice at 7 a.m. and then going to work all day can wear you down."

So what, then, is it that keeps players such as Aki, former BYU lineman Dustin Rykert, Utah State's Jay Suguturaga and Utah's Corey Seiuli coming to early-morning practices and games in front of perhaps only 1,000 people?

"There are different reasons for all of us," said Aki, who works as a landscaper during the day. "Some of us just love playing football. For me, I'm using this to hopefully get somewhere else."

Of course, the players — the guys who make $200 per game with a possible $50 bonus if they win — aren't the only ones living a dream.

The team owners are likewise working overtime trying to make ends meet.

Dave Affleck, owner of the Utah Valley Thunder, saw an opportunity when the Utah Blaze suspended operations. He saw a vacancy in the local sports landscape and wanted to fill it.

What the owner of the Utah Valley Thunder didn't see was an economic twist that left him wondering if his investment in a lower-level pro football team would last more than a season.

Situated in a football-crazy valley and playing during a football-starved season, the Utah Valley Thunder hoped to fill a void and strike a little gold.

Instead, Affleck has learned what many have learned before him — ownership of a minor league sports team is not an easy way to get rich.