"What I really thought was that there were so many BYU fans here that put 60,000 or more in the stands every week that we might be able to get some of them to come watch us," he said. "But I'm learning it takes time. Going to BYU games is a tradition in Utah County and something Cougar fans do almost out of habit. I've learned it's a tough proposition to get fans to learn who we are and learn what we are."

Breaking into the market at this level has proven difficult. In fact, it's difficult in most markets.

The AIFA began as a small East Coast-based league with only six teams back in 2005. Since that season, the league has seen more change than it has consistency.

Though there are currently 14 teams in three divisions in the league, just as many franchises have folded in the AIFA's five-year existence and another nine teams left the league for affiliation in another minor league. And several of those franchises have since closed their doors.

Owning a team in the AIFA is not a long-term proposition for most people. It's also not a profitable one.

Affleck admits he will take a large hit in the pocketbook when his Thunder wrap up their first season in the next few weeks.

Sponsorships have been hard to come by and tickets aren't exactly flying out the sales office window.

"We hoped we could sell ads on the dasher boards that go all the way around the playing field," he said. "We thought at $2,500 a pop that would be a nice hit for us. But it just hasn't been that easy."

Indeed, a handful of the dasher board ads are vacant or simply have the Thunder logo.

Ticket sales, Affleck said, have also been slow. His goal at the beginning of the season was to sell 3,000 tickets per game at Orem's McKay Events Center.

"We hit that the first game," he readily admits. "But since then it's fallen off a lot."

When the Thunder played host to the Ogden Knights on May 30 — Ogden is also a first-year franchise in the AIFA — there were fewer than 1,500 fans in the stands.

Up the road in Ogden, the Knights are facing similar challenges.

Owned and coached by Michael Mink, who happens to be the co-founder and co-owner of the AIFA, the Knights play in front of sparse crowds at the Golden Spike Arena — a venue typically used for rodeos or trade shows.

Sponsorships are limited and revenue is hard to come by. And the Knights are well short of the attendance figures even the Thunder are posting. Against the Wyoming Cavalry in May, the attendance was listed as just 700.

Like Aki, Ogden has a roster filled with players just hanging onto the football-playing bug.