December 13, 2008

For now, the 2009 AFL season is on. By Sunday afternoon, who knows if
that still will be the case.

Storm coach Tim Marcum said today that the league's board of
directors, which voted Wednesday to not suspend the season, will re-
convene Sunday and vote on the matter once again. And that, quite
frankly, worries him.

"The guys that lost the first vote ... they're trying to postpone the
season," Marcum said. "They've called another meeting for Sunday and
they're trying to finagle things as much as they can until they get
their way."

Marcum said a handful of franchise owners (those from Columbus,
Dallas and Philadelphia) are trying to gain enough votes to postpone
the season. But he said the Storm, Arizona, New York, Orlando and San
Jose are committed to playing in 2009, and are doing all they can to
make that happen.

"The USFL took a year off, too," Marcum said. "And look what
happened."

Storm owner Dr. Bob Nucci "cares about the fans," Marcum said. "He
cares about our players. He cares about the game. We don't want this
thing to go away."

When the board, which consists of all franchise owners and a
representative from Gridiron Enterprises, which holds the patent for
the AFL, met via conference call Wednesday, the vote was 10-7 against
playing in '09. A three-fourths vote was needed to shut things down.

Macum said that since that first vote, the Chicago franchise has
switched sides and is now against playing. If the other votes hold,
that would make it 11 against playing and six for, inching the number
closer toward what is needed to cancel the season.

"It looks like they're going to try to vote until they get their
way," Marcum said. "The league is in debt. There's a lot of work that
has to be done. We're willing to do it. We have a plan; they just
won't listen. The 11 people (against playing) will not take any
calls. They've got their minds made up."

In light of what is transpiring, Marcum remains hopeful of having a
2009 season. He did, however, concede that the AFL of '09 might not
resemble that of '08.

"The odds are, there will be a season," Marcum said. "But this is
ridiculous. It's Dec. 13. We've got guys out there, guys with kids
and families. We're dealing with 500 families and lives here involved
in Arena Football. To pull the plug out now is just not right."