Saturday Blitz
Fansided

AAF provides college football fans a chances to reminisce

By Matthew Bartlett

ATHENS, GA - NOVEMBER 23: Quarterback Aaron Murray #11 of the Georgia Bulldogs walks in his final Dawg Walk before the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Sanford Stadium on November 23, 2013 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - NOVEMBER 23: Quarterback Aaron Murray #11 of the Georgia Bulldogs walks in his final Dawg Walk before the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Sanford Stadium on November 23, 2013 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The AAF battle between Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger serves as a prominent reminder the good ‘ol days are always worth reliving.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Aaron Murray finds a receiver in the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown to put his Georgia-based football team ahead. The former Bulldog quarterback threw a staggering 121 touchdown passes across his storied four-year career in Athens but never achieved his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.

Fast-forward five years from the 2014 NFL Draft where Murray was selected in the fifth round by the Kansas City Chiefs and you find this:

Murray, donning the purple and gold of the newly formed Atlanta Legends, slinging another touchdown.

The circumstances surrounding his first professional touchdown pass are nothing like Murray would have ever imagined. How could he? The Alliance of American Football wasn’t even an idea when Murray was cut for the final time by the Los Angeles Rams in May of 2017.

The AAF offers Murray a chance at redemption. Maybe he’ll make it back to the league, maybe he won’t. But regardless, he’s going to throw a few more touchdowns, for old times’ sake if nothing else.

He’s not alone. The Legends beat the Memphis Express, led by former LSU star Zach Mettenberger. Drafted by the Tennessee Titans, Mettenberger started 10 games before bouncing around the league for a year and eventually finding the AAF. And thus the audience for the AAF was born.

Next. Building the perfect college football super team. dark

There are diehards in San Diego who miss having a professional football team. Folks in Birmingham and San Antonio have been waiting for pro ball for even longer. But a sizable portion of those watching the Atlanta Legends beat the Memphis Express were reliving the nostalgia of two college greats battling once more.

Home/Georgia Bulldogs