They also lied. Spurrier was quoted as saying that Polian told him and others that the league had financing secured for 3 years and could survive without any profits.
If it was a rushed launch thats one thing. But then you have to be honest about it. If you are looking for investors and you tell them "we are secure for 3 years" even the most sympathetic investor would say "let me just wait 3 years then and see how you guys do".
The other tidbit I heard was that thee AAF was hoping for an NFL investment to become a development league. How stupid is that?
College is the development level and for those who don't make the 54 there is the PS. Why would a league invest in developing players who get banged up every week?
The AAF was a second chance league, just like the CFL, for players who want another chance at the NFL. It was also a league, just like the CFL, for players who are simply not good enough for the NFL but love to play football.
If the AAF would have admitted that and would have been honest about their finances they coould have been somewhat successful maybe. The XFL is no competition. The XFL is a strictly entertainment league just like wrestling.