Sad news today for everyone’s favorite indoor half-football league. Despite a rise in popularity, the Arena Football League has decided to suspend operations for a year.

The Arena Football League, which has grown steadily in popularity and fan attendance during the past decade, is expected to cancel what would have been its 23rd season in 2009, according to multiple media reports.

…In a statement released Tuesday, the AFL said it “is working on long-term structural improvements.”

For those not familiar, the Arena Football League is quite different from traditional football. For example, the field is fifty yards long rather than one hundred, and “we are suspending operations” probably means “the economy sucks and we’re probably never coming back.” Too soon?

I’m reminded of the short-lived United States Football League, which, after suspending operations in the 1986 season, intended to return in 1987 but never did. While it’s difficult to imagine that the AFL is dead for good, especially since its little brother af2 will remain operational, it seems doubtful that the economic climate will foster a return in 2010.

The real tragedy is that the Philadelphia Soul, Georgia Force, Tampa Bay Storm, Chicago Rush, Colorado Crush, Grand Rapids Rampage, Kansas City Brigade, and Utah Blaze will not play in 2009. Non-plural team names are perhaps our nation’s greatest treasure. Hopefully, the NFL will find it within itself to compensate by renaming some of its franchises. How about the Detroit Angst, or the Denver Anachronism, or the Minnesota Handful of Marbles? We need singular team names now more than ever.

For what it’s worth: The Arena League is denying the report.