Athena was an athletic shoe company founded in 1971 by entrepeneur David Linnel, a young California businessman who seemed to perfectly anticipate the fitness craze of the late 1970's. By 1980, Linnel had sold millions of sneakers and their trademark jogging shoe, with Athena's low budget overseas manufacturing techniques propelling them into landmark profits.
Athena was one of the first companies to fully realize the potential of aggressive marketing in sportswear. Using high budget saturation ads featuring high paid world class athletes, Athena quickly took over the majority of the athletic shoe market and moved into most other areas of sports apparel, equipment and was responsible for turning the fitness craze into a fashion statement during the 1980's.
As Athena moved into the 90's, Linnel went beyond simply supporting sports and into purchasing them. He bought a football team and a baseball team, but his most stunning purchase was when he bought out the entire NBA. During a time of players strikes, he founded another league for the players to participate in, at higher pay. As the strike dragged on, more players defected, until the NBA realized it was fighting a losing battle against a corporate giant.
In 1995 Linnel became aware of the newly formed IFC and decided that no other form of competion was more primal than hand-to-hand fighting. He supported the IFC for several years in order to learn it's rules and find talent, but in 1998 he announced his withdrawl of support from the organization in order to form his own league.
The Athena Fighting League (AFL, which Athena now has sole right to use as an corporate abbreviation after unbelievably winning a court case with the American Football League, now called the USFL) has been criticized by some critics as being too soft, not allowing holds to go on more than 10 seconds, forcing competitors to wear headgear and gloves, restricting pressure point strikes, etc. But Athena argues that it is simply protecting the participants from undue harm, at the same time ensuring a longer and more profitable career. Initial fan respose to the heavily publicized league, which began in 1999, has been favorable, and growth looks good.
As the new league began however, the Moroboshi Temple in Japan announced it would begin it's ancient tournament again, which has long been touted by critics as the finest mixed martial arts tournament in the world. Athena realized it's potential not only to steal their thunder, but also for the IFC, Athena's main competitor to provide financial support and add the Tournament to it's roster of fights. Linnel quickly did some research and found the Temple was in disrepair and badly in need of money.
Linnel quickly offered to help rebuild the temple and the arena better than ever, at the provision that Athena be given rights to television broadcast of the event, and to enter AFL fighters into it. Strapped for cash, the Temple had little choice but to accept.
Faction Fighter Represenative
Athena's fighters are represented in the tournament by Master of the Mantis Aleria Mooring. A British notable as the first female master and as a very competent striker.
Like many former tournament fighters, Mooring joined the IFC in it's infancy. However, when Athena's league began, she was one of the first fighters recruited and first signed. She has pressed for many of the safety issues that she feels offer her fighters longer, more successful careers.
You can access her Athena web page here... Athena Inc