USFL to play entire season in Birmingham?

[Crimson1967]

USFL proposes hosting relaunch season in Birmingham in Spring 2022

The league that lasted three seasons in the 1980s is looking to play its re-launch season n a Birmingham "bubble"

www.al.com

This is one of the dumber ideas I have heard. They didn’t go into much detail but they plan to play all 43 games (40 regular season and three playoff) in Birmingham, using Legion Field and the new stadium.

It said they will follow the NBA bubble format. But the NBA was an established brand with a national following with high profile stats. Are people going to tune in to watch people who can’t make an NFL taxi squad? Will the teams bear the name of a city, even though the players and coaches will never set foot in those cities? Will they sell tickets? If they do, will there be enough demand for 43 games?

 

[CullmanTide]

On the contrary, It's brilliant! If it happens it will be a financial boon for Birmingham and the state. It's a made for TV league owned by Fox Sports.

 

[TideEngineer08]

It’s dumber than a bag of hammers.

Which means it will probably work.

 

[deliveryman35]

Someone tell me again how many spring football leagues have been launched and quickly folded in the last 35 years.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Someone tell me again how many spring football leagues have been launched and quickly folded in the last 35 years.

Am I correct that the original USFL is the last Spring league to make it past 1 year?

 

[81usaf92]

Am I correct that the original USFL is the last Spring league to make it past 1 year?

NFL Europe

 

[TideEngineer08]

NFL Europe

American football league, I should have clarified.

And I do not count gimmick leagues like Arena Football.

 

[crimsonaudio]

WLAF (which became NFL Europe) lasted two seasons. I was a big Orlando Thunder fan.

 

[Bama_N_Va]

Watching Pro football or paint dry....thats such a hard choice to make!!!

 

[ALA2262]

On the contrary, It's brilliant! If it happens it will be a financial boon for Birmingham and the state. It's a made for TV league owned by Fox Sports.

So all they need is a TV studio. That is all they will have in Birmingham. Sounds like most of the Bowl games.

 

[CajunCrimson]

I guess it depends. Will Duron Carter be playing?

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Am I correct that the original USFL is the last Spring league to make it past 1 year?

It's no coincidence that the league survived a year and then went right over a cliff the moment a certain casino owner decided to get involved.

Their draft was a farce, a show (territorial).
They started with "control costs" and then signed Herschel Walker to a million dollar contract.

And the USFL's survival LARGELY depended on factors they couldn't control, like the 1982 NFL Players' strike being the perfect time for the league to launch - and at a time they were in cities the NFL did not have franchises (Bham, Memphis, Orlando, Jacksonville, San Antonio) or troubled franchises (Philly, Boston - which technically didn't have a team, Baltimore etc).

The world that allowed the USFL to exist in 1983 is long gone and never coming back. Spring is baseball time, and at the time the USFL was filling a void:
a) hockey did not have a national TV contract
b) basketball had a largely limited national contract
c) baseball had one game a week on nationally other than the Braves and Cubs
d) the NASCAR boom of the 90s had not yet happened, and although that sport is a shadow of what it was, there's a huge contingent of racing fans that are also football fans, but they're not going to watch it in spring.

It's a colossally stupid idea, so as TE08 says, it's probably gonna work.

 

[deliveryman35]

I guess it depends. Will Duron Carter be playing?

To be joined by Titus Ryan.

 

[RammerJammer15]

Someone tell me again how many spring football leagues have been launched and quickly folded in the last 35 years.

A lot, but the most recent one, the XFL was actually going pretty well but the pandemic happened, but The Rock bought it and is supposed to relaunch it next year.

 

[TideEngineer08]

A lot, but the most recent one, the XFL was actually going pretty well but the pandemic happened, but The Rock bought it and is supposed to relaunch it next year.

I forgot about the Rock's endeavor. Maybe it will work.

I'd watch football over baseball any time. But I do have standards.

 

[KrAzY3]

I think you can argue semi-pro football in general is a dumb idea. I say this as someone that pays attention and would like to see it succeed in particular outside of the US where it isn't redundant.

By the way did you know that some of the WLAF/NFL Europe teams are back in the form of the European Football League?

Berlin Thunder, Frankfurt Galaxy, Rhein Fire, they're back. And that's one huge thing they are doing right, they're not forcing fans into cheering for another completely different team. Interestingly enough the Rhein Fire cheerleaders never actually went away. Then again I doubt anyone here knew it even happened...

 

[imauafan]

It's no coincidence that the league survived a year and then went right over a cliff the moment a certain casino owner decided to get involved.

Their draft was a farce, a show (territorial).
They started with "control costs" and then signed Herschel Walker to a million dollar contract.

And the USFL's survival LARGELY depended on factors they couldn't control, like the 1982 NFL Players' strike being the perfect time for the league to launch - and at a time they were in cities the NFL did not have franchises (Bham, Memphis, Orlando, Jacksonville, San Antonio) or troubled franchises (Philly, Boston - which technically didn't have a team, Baltimore etc).

The world that allowed the USFL to exist in 1983 is long gone and never coming back. Spring is baseball time, and at the time the USFL was filling a void:
a) hockey did not have a national TV contract
b) basketball had a largely limited national contract
c) baseball had one game a week on nationally other than the Braves and Cubs
d) the NASCAR boom of the 90s had not yet happened, and although that sport is a shadow of what it was, there's a huge contingent of racing fans that are also football fans, but they're not going to watch it in spring.

It's a colossally stupid idea, so as TE08 says, it's probably gonna work.

My sentiments exactly. The Stallions actually did things the right way and were successful. It was the teams that tried to compete with the NFL that killed the league. I still have some Stallions memorabilia in a box somewhere. I enjoyed the USFL back in the day however now I'm not sure I would care enough to watch even a single game.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

My sentiments exactly. The Stallions actually did things the right way and were successful. It was the teams that tried to compete with the NFL that killed the league. I still have some Stallions memorabilia in a box somewhere. I enjoyed the USFL back in the day however now I'm not sure I would care enough to watch even a single game.

But even the Stallions' owner knew it was suicide to go to the fall in 1986.

Saturday? You compete with Auburn and Alabama.
Sunday? Couldn't sell beer in Alabama back then.

But yeah, a certain know-it-all wouldn't listen and, well, here we are.

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

When I boarded my plane 4 hours ago, it was October. Did we arrive in May?

Okay; apparently not. This thread just seems as if it belongs in the off-season…

 

[81usaf92]

But even the Stallions' owner knew it was suicide to go to the fall in 1986.

Saturday? You compete with Auburn and Alabama.
Sunday? Couldn't sell beer in Alabama back then.

But yeah, a certain know-it-all wouldn't listen and, well, here we are.

Well we all probably know who wanted to go and compete with the NFL.... I have to atleast give Vince credit when he tried it. He atleast had a major broadcast company and a hot television brand at the time when he tried it. The USFL never did and listened to the wrong people.