This is why "the USFL will not make it till the 5th week" 5) crowd size . This is the home team with free tickets and Bham can't fill it. 4) XFL2, This is just a reboot of xfl2, with 1 stadium. I say reboot the first xfl with he hate me. 3)No alumni. Hershel Walker was the face of the first usfl in 1983. I would have Mr Walker in Newark giving his report Monday nights.2)Sunday night football. Have you ever asked yourself "why isn't the SB on Saturday afternoon on E$9n?" because a. they want the most ratings possible. Nobody has cable in Kentucky. b. More people are watching TV on Sunday nights. 1) The scores are to low. This is the highest scoring game in the new usfl history , yet no team has scored over 40 points. Any writer knows a book should start off with a train wreck to get the readers attention. I want to watch football ,however it's painful to watch a 0-3 game . I'll turn it off at halftime.
Exactly the markets I’d pick. Something I didn’t consider with the Express, they were going head to head with the Grizzlies and Memphis Tigers basketball all season long. I imagine their attendance would’ve been much better with a mid April start
The thing is that it all depends on TV revenue and not tickets. What they want is a good crowd (which is why you play in smaller stadiums) so TV viewers feel the game matters, but you are dependent on TV ratings to sell ads and make money and get people to sign up for your streaming service. If TV makes money then your league can get a good TV contract and stay profitable. And ratings depend on large cities caring to watch, so San Antonio vs Philadelphia is why you get cities that sometimes seem illogical from an attendance standpoint. Hopefully Philly supports the Stars, who were the best historic USFL team, but we'll see. The AFL was doomed until it got its TV contract (thanks mostly to then AFL commissioner Al Davis), the WFL was crap and got nothing, the USFL got a 83-85 prove it TV contract but then would have had a decent one in 1985-1990 if they cut costs and stayed in the spring. The WLAF/NFLE was ok until the NFL pulled the plug since they were losing money and not getting the ratings. The XFL 2000, NBC pulled out after the first year and kaput. AAF...lying and being broke screwed them. XFL2020, decent TV coverage, good idea, bad luck with Covid. The UFL tried your idea...Las Vegas, Omaha, Virginia, Orlando, Hartford, and Sacramento, none had NFL teams. Yes it was the fall (which was dumb because you compete with college, pro, and high school), but still their attendance stunk. Only Omaha made a showing, and I would agree to give a shot to in the USFL, if they can find a stadium, I don't think TD Ameritrade would let them play there since the college world series is such a big deal. The AAF had success in San Antonio, San Diego, and Orlando...stunk in Salt Lake City, Atlanta, and Phoenix. Seattle and St. Louis were the attendance stars of the XFL. Houston, DC, and Dallas were ok. So some NFL cities do work. This first year, none of these city names matter...its all for name recognition since they are playing in a hub city (and maybe in 2023 too). They could change it all up in 2023 and move teams, make a deal with the XFL and merge, or fold. Again its a broadcast company (FOX Sports) that is really the owner of the league right now, if they pull the plug...poof! You could have 30,000 in every stadium but if TV won't cover it, you likely won't make it. Football is expensive, travel is expensive, insurance is expensive, you only get so many revenue games to make money to pay for that. The economic risk for spring pro football is high, the reward low, and without TV its dead, just ask the Arena League, UFL, and even the CFL is hurting and losing money due to it being an attendance dependent league with a very small TV contract. I agree with San Diego, Omaha, San Antonio, St. Louis, and Oakland...but Oakland has a lot of issues and pro sports isn't one of their priorities. I think you move them to San Jose. Seattle would work and maybe Denver, both are football towns. I think the USFL reboot, if it survives, would go for some of these cities in 2023 or 2024, but they have to have some street cred first and that's why they used the teams that were USFL brand names, that have a history, and are in large TV markets.
The CFL ain't exactly hurting. It made 240 million dollars in revenue in 2019, the year before the Pandemic. Every league is hurting, even the mighty NFL lose some money brought on by the Pandemic. The CFL western teams are doing good along with Hamilton, Ottawa and Montreal it's the Toronto market that is pulling the league down. MLSE, the owners of the Toronto Argonauts have to market the team better. Ratings for the 108th Grey Cup got decent numbers(9 million at least tuned in at some portion of the game, it outdrew the NFL Sunday Night Football telecast) despite being on cable and not on over the air television. Hopefully with a full18 game season and virus numbers go down, the CFL can prosper
i believe that the reason the usfl failed before is because they started off too fast too soon they tried for instant credibility and signed big name nfl players or nfl caliber players such as hershal walker kelvin bryant steve young and they were on the verge of going broke before that law suit. I believe that if they start slowly this time they can actually make it.
@daniel correard That's the great debate... go big and get eyeballs or stay small and risk just getting by or folding due to poor tv ratings and expenses pile up. The AFL went big to force the merger with the NFL. The USFL originally planned to stay kind of small with NFL retreads, backups, a few big-name players from college, small college stars, and the rest 4th and 5th string level pros. They were going to grow slowly. The problem was half the USFL owners said screw that once they started losing and losing money, so they bought bigger name players. The plan fell apart as the arms race escalated. That first year, there was some bad football until later in the year, with the Stars and Panthers making people forget how awful some of the QB talent was. The NFLE/WLAF was small, with a baseball level mix of what was AAA and AA players. People didn't watch much...I did...but the average fan didn't. The UFL tanked. Arena ball tanked. AAF...a few hits but lots of misses. I'd say the same for the XFL. I think both the USFL and XFL are on the right track...go after young college stars that don't want to go to school right now but get paid. How that works out is the question. We wont see another NFL challenger until Jeff Bezos decides he wants to start his own league and broadcast it on Amazon...I think that's a reason they want him owning an NFL team to reduce that possible threat.
Move Pittsburgh to the 3rd largest city in pa. Put the stars in Virginia, put Houston in San Antonio, put Michigan in Grand Rapids and move the breakers to Portland.
@@glover524 El Paso, Charleston, and Maine would never be considered. Metros are too small and especially for Maine, not enough population and not football strongholds like Texas or South Carolina.
Born and raised in Birmingham Al. You are right. We love football here a spring football league will benefit well here. Usfl said they are going to play all their games here at Legion field and protective stadium.
It's not about attendance, it's about ratings. There's no certainty that the new USFL will ever play outside of the bubble in Birmingham, which is simply serving as a studio. You see, this league is more of a TV show than it is an actual league. Complain all you want, but guys like you and more will still watch. Thank you.
The original NFL league was considered a side-show for fans and not real football like college was. So there you go. Ultimately any league of any sport is totally sustained by the fans... which are watching a show whether in person or on TV. It's all a simulation dude.
There are several reasons why they chose those cities/teams. First of all--nostalgia... they are trying to connect with the teams of the past,, they can also try to establish a "tradition"... (The Panthers won a title and the Stars took 2). The BIGGEST story out of the original USFL was the Donal Trump and the New Jersey Generals, so they are going to have to be part of the mix. If you look at New Orleans and Birmingham---they make PERFECT sense. No Major League Baseball to contend with... and no dominant NCAA Basketball teams that you have to battle for fans. Michigan, Tampa Bay and New Orleans all drew VERY WELL (relatively speaking). One would think that Denver would have been a good choice too because of the way the Gold were supported in '83 and '84. Oakland didn't support the Invaders and they didn't want to have to compete with the XFL for the only viable stadium in the St. Louis market.
I didn’t say that he was going to be a part of it-but he was such a monumental part of years 2 and 3. That being said, because of Hershel Walker… the Generals were the “Flagship” in year 1 before Trump got involved.
As a person who lives in Alabama. People down here LOVE football. Just look at our college teams. I'm calling it now that the Stallions are going to have the best or at least one of the best crowds of any of these teams. (Also the fact there isn't a saint louis team just screams the people who decided where the locations would be did not know what the f they were doing. Just look at the XFL battlehawk fans mfs were like Bills mafia.)
Birmingham had the 4th best out of 8 in the aaf, and like the 9th or 10th best out of all the aaf and xfl teams. The usfl chose 0 of the top 5 (San Antonio, San diego, st. Louis, Orlando, seattle) who were the only 5 to even reach 20 thousand, and San Antonio even reached 30+ thousand.
You said "XFL BOTH times" while talking about failed spring teams. The 2nd XFL didn't fail. Covid happened. It's not even completely over. It was succeeding. They did everything right. The talent was great, the game was fun and the teams were awesome. I will call it a failure if they don't come back after covid is completely over... But not until then. There's still talks about coming back
Honestly the Panthers are probably gonna be the top 3 in attendince cause of two reasons, 1 cause MI is nuts about football and 2 Lions fans will flock to anything that might go 500
Orlando San Diego cities that have proven to support football teams in the past that don't have NFL teams would have been the way I would have went but I'm not looking for a tax break so I'm not starting up a failing business
I like the choices and understand them. The new USFL for its first season just wants to focus on a certain region of the country first, the North and the South. The North division can't help but have teams that already have NFL teams in them. I think it's important that the Panthers and the Stars are back since they are the two teams that won all the USFL Summer Bowl championship games during the '80s. The South on the other hand they could have chosen Orlando or Memphis over Tampa Bay and New Orleans if they wanted to open up new markets. I'm sure the plan is to go west in the future and we can have the Oakland Invaders, LA Express, Arizona Wranglers, and so on. I hope ALL the teams come back eventually. If all the teams do come back there will be a total of 19 teams. To even it out I would award St. Louis a team and have the USFL at 20 teams.
Michigan was gone after year one. Then merged with Oakland. Yes, the bubble gives USFL one year to create a bond between the city and the team. Harder in a bubble. But if the money isn't there or it's a true business model for this league, then it is what it is. I totally get that they are going regional. I'm saying it's a mistake. They will need a really good fan showing once they hit their home cities in year 2 or 3. By then XFL will have taken St. Louis and San Antonio. Thise stadiums will have 30 k for XFL. Detroit and Pittsburgh will have 15k. Bet!
The Panthers were actually there for 2 years. When they announced the move to the fall… they had no choice but to merge or see crowds that Denver had in ‘85. Orlando has an NBA team that draws decently from what I remember, and the XFL had some success there-so Tampa makes much more sense, especially considering how putridly the Rays draw. The original Bandits and the New Orleans Breakers drew very well the first time out. Oakland and LA never cared about the USFL the first time, and Arizona’s best year at the gate was the debut season (they went 4-14 but still out drew George Allen’s team that played for the title the next year.). With the Cardinals being there and LA having two teams, the desert Southwest wouldn’t make much sense. To me mid-sized markets like Omaha, Albuquerque, Richmond, and maybe even Little Rock could make sense-especially if they go back to the territorial draft idea that they had. Former Hogs, Hokies, and Huskers could fill some seats in smaller stadiums in those cities.
@@tohaz I see the USFL trying to get the LA Express back, but if things don't work out move the Express to San Diego. You want to have a team in Southern California. I hope fans do come out to support the Oakland Invaders. Raiders are not coming back so Oakland should embrace a pro football team coming to their city. If things don't work out in Oakland then move the Invaders to San Jose or Sacramento. The desert Southwest does make sense since Phoenix is one of the fastest-growing cities in America and the USFL should try to tap that market. If things don't work out for the Wranglers in Arizona then move them to Albuquerque as you mention.
Chicago's Blitz had George Allen as coach, a good QB and they were the only Wild Card in the first season. Their attendance numbers were AWFUL (they wound up merging with the AZ Wranglers). I also thought they had the neatest logo. It is just too damned hard to compete for the hearts and minds of "Da Bears" fans. Plus someone I heard a year or two ago had bought the logo and naming rights to the Blitz for a semi pro team and has it to this day. I would like to see the Blitz play again, someplace.... Omaha maybe? Saint Louis? Or in the University of Northern Iowa's Dome? Don't laugh; it is Big 10 Country I'm sure everyone has nothing to do in Iowa in the spring, and the Dome is weather resistant. It looks great on TV and shouldn't be hard to fill (17,000?).
@@SpartacusMinimus I thought FOX has all the rights now to all the USFL teams and logos. Yes bring back the Blitz, maybe play at a smaller stadium or somewhere else in Illinois close to Chicago
Correct 💯. Baseball and NBA playoffs will dominate viewership. The teams should have been placed in markets with no NFL Teams. Sacramento, Oakland, San Diego, Portland, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Orlando.
For whatever reason/s, the USFL prioritized having all their teams in cities from the original USFL. So, places like St Louis were probably never considered. I live in Philly and many Eagles fans can't afford to go to games. Give Philly a team with affordable tix(USFL tix are $10 for adults this year), and THEY WILL SHOW UP! Same goes for Steelers fans in Pittsburgh. It's not like they play at the same time of year. If you were a football fan in Detroit, wouldn't you want the opportunity to go see a WINNING team play? The Lions are improving, but the Panthers could have a winning record and maybe reach the playoffs THIS season. That might even prompt some Michiganders to travel to Birmingham or Canton to see Panthers games. As for New York? I think the Lions will reach the playoffs before either NYC team at this point. So, both NYC folks and Garden Staters WILL GO to Generals games. Without even looking at attendance, ratings, or what cities did or didn't originally have 80s USFL teams, I think the biggest mistake the USFL made is NO teams West of Houston.
Hey Mr Dunham, I think you are spot on. It seems as though you have your finger on the pulse of professional football. There appears to be a large chunk of fans here in the USA that are just looking for something a little more REFRESHING. The other league is beginning to look a little DATED. Although, it is still immensely popular. As far placing teams in the western US. I really believe they will at some point, place teams in deserving cities in the west. This hub concept now employed by the league is only a temporary arrangement to get the various franchises up and running. P.S. I live in Birmingham and can hardly wait for the season to start.😎👍
I had season tickets for the XFL Houston Roughnecks. Except for the first game or two, the lower bowl of the stadium was packed and had some sections of the upper deck open. Great atmosphere. Texas and Houston love football. Especially if they are good. Not like the Texans currently... The Gamblers would probably be more popular than the Texans.
USFL is saving money on travel,facilities, hotels, broadcast expenses and other expenses. USFL is just showcasing the product all the games won't be played in Birmingham I'm sure the games will be home and home Expansion will occur with the success of the league just be patient.
The market is TV and all games are going to be played in Birmingham. It’s a TV league. I loved the original USFL and I thought tonight was pretty good considering only 3 weeks practice.
I think the AAF and the new XFL should merge. Would be perfect since there are no two same cities teams in each league. Also, bad management ruined the AAF
It was that one dumb Dallas business man who acted like a baby and didn't get his way. So he shut the league down. That was the biggest mistake, giving investors that much power where 1 investor can shut it down.
He's got a valid point. Born, raised and still live in tuscaloosa alabama. We are absolutely excited about the Stallions. To be honest I'm sick of UA football and I miss the Tuscaloosa I grew up in. But on the other hand the Usfl in Birmingham? Sign me up, I've got tickets already. As a long time Pittsburgh steelers fan I'm ready to root for a home team and take a break from NFL drama and political stuff. Football is big here and I hope this league is successful. When the teams were announced I also had concerns with locations that had NFL teams. I hope those fans will accept and support USFL and look at it as a way to watch more football through out the year. And develop players for their local NFL team
Prime Conor....I absolutely agree!! I would have a league with St. Louis, San Antonio, Orlando, San Diego, Birmingham, Oakland, Portland, and Columbus. NO NFL cites!! Ok, if you need to go NY and LA for TV contracts...make sure they both are playing in small MLS stadiums. Then, the TV games should be New York AT St. Louis. LA AT San Antonio. MLS does this. All the big Fox and ESPN games are New York AT Atlanta. LA at Portland. DC or chicago AT cincinnati/nashville. Dallas or Houston AT Austin. Next round of expansion go Sacramento and Omaha. Both had big UFL attendances.
@@primeconor You're not understanding the marketing science of mental positioning. Every real football fan 45 and older already has the USFL as the all time #2 league after the NFL. They've already won the first and most important battle against the XFL bc of this AND they have a whole year to clamp down and take their mental position before the XFL arrives in 2023. Even if the XFL gets some stadium fans in hungry cities, the USFL will have a huge upper hand in the national TV audience, with a major network in FOX to broadcast on. You have to remember that most NFL fans don't live in NFL cities but they root for NFL teams. All they have to do is make the USFL teams "feel" like the home team or in some way connected to the TV audience. All the while the USFL has much lower costs from less stadium expenses. Really, it's genius.
@@primeconor I Thought Spring Football was a great idea for football fans having cold sweats and withdrawal symptoms. My roommate at the time, however, made light of my enthusiasm for the USFL and gave me a license plate frame that read: "USFL Fever-- Catch It". I have to chuckle at the above comment of [USFL teams] already have fan bases. I dunno about that. Let's just say that they have a familiar ring to them...
@@justinnodler1942 Fox may be taking a page out of Disney's+ABC/ESPN's book: They own 90% of the bowl games and then broadcast them. I guess the numbers are good enough for a profit. With a guaranteed revenue stream and no dumb shit owners like Trump (I voted for him and will probably vote for him again, but let's face it: it was Trump who killed the USFL. After the league won the NFL lawsuit, but only got $3.00, ESPN said they would STILL broadcast their games in the Spring. The owners were all on board to do so, except for Trump. ESPN stipulated there had to be a New York/ NJ franchise for a broadcast contract and Trump said "NO". Death knell for the USFL) the new USFL looks like it can thrive.
There’s literally no reason to have a team in a city that already has an NFL team. All of these teams should be located in cities that are far away from an NFL team (Birmingham is a good example).
Went to the first DC Defenders game, liked the intimate surrounds of Audi Field where I felt on top of the action. The Free Hot Cocoa that day helped too.
Loved the Roughnecks games! Like a college football game! Much better than a Texans game. Especially right now. I would love to have games to go to and tailgate at with a decent team, that doesn't break the bank.
Seattle was the only one out of the list you named. Only Seattle and st. Louis reached 20+ thousand in the xfl. In the aaf San Antonio (who even reached 30 thousand), San Diego and Orlando were the only ones to reach 20+ thousand attendance in the aaf.
The original USFL was a real league. Contrast that with the 2000 XFL which reeked of Vince McMahon and the unwashed WWE/WWF. If the new USFL launched immediately after the Kaepernick BS it would be on a fast trajectory to dominate TV viewership.
I agree with not using nfl cities. Thats always been me saying. Why!!! They need to cater to cities like: San Antonio San Diego Utah Birmingham Memphis Saint Louis Louisville ETC.....
You're right about San Antonio deserving a team. It would do well, attendance wise. But are you aware that all of these teams will play in only one venue, in Birmingham, AL. At least the first few fledgling seasons.
@@thecensoredmuscle563 I agree. In USTA's very first game they had 50,000+. A new team, a new program an expensive coach and a great facility. I can only guess that the USFL/FOX chose Birmingham because of UAB's brand new stadium, plus Legion field , if need be (personally I would like them to stay away from the big stadiums as there will be lots of empty seats and that is poison theatre on TV. Not that UAB's stadium is "small"... I think it holds almost 40,000). Who knows? Maybe the city of Birmingham is offering incentives because they know something like the Super Bowl will bring in people and money into their fair city. Spring probably isn't like summer with lots of travelers and lodgers. A USFL season and post season would fill a lot of hotels for not only fans but the players and staff as well. Kind of like 12 or 13 "little Super Bowls".
The thing with the spring leagues is they can never keep really good talent because eventually if a player plays really good consistently the nfl will eventually scoop them up so you won’t be able to fall in love with a player or team just my opinion but out of all the spring leagues this latest xfl try was really good and I enjoyed it a lot until covid had to fuck it up 😂
You're already missing the point, these are just new franchises of teams that were established by the original USFL. Yes they had some teams in cities that already had a NFL team, sans Birmingham, Memphis, Portland, etc. But the original league was set up to play football in the Spring, it started getting most of the top college players, that started making it at par with the NFL, but then CHUMP, who was part owner of the New Jersey Generals at the time, decided to move the League to a fall schedule to compete against the NFL. A move you DO NOT DO, because the NFL is already an established Fall league. The result was a failure and the collapse of the league.
It's funny that you kinda give the Generals a pass on legacy grounds when the Philly Stars were the best and best supported OG USFL team, and only relocated to Baltimore because when it looked like the leagues might merge they wanted to go to a market without a team already.
you obviously never watched , the Philly Stars were not supported by Fans and Stars had bad attendance numbers and Denver Gold had the best attendance followed by Tampa Bay Bandits .
@@williammcguire130 ok if you say so but that is also not true , the Panthers beat Stars in very first Championship game and in year two started 6-0 and Anthony Carter who was most electrifying WR in league and panthers # 1 broke his arm and then their safety D. Greenwood who was best safety in USFL and their best hitter and playmaker also is lost for most of year and their top RB Ken Lacy gets signed by Chiefs and gets hurt and John Corker leagues defensive player of year gets suspended by team for drugs as well as Larry Bethea . with all they went through in year if not for their kicker missing 3 field goals vs LA Express in triple overtime Panthers could have played in all 3 Championship games and Bobby Hebert / Anthony Carter / derek Holloway were too much for the stars to contend with and a bogus late hit by Invaders fullback on what would have put the invaders within 2 yds of a 3 rd and 2 and a td turned into 3rd and long and they lost game . Stars were a very good team and well coached with lots of role players and played hard solid defense but were not the best team or most talented and you still not knowledgeable enough on your own team or league . sorry not trying to bash you and keep watching to see if anyone will put out half decent product on USFL and still waiting .
Not to mention the usfl refusing to actually market the team in their local markets by putting them in a hub and then not even marketing in Birmingham at this point
I’m from Philly and we support all our teams so yes we will show up. We’re a football city so more football is good for us and the Philadelphia stars was a very popular team back in the day and will be in 2022
They go for big cities because fans I think that they should have teams in smaller cities/towns that way they can build smaller stadiums. This will make them different from the NFL in a big way, but they see big cities and think "money, money, money"(in Mr. Crab's voice)
@@primeconor true even if the leagues aren't trying to be a minor league of the NFL. Just look at how Soccer is handled in the UK there's hundreds of smaller leagues that aren't associated with FIFA but the players still have a chance of getting on one of those teams.
Some Thoughts on why the USFL will work: 1) The USFL will succeed over the XFL because the USFL number one has FOX to televise the games and do so in a top level manor as they are half owners. This is a big deal and cannot be stated enough. FOX will not just carry games, they will not just cover those games very pro level, they will advertise and make damn sure it is hyped up and looks good. Number two they exist as the #2 league (after NFL) STILL in many peoples minds that are 45 and older. They have mental positioning power way over the XFL and even the name USFL conjures up warm feelings. Only Kathleen Kennedy could screw this up. 2) The USFL will benefit from the anti-patriotism the NFL has been allowing the last few years. Many fans have turned it off and now a league named the USFL (Hello?) with stars and stripes for that matter in their logo will be very appealing, even if nothing more than a F*CK YOU NFL. I'll be shocked if the USFL allows any woke demonstrations. 3) They will have early profitability because they are avoiding the cost of stadiums and leasing. 4) They realize that the real money is in TV Revenue and the TV fans PERCEPTION of the game, and that 99% of the audience is on TV. Playing all the games in one stadium is genius. Keeping all the players in the same city for housing and zero travel expense is also genius. Then as soon as profits are good they can have the teams practice in their home towns and sell tickets to the practices where fans can interact with players. But still you don't need to sell beer and hotdogs you need to sell caps and jerseys. The concept is like the olympics where all go to one place to compete. I don't know if they are planning this but they should sell a game pass for the entire season and also weekly, so that a fan could watch all the games in the stadium. All they need to do is keep the stadium full, even if they just break even on stadium revenue. The TV fans need to see butts in the seats to sell it. Cons: 1) Some fans will feel playing all the games in one city is illegit. 2) The players will be sub-par compared to NFL players, and this gets noticed to some degree. 3) Players will be mostly unknown, and FOX will need to work hard to develop player identities and create heroes. 4) If the NFL steals the top players from the USFL every year, it will be a large hurdle to overcome. Pro Football fans have alegiances to players and this ain't college. The USFL should absolutely make all players entering the league sign a noncompete anti-NFL clause that states they cannot go to the NFL for the first 4 or 5 years in the USFL. There are plenty of good players in America outside the NFL and it can be done. Most NFL practice squad players would rather be playing in the USFL for a decent pay check and the fame, with still a chance after 4 or 5 years to graduate to the NFL. Something is better than nothing. 5) The XFL will detract to some degree from the USFL in early Spring 2023 assuming the XFL still determines they have enough of a market to begin in 2023. The XFL very likely will not survive head to head against the USFL for more than 3 or 4 weeks into their debut season, but could still be just enough of a glancing blow to knock out the USFL as it will be fighting for 2nd year interest as much of the initial excitement has worn off. Think the end of "Rocky" when they both knocked each other down at the same time, except neither gets up. If this happens the XFL will likely fold midway, with the USFL sticking around to finish the year and then fold. The smart move for the XFL would be to either call it off or throw in with the USFL. Conclusion: Barring an economic collapse or Civil War 2.0 (both actually possible btw), the USFL should be successful in its first year. The TV coverage will likely be fantastic with a quality that will feel just like the NFL. Having any other option than the NFL will feel freeing, and FOX will likely do it very well with good commentators, hosts, and sideline reporters. For conservatives, the patriotic angle of it will feel good to many people reeling from years of over-payed obnoxious NFL players that seem to endlessly protest. The real challenge will be the 2nd year and on, where the USFL needs to return to the players and coaches from the previous year and build on that, just like every pro-league does. If it can't because players leave for the bigger NFL, it will forever be seen as a sideshow and development league to the giant NFL. If every new year feels like a reboot for the team with the good players missing, fans will likely not stick around except the die-hards that just want anything football. If the USFL IS successful after year one, it will undoubtedly creep the schedule back to starting the week after the Superbowl (why not?), and increase the seasonal games to somewhere between 14 and 18 by their 5th year. They will also expand to bring in many more teams, with a desire to bring back the rest of the original USFL cities and mascots, but fans will have the final say on that. If the USFL can sustain their profits and excitement for the first 3 years, they will likely have enough of a foothold to remain perpetually as the Spring Pro Football league. The long term strategy to eventually defeating the NFL would be the "long game" of waiting at least 7-10 years and then extending the schedule so that the USFL playoffs coincide with the opening weeks of the NFL. This could be coupled with the NFL having lost revenue already from fans lost to the USFL, and the NFL being mired in revenue lost due to the NFL Players Association agreements and player salaries.
Birmingham ➕ Protective Stadium ➕ our own team = a winner. But, for tv, any league is going to need a few of the top 7 tv markets. Top seven markets are NYC, CHICAGO, LA, HOUSTON, PHILADELPHIA, DALLAS and Atlanta. I'm from Birmingham so my leage would be: Birmingham, St Louis, San Diego, Oakland, Orlando, San Antonio, NYC, Houston, DC, and Pittsburgh. Start, mid April , championship 8pm central time July 3rd. In addition all games on Saturday night ( except championship). Lastly, I would lean heavily towards regional drafting ( south = sec, north and east = big 10 and acc, west and south west = big 12 and pac 12). Also please stay away from controversial people in decision making or ownership groups.
I would start 2 weeks after the Superbowl. Long enough for people to miss Football, but not so long they have moved on. And I'd play on Sunday like the NFL. People are too wired for that already. Although put a few out on other days too if the TV programming is light.
@@justinnodler1942 HI Mr. Nodler, I understand your point of view. However, as someone who has been around for many of these spring leagues here in Birmingham, I can attest to the problems of playing in the spring time. The winter/spring months are too problematic for outside sporting events. If all the teams played in dome stadiums, that would be fine to just pick up where the other league leaves off , but thats not the case. Personally, I think the USFL is spot on in starting in late April. I wish the XFL would consider doing the same. I would love to see a XFL vs USFL championship game played on July 3rd. What a way to say happy birthday America. Let's hope this happens.
Just defending a guardians a little bit. Obviously people here in NY were skeptical at first, but also the weather is a huge factor. People aren't going to jets and giants games in December and it's been a long time since they were playoff teams. If XFL started in spring, people would have took the risk of a bad game if it was fair weather. Covid screwed everything up. I really liked the XFL. Looking forward to USFL
FINALLY I found someone making videos about what I've been saying since the announcement of teams. I've been studying this for days and this is my best assessment of what USFL is trying to do. Since the first season is in a bubble it appears that USFL chose these cities NOT for large crowds in stadiums all over the league. They seem to have chosen these cities becuz of the size of the TV market and low costs to televise instead of markets that will draw big crowds. The idea is that they will capitalize on NFL fans WITHDRAWLS after the Super Bowl. NJ Houston have pretty large tv markets. PHILLY also. They are hoping to draw large tv ratings from the bubble and in doing so CONNECT with fans in their cities. And when they finally play from those cities they will have already formed a fan base. This is a HORRIBLE IDEA. USFL has surrendered so many great markets to the future XFL it's ridiculous. To me the USFL is already second tier now becuz of their poor choices. If I were the XFL I'd announce St. Louis San Antonio Oakland San Diego Portland Chicago NY and Memphis
To me the fact that USFL only went as far West as Houston, means they either have agreed to give the West to XFL or they just are stupid and SURRENDERED the West. How can USFL think Pittsburgh will draw better than St. LOUIS? St. Louis drew 30 to 35k for the Battlehawks. Same with San Antonio Commanders. One was XFL the other was AAF. THE LEAGUE DOESNT MATTER at this point. Its LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION !!! How could they possibly bypass St. LOUIS. SAN ANTONIO AUSTIN OAKLAND SAN DIEGO SEATTLE PORTLAND LOS ANGELES PHOENIX OR LAS VEGAS???? HOW? Unless they have an agreement with XFL and are giving them the west. How else could they believe the 8 cities they chose would be good ideas? Houston over San Antonio? Darryl Johnston said in an interview they hope to expand to cities like san Antonio in year 3 or 3. WHAT ON EARTH MAKES HIM THINK XFL WONT HAVE HIT THOSE MARKETS WITH THEIR 2023 START UP? WHICH WOULD YOU PREFER ? USFL IN THE 8 CITIES THEY CHOSE OR LOS ANGELES SAN DIEGO OAKLAND AND SEATTTLE WITH CHICAGO ST LOUIS SAN ANTONIO AND MEMPHIS? WHICH WILL DRAW MORE FANS?
I’ll challenger you in this. Salt Lake Stallions had poor attendance in the AAF along with the Memphis Express. Look up attendance figures for the 60s AFL the first couple years. They were awful. What 60s AFL had was the benefit of time to grow their fan base. Something many spring leagues haven’t had the benefit of. I don’t think it’s a matter of already having an NFL team. Seattle Dragons prove that. It’s a matter of time.
The AAF did very poorly in promoting themselves and started on first notice. A lot of the population in Not only Salt lake city but Memphis didn't even know they had a pro football team. And Memphis with the old usfl and old xfl did great in attendance, I'm sure that if the usfl or xfl decided to put a franchise in Salt lake city, they would do a significantly better job promoting and spreading awareness, and will have great support.
New York wasn’t even that far off pace from the rest of the league despite horrendous weather. The attendance just looked bad because they were at MetLife
Looking at the attendance from the 2020 xfl season new York had the second worst attendance, LA had the worst. Both of those cities have like 2 of every sport professional teams. They didn't exactly need a lower level team, until the league got alot more popular.
You're getting confused about an important fact in modern sports, it's not the fans in the stadium seats that count but the money from the tv contract, and putting a team in a small tv market area means yes you might get a few more people in the stadiums but there won't be as much money in the owners pockets. It's simple math. And as someone who actually went to USFL games back in the early 80s I actually remember being in a crowd of 60,000 to watch the Stallions play the Generals, but what worked for me was just sitting in my living room and watching the games on Tv, for that to work the networks have to go with solid markets. Once the league has settled in they can try to expand back into their smaller markets like San Antonio and Memphis etc.
it actuality is doesn't even matter where these teams are "from" considering every game is being played in Birmingham, which is why the USFL is going to tank, which makes me sad because I want it to do well
Actually it does, my proposal involves getting into the culture of the cities having them wear jerseys that have their city name on them and being proud of it
@@primeconor but if the fans have to travel to bama just to watch their team then that kinda sucks, i just think itl be hard for the fans to maintain their interest if they cant just attend the game in their city
Idk if I agree I think they wanted to start with the original teams and even though the stars won like 3-4 years back in the day I remember people actually going when I was a kid I understand what you mean like LA,Tampa,all of florida actually I don't get why they continue to see these cities get pro teams the rams and the Bucs home games look more like road games so I partly agree but Philly ,Pitt,Michigan jersey, Ohio and the rest should be small places like Birmingham
Separate thing Ik that they aren’t even able to do this but these leagues would benefit massively from going into Canada, look at how much the Calgary stampeders are loved or Saskatchewan Roughriders put a team there and it’ll do really well
Were you alive when it was around originally? XFL had good attendance for a first year league. Team merchandise was hard to come by at first. Only online. Give it a chance.
I’ve seen the small margin for error these leagues have recently and throughout history, the original XFL was a gimmick if you want staying power you need untapped markets
Hate to say it, but you are spot on! They could have added these teams later but come out of gate with Birmingham, Memphis, Orlando, San Antonio, Oakland, Portland, San Diego and maybe Oklahoma
See where the tv ratings are amongst the whole country. I like the idea of college players, regional guys going to same state teams. Couple X NFL names. Star power, people we know. The tv production is the main thing. Bring in some rock bands at half time. Unknown ones with one great song. Known singers for National Anthem.
The AAF had the right idea with assigning players to teams based on region like if you played at Bama you were on Birmingham if you signed with the Cardinals you were in Arizona
I just saw that the USFL made rules changes to speed up the game. They'd better. That way, they might finish the season before they go out of business.
The USFL should've been the minor league of the NFL think each team from the NFL would have USFL team this way say your first round pick instead of being a bust well if he isn't doing good you send him to the USFL so they get playing time think what players like Russell from the Raiders flopped well he get sent to the Raiders USFL team and he gets his weight down and suddenly he is playing like he did like he did at LSU the Ryan Leaf ok no hope but other bust develope and the USFL gets known as second chance league.
I don’t think they needed to go all out in new city’s, but I do feel like they needed to attack markets that would care. St. Louis would care a lot, Salt Lake City would probably care a lot, Memphis would care a lot. Now if they had gone all out in non represented markets I don’t think that would’ve worked but for the most part I would of liked to see St. Louis at the very least. I think the main focus is on T.V revenue but if that’s so why New Orleans, people don’t care about T.V in that city they care about going out for drinks and going to Saints/LSU games and the occasional discussion on the Pels. Has somebody who lives there I can say that putting a team here and having them be so boring just doesn’t work.
Dude Dragons was getting big by the last few weeks of XFL in Seattle. Nobody really knew about the xfl in general in America just like aaf but word of mouth was strong and presentation was strong. Seattle is a sports town through and through. Just look at the kraken.
I think that USFL would be a good idea I mean we all like football I think they know more team and new logo and names and I do believe the USFL can be will be a good shot
The guardians sucked in the xfl, and the difference is, the generals represent New Jersey, not New York. I’ve grown up in NJ w MetLife stadium in view from my doorstep, and I grew up a Miami Dolphins fan. But I’m a nets, devils and scarlet knights fan. My point is that there’s an extremely large fan base on this side of the river, and if you’re gonna play on this side of the river, you should market yourself towards it. That was the major mistake of the guardians, they wore black instead of red (if you notice the NJ nets, devils, and knights all have red uniforms), they slapped ny on there title with no real connections to the city, and on top of that, their team sucked. The jets and giants, despite recent struggles, have a level of prestige in the NY/NJ area considering they both played in NYC at one point, they’ve been around for a very long time, and each team can say they have a lombardi trophy in their locker room. The guardians don’t have any of those things, on top of the problems I mentioned earlier, it just appears that they have weak branding and are overall just a weak organization from top to bottom. The generals, on the other hand, aren’t making any attempt to market towards NY fans, and instead are focusing on the NJ area. The only jets and giants fans in nj are stuck remembering a bygone era while their kids grow up as fans of teams from other states due to the NY teams recent struggles, and they’re lack of an attempt to market to this idea despite being in our backyard (East Rutherford). Hence the market is wide open for a professional football team in the New Jersey area. I also believe the USFL made a smart business decision by playing all of their games in their first season in two stadiums, both in Alabama. it keeps costs down while giving themselves a chance to gain tv popularity in the meantime, especially considering that fox owns the league. I would assume they made this decision with the idea they would eventually be moving to their suggestive states once the time came. If they did, then the generals have the branding to make a big splash in the New Jersey area, I’m already completely on board and plan on watching every one of their games this season. The rest is up to their roster and their coaching staff. if the league learned anything from past attempts at what they’re tryna do, which it seems like it really has, and if they can continue to provide the same quality of product they did today, then they might be the first to succeed at this.
Oakland, St Louis, San Diego, Nebraska, New Mexico, Albuquerque Wyoming Cheyenne, Montana, Utah , Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Milwaukee, West Virginia, Kansas, San Antonio, North or South Dakota, Alabama. This is where they need teams Orlando Florida.
Most of those markets would never be considered. Wyoming? Montana? Never. Same for North and South Dakota. Salt Lake had porous attendance but its cold and snow in Feb when the AAF kicked off. SA, ORL, STL, OAK,MIL, OKC and SD should be the only metros in the Conversation. Not these sparsely populated states in the West or Upper North.
the Express could play in San Diego?? The CFL even went to cities that the NFL were not present. IF the XFL does a merger with the USFL, that could be huge for the league, The CFL were in Sacramento. Instead of New Orleans, put the Breakers in Shreveport....CFL had a team there. ST Louis Oakland and SD are brilliant (USFL had SD as an inaugural site) . Bring back the Orlando Renegades too
If anything, put the Breakers in San Diego (thematically, it makes sense). I went to the Fleet's home game against the SLC Stallions in the AAF and San Diego is thirsty for a pro team, having the second best attendance behind only San Antonio.
@@AdderTude if the Breakers move to San Diego Jack Murphy/Qualcomm is torn down where will they play there home games and Jacksonville don't love the jaguars only if good
I feel like Sacramento would be a good location for a football team. They don’t have a team there and now the closest team to them are the rams and chargers
Roughneck games were well attended for sure. Everyone here hates the Texans ownership. I believe San Antonio has been very vocal about not wanting another football team to come to town after the commanders and aaf debacle.
@@primeconor I should rephrase. I think city council came out and said they don’t want another lower tier football team. They still want an nfl team, but they are tired of spring ball teams coming in and closing after a season or two.
@@primeconor Well the only other USFL North team would be the Washington Federals and I would be ok if they chose them over the Generals for starting season 1. I do understand where you are coming from about NY having another team, but from a business side, the USFL has to at least try to have a team in New York. Trust me, head of operations Darryl "moose" Johnston (who played in the NFC East) knows the culture and climate in New York all too well. I think the Generals should heavily promote themselves in New York state and in New Jersey than trying to woo New York City fans. But then again New York fans are very frustrated with how the Jets and Giants have played these last 15 years or so. If they can't attract New York fans maybe just focus on being a "New Jersey" team and play in Trenton. If that doesn't work then move the Generals to Baltimore where the Philadelphia Stars move to in season 3. Now LA will also be a hard sell but like I said the USFL will have to a least try to have a team in LA. Play in a smaller stadium like the LA Coliseum (or smaller) and if that doesn't work move the LA Express to San Diego. Of course, they will have to remove the "LA' from the helmet and just have it say "Express".
@@kpowers The Federals the USFL team in rooted for in 1983 and 1984, liked the league so much, that I rooted for the Baltimore Stars in 1985. College Park was acutally in the suburbs of DC. Alhough the Stars tried playing at the Naval Academy that last year and got turned down, so they played at Maryland.
Oklahoma Outlaws, Orlando Renegades, and I would go with the Jacksonville Bulls. Why the Bulls? Because the Jaguars are a habitually bad organization and at times uses the threat of moving in order to get what they want. Also, the Bulls had a strong following until the end. In regards to those big city teams that were brought in; We can't ignore that any spring team would compete with NBA, MLB, Hockey (yeah I know), and other spring leagues. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson purchased the XFL and Canadian Leagues (not sure if he also bought the Arena league) to make a minor league team...so that is going to hurt too.
Hey champ! I’m not sure that it matters this year! All games are being played in Birmingham. Why do you ramble on and on? It’s not about attendance this year!
Well typically when you run a business you want to run it for more than one year so when they do go to their respective cities attendance will be awful
If USFL brought a team to Albuquerque NM and play in the NM Lobo's stadium the Attendance could be in second to third but it could also bring money from out of state football fans who come to support their teams.
@@primeconor What I don't understand is why Brian Woods wants the USFL to be a developmental League when he already has The Spring League but I think Fox Sports should of waited for Redbird Capital to sell their share of the XFL then Fox buys it and I might watch the USFL games but I am not going to buy any merchandise that has anything to do with Brian Woods.
If you consider Omaha, why not look at North Dakota or Montana? Is it better to sell out a 25k seat stadium or have 15k in a 50k seater. Everyone knows, no USFL team will draw 50k, outside of the 1st game Example 1: Fargo, ND 1) No pro football teams 2) They have a 20,000 seat Fargodome 3) Fargo is basically located in Minnesota and has 650k within a 100 mile radius . 4) NDSU is a big deal in part because of limited options 2) Missoula Montana - Montana Griz sell out a 28k stadium. Strong college football fan base. No pro teams. 3) Harrisonburg Virginia - Home of James Madison University
Keep in mind that all Year 1 games will be played In Birmingham
Almost as if it’s the best city
@@primeconor Almost a bubble concept.
@@primeconor Hi
@@primeconor So which is your favorite NFL team?
@@pikachuhutch234 chiefs
This is why "the USFL will not make it till the 5th week" 5) crowd size . This is the home team with free tickets and Bham can't fill it. 4) XFL2, This is just a reboot of xfl2, with 1 stadium. I say reboot the first xfl with he hate me. 3)No alumni. Hershel Walker was the face of the first usfl in 1983. I would have Mr Walker in Newark giving his report Monday nights.2)Sunday night football. Have you ever asked yourself "why isn't the SB on Saturday afternoon on E$9n?" because a. they want the most ratings possible. Nobody has cable in Kentucky. b. More people are watching TV on Sunday nights. 1) The scores are to low. This is the highest scoring game in the new usfl history , yet no team has scored over 40 points. Any writer knows a book should start off with a train wreck to get the readers attention. I want to watch football ,however it's painful to watch a 0-3 game . I'll turn it off at halftime.
Exactly the markets I’d pick. Something I didn’t consider with the Express, they were going head to head with the Grizzlies and Memphis Tigers basketball all season long. I imagine their attendance would’ve been much better with a mid April start
The thing is that it all depends on TV revenue and not tickets. What they want is a good crowd (which is why you play in smaller stadiums) so TV viewers feel the game matters, but you are dependent on TV ratings to sell ads and make money and get people to sign up for your streaming service. If TV makes money then your league can get a good TV contract and stay profitable. And ratings depend on large cities caring to watch, so San Antonio vs Philadelphia is why you get cities that sometimes seem illogical from an attendance standpoint. Hopefully Philly supports the Stars, who were the best historic USFL team, but we'll see.
The AFL was doomed until it got its TV contract (thanks mostly to then AFL commissioner Al Davis), the WFL was crap and got nothing, the USFL got a 83-85 prove it TV contract but then would have had a decent one in 1985-1990 if they cut costs and stayed in the spring. The WLAF/NFLE was ok until the NFL pulled the plug since they were losing money and not getting the ratings. The XFL 2000, NBC pulled out after the first year and kaput. AAF...lying and being broke screwed them. XFL2020, decent TV coverage, good idea, bad luck with Covid.
The UFL tried your idea...Las Vegas, Omaha, Virginia, Orlando, Hartford, and Sacramento, none had NFL teams. Yes it was the fall (which was dumb because you compete with college, pro, and high school), but still their attendance stunk. Only Omaha made a showing, and I would agree to give a shot to in the USFL, if they can find a stadium, I don't think TD Ameritrade would let them play there since the college world series is such a big deal. The AAF had success in San Antonio, San Diego, and Orlando...stunk in Salt Lake City, Atlanta, and Phoenix. Seattle and St. Louis were the attendance stars of the XFL. Houston, DC, and Dallas were ok. So some NFL cities do work.
This first year, none of these city names matter...its all for name recognition since they are playing in a hub city (and maybe in 2023 too). They could change it all up in 2023 and move teams, make a deal with the XFL and merge, or fold. Again its a broadcast company (FOX Sports) that is really the owner of the league right now, if they pull the plug...poof! You could have 30,000 in every stadium but if TV won't cover it, you likely won't make it. Football is expensive, travel is expensive, insurance is expensive, you only get so many revenue games to make money to pay for that. The economic risk for spring pro football is high, the reward low, and without TV its dead, just ask the Arena League, UFL, and even the CFL is hurting and losing money due to it being an attendance dependent league with a very small TV contract.
I agree with San Diego, Omaha, San Antonio, St. Louis, and Oakland...but Oakland has a lot of issues and pro sports isn't one of their priorities. I think you move them to San Jose. Seattle would work and maybe Denver, both are football towns. I think the USFL reboot, if it survives, would go for some of these cities in 2023 or 2024, but they have to have some street cred first and that's why they used the teams that were USFL brand names, that have a history, and are in large TV markets.
Nice thesis. Holy cow, that's long.
The CFL ain't exactly hurting. It made 240 million dollars in revenue in 2019, the year before the Pandemic. Every league is hurting, even the mighty NFL lose some money brought on by the Pandemic. The CFL western teams are doing good along with Hamilton, Ottawa and Montreal it's the Toronto market that is pulling the league down. MLSE, the owners of the Toronto Argonauts have to market the team better. Ratings for the 108th Grey Cup got decent numbers(9 million at least tuned in at some portion of the game, it outdrew the NFL Sunday Night Football telecast) despite being on cable and not on over the air television. Hopefully with a full18 game season and virus numbers go down, the CFL can prosper
i believe that the reason the usfl failed before is because they started off too fast too soon they tried for instant credibility and signed big name nfl players or nfl caliber players such as hershal walker kelvin bryant steve young and they were on the verge of going broke before that law suit. I believe that if they start slowly this time they can actually make it.
Yes, smaller stadiums are the better route to go.
@daniel correard That's the great debate... go big and get eyeballs or stay small and risk just getting by or folding due to poor tv ratings and expenses pile up. The AFL went big to force the merger with the NFL. The USFL originally planned to stay kind of small with NFL retreads, backups, a few big-name players from college, small college stars, and the rest 4th and 5th string level pros. They were going to grow slowly. The problem was half the USFL owners said screw that once they started losing and losing money, so they bought bigger name players. The plan fell apart as the arms race escalated. That first year, there was some bad football until later in the year, with the Stars and Panthers making people forget how awful some of the QB talent was.
The NFLE/WLAF was small, with a baseball level mix of what was AAA and AA players. People didn't watch much...I did...but the average fan didn't. The UFL tanked. Arena ball tanked. AAF...a few hits but lots of misses. I'd say the same for the XFL. I think both the USFL and XFL are on the right track...go after young college stars that don't want to go to school right now but get paid. How that works out is the question.
We wont see another NFL challenger until Jeff Bezos decides he wants to start his own league and broadcast it on Amazon...I think that's a reason they want him owning an NFL team to reduce that possible threat.
Move Pittsburgh to the 3rd largest city in pa. Put the stars in Virginia, put Houston in San Antonio, put Michigan in Grand Rapids and move the breakers to Portland.
Solid idea
I think the teams should be in Birmingham, Orlando, Milwaukee, El Paso, San Jose, Saint Louis, Maine, and Charleston
San Jose already has the 49ers
@@geth7112 thought it was San Francisco
@@glover524 yes but they play in Santa Clara which is the city right next to san jose. San Jose is considered part the San Francisco Bay area.
@@glover524 El Paso, Charleston, and Maine would never be considered. Metros are too small and especially for Maine, not enough population and not football strongholds like Texas or South Carolina.
@@geth7112 oh ok
Born and raised in Birmingham Al. You are right. We love football here a spring football league will benefit well here. Usfl said they are going to play all their games here at Legion field and protective stadium.
I’m sure folks will love it out there
For year 1, similar to the Premier Lacrosse League.
I think they picked Birmingham so they had the best chance of filling the stadium for the look on TV.
I’m happy the NJ Generals are back because NJ can finally have a football team named after the state again
Yes and they may be better then the Jets. LOL
It's not about attendance, it's about ratings. There's no certainty that the new USFL will ever play outside of the bubble in Birmingham, which is simply serving as a studio. You see, this league is more of a TV show than it is an actual league. Complain all you want, but guys like you and more will still watch. Thank you.
Ok genius my logic still applies in that case considering the DC Defenders got the majority of their viewers from Columbus Ohio
The original NFL league was considered a side-show for fans and not real football like college was. So there you go. Ultimately any league of any sport is totally sustained by the fans... which are watching a show whether in person or on TV. It's all a simulation dude.
There are several reasons why they chose those cities/teams. First of all--nostalgia... they are trying to connect with the teams of the past,, they can also try to establish a "tradition"... (The Panthers won a title and the Stars took 2). The BIGGEST story out of the original USFL was the Donal Trump and the New Jersey Generals, so they are going to have to be part of the mix.
If you look at New Orleans and Birmingham---they make PERFECT sense. No Major League Baseball to contend with... and no dominant NCAA Basketball teams that you have to battle for fans.
Michigan, Tampa Bay and New Orleans all drew VERY WELL (relatively speaking). One would think that Denver would have been a good choice too because of the way the Gold were supported in '83 and '84.
Oakland didn't support the Invaders and they didn't want to have to compete with the XFL for the only viable stadium in the St. Louis market.
I didn’t say that he was going to be a part of it-but he was such a monumental part of years 2 and 3. That being said, because of Hershel Walker… the Generals were the “Flagship” in year 1 before Trump got involved.
San Diego, Oakland, Memphis, San Antonio, Orlando, Birmingham, Portland, Omaha, that my USFL teams
W
I like the Breakers and Stars as far as names and logos go, but probably New York or New Jersey for cities. So it's toss up for now.
I think you would need another east coast team to go with Orlando.
The New Jersey Generals should play their home games at Rutgers University's home stadium or the Red Bull Arena.
XFL was doing great until Covid
Could’ve been doing better
As a person who lives in Alabama. People down here LOVE football. Just look at our college teams. I'm calling it now that the Stallions are going to have the best or at least one of the best crowds of any of these teams. (Also the fact there isn't a saint louis team just screams the people who decided where the locations would be did not know what the f they were doing. Just look at the XFL battlehawk fans mfs were like Bills mafia.)
I agree. Some of the choices are head scratchers.
Birmingham had the 4th best out of 8 in the aaf, and like the 9th or 10th best out of all the aaf and xfl teams. The usfl chose 0 of the top 5 (San Antonio, San diego, st. Louis, Orlando, seattle) who were the only 5 to even reach 20 thousand, and San Antonio even reached 30+ thousand.
Miss my battle hawks!
we did and we do great predition
They should market The Generals as New Jersey's team like the NHL markets the Devils. The Panthers could play in Lansing or Flint, Michigan.
I think you’re onto something
They are
Maybe have the Generals play in Trenton?
You said "XFL BOTH times" while talking about failed spring teams. The 2nd XFL didn't fail. Covid happened. It's not even completely over. It was succeeding. They did everything right. The talent was great, the game was fun and the teams were awesome. I will call it a failure if they don't come back after covid is completely over... But not until then. There's still talks about coming back
Honestly the Panthers are probably gonna be the top 3 in attendince cause of two reasons, 1 cause MI is nuts about football and 2 Lions fans will flock to anything that might go 500
Orlando San Diego cities that have proven to support football teams in the past that don't have NFL teams would have been the way I would have went but I'm not looking for a tax break so I'm not starting up a failing business
These usfl teams have history and will be celebrated on return, if there will be spring league that makes it this will be it
Still not as good as it could’ve been
Agreed this is the best chance to rival the NFL.
The New Orleans market makes sense at least, many fans in the area have been priced out of Saints games and can't afford to take their family to
I like the choices and understand them. The new USFL for its first season just wants to focus on a certain region of the country first, the North and the South. The North division can't help but have teams that already have NFL teams in them. I think it's important that the Panthers and the Stars are back since they are the two teams that won all the USFL Summer Bowl championship games during the '80s. The South on the other hand they could have chosen Orlando or Memphis over Tampa Bay and New Orleans if they wanted to open up new markets. I'm sure the plan is to go west in the future and we can have the Oakland Invaders, LA Express, Arizona Wranglers, and so on. I hope ALL the teams come back eventually. If all the teams do come back there will be a total of 19 teams. To even it out I would award St. Louis a team and have the USFL at 20 teams.
Michigan was gone after year one. Then merged with Oakland. Yes, the bubble gives USFL one year to create a bond between the city and the team. Harder in a bubble. But if the money isn't there or it's a true business model for this league, then it is what it is. I totally get that they are going regional. I'm saying it's a mistake. They will need a really good fan showing once they hit their home cities in year 2 or 3. By then XFL will have taken St. Louis and San Antonio. Thise stadiums will have 30 k for XFL. Detroit and Pittsburgh will have 15k. Bet!
The Panthers were actually there for 2 years. When they announced the move to the fall… they had no choice but to merge or see crowds that Denver had in ‘85. Orlando has an NBA team that draws decently from what I remember, and the XFL had some success there-so Tampa makes much more sense, especially considering how putridly the Rays draw. The original Bandits and the New Orleans Breakers drew very well the first time out. Oakland and LA never cared about the USFL the first time, and Arizona’s best year at the gate was the debut season (they went 4-14 but still out drew George Allen’s team that played for the title the next year.). With the Cardinals being there and LA having two teams, the desert Southwest wouldn’t make much sense. To me mid-sized markets like Omaha, Albuquerque, Richmond, and maybe even Little Rock could make sense-especially if they go back to the territorial draft idea that they had. Former Hogs, Hokies, and Huskers could fill some seats in smaller stadiums in those cities.
@@tohaz I see the USFL trying to get the LA Express back, but if things don't work out move the Express to San Diego. You want to have a team in Southern California. I hope fans do come out to support the Oakland Invaders. Raiders are not coming back so Oakland should embrace a pro football team coming to their city. If things don't work out in Oakland then move the Invaders to San Jose or Sacramento. The desert Southwest does make sense since Phoenix is one of the fastest-growing cities in America and the USFL should try to tap that market. If things don't work out for the Wranglers in Arizona then move them to Albuquerque as you mention.
Chicago's Blitz had George Allen as coach, a good QB and they were the only Wild Card in the first season. Their attendance numbers were AWFUL (they wound up merging with the AZ Wranglers). I also thought they had the neatest logo. It is just too damned hard to compete for the hearts and minds of "Da Bears" fans. Plus someone I heard a year or two ago had bought the logo and naming rights to the Blitz for a semi pro team and has it to this day. I would like to see the Blitz play again, someplace.... Omaha maybe? Saint Louis? Or in the University of Northern Iowa's Dome? Don't laugh; it is Big 10 Country I'm sure everyone has nothing to do in Iowa in the spring, and the Dome is weather resistant. It looks great on TV and shouldn't be hard to fill (17,000?).
@@SpartacusMinimus I thought FOX has all the rights now to all the USFL teams and logos. Yes bring back the Blitz, maybe play at a smaller stadium or somewhere else in Illinois close to Chicago
Correct 💯. Baseball and NBA playoffs will dominate viewership. The teams should have been placed in markets with no NFL Teams. Sacramento, Oakland, San Diego, Portland, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Orlando.
For whatever reason/s, the USFL prioritized having all their teams in cities from the original USFL. So, places like St Louis
were probably never considered.
I live in Philly and many Eagles fans can't afford to go to games. Give Philly a team with affordable tix(USFL tix are $10 for adults this year), and THEY WILL SHOW UP! Same goes for Steelers fans in Pittsburgh. It's not like they play at the same time of year.
If you were a football fan in Detroit, wouldn't you want the opportunity to go see a WINNING team play? The Lions are improving, but the Panthers could have a winning record and maybe reach the playoffs THIS season. That might even prompt some Michiganders to travel to Birmingham or Canton to see Panthers games.
As for New York? I think the Lions will reach the playoffs before either NYC team at this point. So, both NYC folks and Garden Staters WILL GO to Generals games.
Without even looking at attendance, ratings, or what cities did or didn't originally have 80s USFL teams, I think the biggest mistake the USFL made is NO teams West of Houston.
Hey Mr Dunham, I think you are spot on. It seems as though you have your finger on the pulse of professional football. There appears to be a large chunk of fans here in the USA that are just looking for something a little more REFRESHING. The other league is beginning to look a little DATED. Although, it is still immensely popular.
As far placing teams in the western US. I really believe they will at some point, place teams in deserving cities in the west. This hub concept now employed by the league is only a temporary arrangement to get the various franchises up and running.
P.S. I live in Birmingham and can hardly wait for the season to start.😎👍
Why call the New Orleans team Breakers with the history of the levees breaking?😕😔☹️
Because "breaker" is a wave. Nothing to do with levees.
@@stormwarning1235 Ahhhhh, I still think they could have come up with a different name. Thanks for the insight!
I had season tickets for the XFL Houston Roughnecks. Except for the first game or two, the lower bowl of the stadium was packed and had some sections of the upper deck open. Great atmosphere. Texas and Houston love football. Especially if they are good. Not like the Texans currently... The Gamblers would probably be more popular than the Texans.
I’d love to find a way to go to one of these games they seem super fun
Michigan isn’t in Detroit tho
Should have been San Antonio or Austin, Oakland, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Portland, San Diego, Iowa and then Birmingham.
I like the way you think
Maybe in year 2 or 3 some expansion will happen
USFL is saving money on travel,facilities, hotels, broadcast expenses and other expenses.
USFL is just showcasing the product all the games won't be played in Birmingham I'm sure the games will be home and home
Expansion will occur with the success of the league just be patient.
The market is TV and all games are going to be played in Birmingham. It’s a TV league. I loved the original USFL and I thought tonight was pretty good considering only 3 weeks practice.
TV leagues still need to be in areas where people care and I agree today was good
Whatever the USFL does, that product on the field better be very good. Same with the XFL.
The on field product was very good in the XFL and AAF
I still can’t believe the AAF folded. Everything was truly great.
It may have survived had they chosen Omaha and Oakland over Atlanta and Arizona
I think the AAF and the new XFL should merge. Would be perfect since there are no two same cities teams in each league. Also, bad management ruined the AAF
@@kpowers AAF is dead that ship has sailed unfortunately
@@primeconor Yeah but would be nice if they did. There was talk about it. Who knows. Hey took almost 40 years for the USFL to come back
It was that one dumb Dallas business man who acted like a baby and didn't get his way. So he shut the league down. That was the biggest mistake, giving investors that much power where 1 investor can shut it down.
He's got a valid point. Born, raised and still live in tuscaloosa alabama. We are absolutely excited about the Stallions. To be honest I'm sick of UA football and I miss the Tuscaloosa I grew up in. But on the other hand the Usfl in Birmingham? Sign me up, I've got tickets already. As a long time Pittsburgh steelers fan I'm ready to root for a home team and take a break from NFL drama and political stuff. Football is big here and I hope this league is successful. When the teams were announced I also had concerns with locations that had NFL teams. I hope those fans will accept and support USFL and look at it as a way to watch more football through out the year. And develop players for their local NFL team
I was skeptical when I started this video BUT you talked me into it.
Prime Conor....I absolutely agree!! I would have a league with St. Louis, San Antonio, Orlando, San Diego, Birmingham, Oakland, Portland, and Columbus. NO NFL cites!! Ok, if you need to go NY and LA for TV contracts...make sure they both are playing in small MLS stadiums. Then, the TV games should be New York AT St. Louis. LA AT San Antonio. MLS does this. All the big Fox and ESPN games are New York AT Atlanta. LA at Portland. DC or chicago AT cincinnati/nashville. Dallas or Houston AT Austin. Next round of expansion go Sacramento and Omaha. Both had big UFL attendances.
You are forgetting. Most of these are teams that existed before. They already have fan bases.
40 years ago, and the USFL also had San Antonio Orlando and Memphis teams which is a point I made
@@primeconor You're not understanding the marketing science of mental positioning. Every real football fan 45 and older already has the USFL as the all time #2 league after the NFL. They've already won the first and most important battle against the XFL bc of this AND they have a whole year to clamp down and take their mental position before the XFL arrives in 2023. Even if the XFL gets some stadium fans in hungry cities, the USFL will have a huge upper hand in the national TV audience, with a major network in FOX to broadcast on. You have to remember that most NFL fans don't live in NFL cities but they root for NFL teams. All they have to do is make the USFL teams "feel" like the home team or in some way connected to the TV audience. All the while the USFL has much lower costs from less stadium expenses. Really, it's genius.
@@justinnodler1942 the USFL was long before I was alive so I have no idea what the perception was outside of numbers and articles
@@primeconor I Thought Spring Football was a great idea for football fans having cold sweats and withdrawal symptoms. My roommate at the time, however, made light of my enthusiasm for the USFL and gave me a license plate frame that read: "USFL Fever-- Catch It". I have to chuckle at the above comment of [USFL teams] already have fan bases. I dunno about that. Let's just say that they have a familiar ring to them...
@@justinnodler1942 Fox may be taking a page out of Disney's+ABC/ESPN's book: They own 90% of the bowl games and then broadcast them. I guess the numbers are good enough for a profit. With a guaranteed revenue stream and no dumb shit owners like Trump (I voted for him and will probably vote for him again, but let's face it: it was Trump who killed the USFL. After the league won the NFL lawsuit, but only got $3.00, ESPN said they would STILL broadcast their games in the Spring. The owners were all on board to do so, except for Trump. ESPN stipulated there had to be a New York/ NJ franchise for a broadcast contract and Trump said "NO". Death knell for the USFL) the new USFL looks like it can thrive.
Like your analysis. One thing that might also make sense is to play at a smaller venue.
Thanks Ken
There’s literally no reason to have a team in a city that already has an NFL team. All of these teams should be located in cities that are far away from an NFL team (Birmingham is a good example).
Bingo
these were teams from the original usfl in the 80s
Houston Roughnecks, Seattle Dragons, DC Defenders, and Dallas Renegades had good attendance.
Went to the first DC Defenders game, liked the intimate surrounds of Audi Field where I felt on top of the action. The Free Hot Cocoa that day helped too.
Loved the Roughnecks games! Like a college football game! Much better than a Texans game. Especially right now. I would love to have games to go to and tailgate at with a decent team, that doesn't break the bank.
Seattle was the only one out of the list you named. Only Seattle and st. Louis reached 20+ thousand in the xfl. In the aaf San Antonio (who even reached 30 thousand), San Diego and Orlando were the only ones to reach 20+ thousand attendance in the aaf.
Move the panthers to Toledo.
LSU plays in Baton Rouge. But yeah, I get your point. Also, most of these teams are playing in Birmingham for the 1st season.
The original USFL was a real league. Contrast that with the 2000 XFL which reeked of Vince McMahon and the unwashed WWE/WWF. If the new USFL launched immediately after the Kaepernick BS it would be on a fast trajectory to dominate TV viewership.
I agree with not using nfl cities. Thats always been me saying. Why!!!
They need to cater to cities like:
San Antonio
San Diego
Utah
Birmingham
Memphis
Saint Louis
Louisville
ETC.....
Exactly!
You're right about San Antonio deserving a team. It would do well, attendance wise. But are you aware that all of these teams will play in only one venue, in Birmingham, AL. At least the first few fledgling seasons.
Why Birmingham? They should have the play in San Antonio if they want large attendance.
@@thecensoredmuscle563 I agree. In USTA's very first game they had 50,000+. A new team, a new program an expensive coach and a great facility. I can only guess that the USFL/FOX chose Birmingham because of UAB's brand new stadium, plus Legion field , if need be (personally I would like them to stay away from the big stadiums as there will be lots of empty seats and that is poison theatre on TV. Not that UAB's stadium is "small"... I think it holds almost 40,000). Who knows? Maybe the city of Birmingham is offering incentives because they know something like the Super Bowl will bring in people and money into their fair city. Spring probably isn't like summer with lots of travelers and lodgers. A USFL season and post season would fill a lot of hotels for not only fans but the players and staff as well. Kind of like 12 or 13 "little Super Bowls".
@@SpartacusMinimus USTA? The national Tennis team? "UTSA!"
So happy to see the Michigan Panthers back!!! We need the Oklahoma Outlaws, Chicago Blitz and Jacksonville Bulls and Oakland Invaders!!
Oakland needs it
Bring them all back
Birmingham, St Louis, Oakland, Louisville, Orlando, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego
Where would they play in San Diego? Wasn't the old Chargers stadium torn down?
@@generalshadow9027 answer. Snapdragon Stadium, home of the San Diego State Aztec football team. It will be finish in 2022 .
@@tmcfootball96 Nice! That could work.
they think about tv viewership over attendance ,, attendance is just extra to them.they dont think smaller markets will give them the yes
The product will take care of viewership
The thing with the spring leagues is they can never keep really good talent because eventually if a player plays really good consistently the nfl will eventually scoop them up so you won’t be able to fall in love with a player or team just my opinion but out of all the spring leagues this latest xfl try was really good and I enjoyed it a lot until covid had to fuck it up 😂
Well that’s the point, keep the players playing football until they get another nfl shot
You're already missing the point, these are just new franchises of teams that were established by the original USFL. Yes they had some teams in cities that already had a NFL team, sans Birmingham, Memphis, Portland, etc. But the original league was set up to play football in the Spring, it started getting most of the top college players, that started making it at par with the NFL, but then CHUMP, who was part owner of the New Jersey Generals at the time, decided to move the League to a fall schedule to compete against the NFL. A move you DO NOT DO, because the NFL is already an established Fall league. The result was a failure and the collapse of the league.
Exactly. Trying to make a start up league and putting teams in places with already established teams is fucking stupid.
Thank you!
How can you say the XFL league failed when it was during a Covid year. The XFL was doing good until Covid hit.
And then it failed
It's funny that you kinda give the Generals a pass on legacy grounds when the Philly Stars were the best and best supported OG USFL team, and only relocated to Baltimore because when it looked like the leagues might merge they wanted to go to a market without a team already.
you obviously never watched , the Philly Stars were not supported by Fans and Stars had bad attendance numbers and Denver Gold had the best attendance followed by Tampa Bay Bandits .
@@aldocastanado7511 I mean I watched but I was pretty young. Either way we were the best team.
@@williammcguire130 ok if you say so but that is also not true , the Panthers beat Stars in very first Championship game and in year two started 6-0 and Anthony Carter who was most electrifying WR in league and panthers # 1 broke his arm and then their safety D. Greenwood who was best safety in USFL and their best hitter and playmaker also is lost for most of year and their top RB Ken Lacy gets signed by Chiefs and gets hurt and John Corker leagues defensive player of year gets suspended by team for drugs as well as Larry Bethea .
with all they went through in year if not for their kicker missing 3 field goals vs LA Express in triple overtime Panthers could have played in all 3 Championship games and Bobby Hebert / Anthony Carter / derek Holloway were too much for the stars to contend with and a bogus late hit by Invaders fullback on what would have put the invaders within 2 yds of a 3 rd and 2 and a td turned into 3rd and long and they lost game . Stars were a very good team and well coached with lots of role players and played hard solid defense but were not the best team or most talented and you still not knowledgeable enough on your own team or league . sorry not trying to bash you and keep watching to see if anyone will put out half decent product on USFL and still waiting .
Not to mention the usfl refusing to actually market the team in their local markets by putting them in a hub and then not even marketing in Birmingham at this point
I’m from Philly and we support all our teams so yes we will show up. We’re a football city so more football is good for us and the Philadelphia stars was a very popular team back in the day and will be in 2022
The Michigan Panthers will out draw the Lions and it won’t even be close just like 1983
They go for big cities because fans I think that they should have teams in smaller cities/towns that way they can build smaller stadiums. This will make them different from the NFL in a big way, but they see big cities and think "money, money, money"(in Mr. Crab's voice)
Yeah in a small league you gotta go small cities like minor league baseball
@@primeconor true even if the leagues aren't trying to be a minor league of the NFL. Just look at how Soccer is handled in the UK there's hundreds of smaller leagues that aren't associated with FIFA but the players still have a chance of getting on one of those teams.
Some Thoughts on why the USFL will work:
1) The USFL will succeed over the XFL because the USFL number one has FOX to televise the games and do so in a top level manor as they are half owners. This is a big deal and cannot be stated enough. FOX will not just carry games, they will not just cover those games very pro level, they will advertise and make damn sure it is hyped up and looks good. Number two they exist as the #2 league (after NFL) STILL in many peoples minds that are 45 and older. They have mental positioning power way over the XFL and even the name USFL conjures up warm feelings. Only Kathleen Kennedy could screw this up.
2) The USFL will benefit from the anti-patriotism the NFL has been allowing the last few years. Many fans have turned it off and now a league named the USFL (Hello?) with stars and stripes for that matter in their logo will be very appealing, even if nothing more than a F*CK YOU NFL. I'll be shocked if the USFL allows any woke demonstrations.
3) They will have early profitability because they are avoiding the cost of stadiums and leasing.
4) They realize that the real money is in TV Revenue and the TV fans PERCEPTION of the game, and that 99% of the audience is on TV. Playing all the games in one stadium is genius. Keeping all the players in the same city for housing and zero travel expense is also genius. Then as soon as profits are good they can have the teams practice in their home towns and sell tickets to the practices where fans can interact with players. But still you don't need to sell beer and hotdogs you need to sell caps and jerseys. The concept is like the olympics where all go to one place to compete. I don't know if they are planning this but they should sell a game pass for the entire season and also weekly, so that a fan could watch all the games in the stadium. All they need to do is keep the stadium full, even if they just break even on stadium revenue. The TV fans need to see butts in the seats to sell it.
Cons:
1) Some fans will feel playing all the games in one city is illegit.
2) The players will be sub-par compared to NFL players, and this gets noticed to some degree.
3) Players will be mostly unknown, and FOX will need to work hard to develop player identities and create heroes.
4) If the NFL steals the top players from the USFL every year, it will be a large hurdle to overcome. Pro Football fans have alegiances to players and this ain't college. The USFL should absolutely make all players entering the league sign a noncompete anti-NFL clause that states they cannot go to the NFL for the first 4 or 5 years in the USFL. There are plenty of good players in America outside the NFL and it can be done. Most NFL practice squad players would rather be playing in the USFL for a decent pay check and the fame, with still a chance after 4 or 5 years to graduate to the NFL. Something is better than nothing.
5) The XFL will detract to some degree from the USFL in early Spring 2023 assuming the XFL still determines they have enough of a market to begin in 2023. The XFL very likely will not survive head to head against the USFL for more than 3 or 4 weeks into their debut season, but could still be just enough of a glancing blow to knock out the USFL as it will be fighting for 2nd year interest as much of the initial excitement has worn off. Think the end of "Rocky" when they both knocked each other down at the same time, except neither gets up. If this happens the XFL will likely fold midway, with the USFL sticking around to finish the year and then fold. The smart move for the XFL would be to either call it off or throw in with the USFL.
Conclusion:
Barring an economic collapse or Civil War 2.0 (both actually possible btw), the USFL should be successful in its first year. The TV coverage will likely be fantastic with a quality that will feel just like the NFL. Having any other option than the NFL will feel freeing, and FOX will likely do it very well with good commentators, hosts, and sideline reporters. For conservatives, the patriotic angle of it will feel good to many people reeling from years of over-payed obnoxious NFL players that seem to endlessly protest. The real challenge will be the 2nd year and on, where the USFL needs to return to the players and coaches from the previous year and build on that, just like every pro-league does. If it can't because players leave for the bigger NFL, it will forever be seen as a sideshow and development league to the giant NFL. If every new year feels like a reboot for the team with the good players missing, fans will likely not stick around except the die-hards that just want anything football.
If the USFL IS successful after year one, it will undoubtedly creep the schedule back to starting the week after the Superbowl (why not?), and increase the seasonal games to somewhere between 14 and 18 by their 5th year. They will also expand to bring in many more teams, with a desire to bring back the rest of the original USFL cities and mascots, but fans will have the final say on that. If the USFL can sustain their profits and excitement for the first 3 years, they will likely have enough of a foothold to remain perpetually as the Spring Pro Football league. The long term strategy to eventually defeating the NFL would be the "long game" of waiting at least 7-10 years and then extending the schedule so that the USFL playoffs coincide with the opening weeks of the NFL. This could be coupled with the NFL having lost revenue already from fans lost to the USFL, and the NFL being mired in revenue lost due to the NFL Players Association agreements and player salaries.
How are they going to do 80 games in Alliant Stadium in Bham?
They will need to play 4 times a week
Birmingham ➕ Protective Stadium ➕ our own team = a winner.
But, for tv, any league is going to need a few of the top 7 tv markets. Top seven markets are NYC, CHICAGO, LA, HOUSTON, PHILADELPHIA, DALLAS and Atlanta.
I'm from Birmingham so my leage would be: Birmingham, St Louis, San Diego, Oakland, Orlando, San Antonio, NYC, Houston, DC, and Pittsburgh.
Start, mid April , championship 8pm central time July 3rd. In addition all games on Saturday night ( except championship).
Lastly, I would lean heavily towards regional drafting ( south = sec, north and east = big 10 and acc, west and south west = big 12 and pac 12). Also please stay away from controversial people in decision making or ownership groups.
I would start 2 weeks after the Superbowl. Long enough for people to miss Football, but not so long they have moved on. And I'd play on Sunday like the NFL. People are too wired for that already. Although put a few out on other days too if the TV programming is light.
@@justinnodler1942 HI Mr. Nodler, I understand your point of view. However, as someone who has been around for many of these spring leagues here in Birmingham, I can attest to the problems of playing in the spring time.
The winter/spring months are too problematic for outside sporting events. If all the teams played in dome stadiums, that would be fine to just pick up where the other league leaves off , but thats not the case.
Personally, I think the USFL is spot on in starting in late April. I wish the XFL would consider doing the same.
I would love to see a XFL vs USFL championship game played on July 3rd. What a way to say happy birthday America. Let's hope this happens.
Just defending a guardians a little bit. Obviously people here in NY were skeptical at first, but also the weather is a huge factor. People aren't going to jets and giants games in December and it's been a long time since they were playoff teams. If XFL started in spring, people would have took the risk of a bad game if it was fair weather. Covid screwed everything up. I really liked the XFL. Looking forward to USFL
FINALLY I found someone making videos about what I've been saying since the announcement of teams. I've been studying this for days and this is my best assessment of what USFL is trying to do.
Since the first season is in a bubble it appears that USFL chose these cities NOT for large crowds in stadiums all over the league. They seem to have chosen these cities becuz of the size of the TV market and low costs to televise instead of markets that will draw big crowds. The idea is that they will capitalize on NFL fans WITHDRAWLS after the Super Bowl. NJ Houston have pretty large tv markets. PHILLY also.
They are hoping to draw large tv ratings from the bubble and in doing so CONNECT with fans in their cities. And when they finally play from those cities they will have already formed a fan base.
This is a HORRIBLE IDEA. USFL has surrendered so many great markets to the future XFL it's ridiculous. To me the USFL is already second tier now becuz of their poor choices. If I were the XFL I'd announce St. Louis San Antonio Oakland San Diego Portland Chicago
NY and Memphis
Maybe XFL USFL merger down the road.
@@jaysonm.7264 too much overlap
@@primeconor Probably... I can dream though lol
To me the fact that USFL only went as far West as Houston, means they either have agreed to give the West to XFL or they just are stupid and SURRENDERED the West. How can USFL think Pittsburgh will draw better than St. LOUIS? St. Louis drew 30 to 35k for the Battlehawks. Same with San Antonio Commanders. One was XFL the other was AAF. THE LEAGUE DOESNT MATTER at this point. Its LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION !!! How could they possibly bypass St. LOUIS. SAN ANTONIO AUSTIN OAKLAND SAN DIEGO SEATTLE PORTLAND LOS ANGELES PHOENIX OR LAS VEGAS???? HOW? Unless they have an agreement with XFL and are giving them the west. How else could they believe the 8 cities they chose would be good ideas? Houston over San Antonio? Darryl Johnston said in an interview they hope to expand to cities like san Antonio in year 3 or 3. WHAT ON EARTH MAKES HIM THINK XFL WONT HAVE HIT THOSE MARKETS WITH THEIR 2023 START UP? WHICH WOULD YOU PREFER ? USFL IN THE 8 CITIES THEY CHOSE OR
LOS ANGELES SAN DIEGO OAKLAND AND SEATTTLE WITH CHICAGO ST LOUIS SAN ANTONIO AND MEMPHIS? WHICH WILL DRAW MORE FANS?
San Antonio,Oakland, San Diego, Portland, Omaha, Birmingham, Orlando, Memphis, USFL
I’ll challenger you in this. Salt Lake Stallions had poor attendance in the AAF along with the Memphis Express. Look up attendance figures for the 60s AFL the first couple years. They were awful. What 60s AFL had was the benefit of time to grow their fan base. Something many spring leagues haven’t had the benefit of. I don’t think it’s a matter of already having an NFL team. Seattle Dragons prove that. It’s a matter of time.
With the exception of the then New York Titans the AFL also avoided NFL cities. That’s why the Chiefs are in Kansas City and not Dallas
The AAF did very poorly in promoting themselves and started on first notice. A lot of the population in Not only Salt lake city but Memphis didn't even know they had a pro football team. And Memphis with the old usfl and old xfl did great in attendance, I'm sure that if the usfl or xfl decided to put a franchise in Salt lake city, they would do a significantly better job promoting and spreading awareness, and will have great support.
True. Playing in the same stadium until the "baby" is ready to leave the incubator is a smart plan.
New York wasn’t even that far off pace from the rest of the league despite horrendous weather. The attendance just looked bad because they were at MetLife
Looking at the attendance from the 2020 xfl season new York had the second worst attendance, LA had the worst. Both of those cities have like 2 of every sport professional teams. They didn't exactly need a lower level team, until the league got alot more popular.
You're getting confused about an important fact in modern sports, it's not the fans in the stadium seats that count but the money from the tv contract, and putting a team in a small tv market area means yes you might get a few more people in the stadiums but there won't be as much money in the owners pockets. It's simple math. And as someone who actually went to USFL games back in the early 80s I actually remember being in a crowd of 60,000 to watch the Stallions play the Generals, but what worked for me was just sitting in my living room and watching the games on Tv, for that to work the networks have to go with solid markets. Once the league has settled in they can try to expand back into their smaller markets like San Antonio and Memphis etc.
New Orleans will support the Breakers.
it actuality is doesn't even matter where these teams are "from" considering every game is being played in Birmingham, which is why the USFL is going to tank, which makes me sad because I want it to do well
Actually it does, my proposal involves getting into the culture of the cities having them wear jerseys that have their city name on them and being proud of it
@@primeconor but if the fans have to travel to bama just to watch their team then that kinda sucks, i just think itl be hard for the fans to maintain their interest if they cant just attend the game in their city
@@BLAKEx617 right but that’s just for season one and I predict Alabama would have the best attendance anyway
Idk if I agree I think they wanted to start with the original teams and even though the stars won like 3-4 years back in the day I remember people actually going when I was a kid I understand what you mean like LA,Tampa,all of florida actually I don't get why they continue to see these cities get pro teams the rams and the Bucs home games look more like road games so I partly agree but Philly ,Pitt,Michigan jersey, Ohio and the rest should be small places like Birmingham
Separate thing Ik that they aren’t even able to do this but these leagues would benefit massively from going into Canada, look at how much the Calgary stampeders are loved or Saskatchewan Roughriders put a team there and it’ll do really well
At that point just take the CFL teams that are successful
I totally agree with your views.
Thanks man
Were you alive when it was around originally? XFL had good attendance for a first year league. Team merchandise was hard to come by at first. Only online. Give it a chance.
I’ve seen the small margin for error these leagues have recently and throughout history, the original XFL was a gimmick if you want staying power you need untapped markets
USFL will be fine. Lets go!!
Famous last words the margin for error in this game is very slim
Hate to say it, but you are spot on!
They could have added these teams later but come out of gate with Birmingham, Memphis, Orlando, San Antonio, Oakland, Portland, San Diego and maybe Oklahoma
OKC is a good idea
Exactly!!
Sacramento
You made my day, go Memphis anything
Ummm these are cities that already have the infrastructure for big football teams. Large stadiums etc
“Suicide to go against nfl” I agree lol
See where the tv ratings are amongst the whole country. I like the idea of college players, regional guys going to same state teams. Couple X NFL names. Star power, people we know. The tv production is the main thing. Bring in some rock bands at half time. Unknown ones with one great song. Known singers for National Anthem.
The AAF had the right idea with assigning players to teams based on region like if you played at Bama you were on Birmingham if you signed with the Cardinals you were in Arizona
I just saw that the USFL made rules changes to speed up the game. They'd better. That way, they might finish the season before they go out of business.
I hope so
The USFL should've been the minor league of the NFL think each team from the NFL would have USFL team this way say your first round pick instead of being a bust well if he isn't doing good you send him to the USFL so they get playing time think what players like Russell from the Raiders flopped well he get sent to the Raiders USFL team and he gets his weight down and suddenly he is playing like he did like he did at LSU the Ryan Leaf ok no hope but other bust develope and the USFL gets known as second chance league.
The Breakers spent some time in Portland. That would probably make more sense than New Orleans.
Agreed
Home Team by Scott Adamson might be worth picking up. It is about FB in Birmingham.
I do like the Vipers unies. Merch made in heaven. I still have a few usfl and wfl pennants.
I don’t think they needed to go all out in new city’s, but I do feel like they needed to attack markets that would care. St. Louis would care a lot, Salt Lake City would probably care a lot, Memphis would care a lot.
Now if they had gone all out in non represented markets I don’t think that would’ve worked but for the most part I would of liked to see St. Louis at the very least.
I think the main focus is on T.V revenue but if that’s so why New Orleans, people don’t care about T.V in that city they care about going out for drinks and going to Saints/LSU games and the occasional discussion on the Pels. Has somebody who lives there I can say that putting a team here and having them be so boring just doesn’t work.
I feel like there’s enough established no brained markets that would be easy to hit
@@primeconor Wouldn't be a bad idea to have a lower paid league that had like 64 teams all from smaller hungry markets.
@@justinnodler1942 my idea is 16 hungry markets that feed the NFL
Dude Dragons was getting big by the last few weeks of XFL in Seattle. Nobody really knew about the xfl in general in America just like aaf but word of mouth was strong and presentation was strong. Seattle is a sports town through and through. Just look at the kraken.
Ya watching the games it seemed really loud
I think that USFL would be a good idea I mean we all like football I think they know more team and new logo and names and I do believe the USFL can be will be a good shot
The guardians sucked in the xfl, and the difference is, the generals represent New Jersey, not New York. I’ve grown up in NJ w MetLife stadium in view from my doorstep, and I grew up a Miami Dolphins fan. But I’m a nets, devils and scarlet knights fan. My point is that there’s an extremely large fan base on this side of the river, and if you’re gonna play on this side of the river, you should market yourself towards it. That was the major mistake of the guardians, they wore black instead of red (if you notice the NJ nets, devils, and knights all have red uniforms), they slapped ny on there title with no real connections to the city, and on top of that, their team sucked. The jets and giants, despite recent struggles, have a level of prestige in the NY/NJ area considering they both played in NYC at one point, they’ve been around for a very long time, and each team can say they have a lombardi trophy in their locker room. The guardians don’t have any of those things, on top of the problems I mentioned earlier, it just appears that they have weak branding and are overall just a weak organization from top to bottom. The generals, on the other hand, aren’t making any attempt to market towards NY fans, and instead are focusing on the NJ area. The only jets and giants fans in nj are stuck remembering a bygone era while their kids grow up as fans of teams from other states due to the NY teams recent struggles, and they’re lack of an attempt to market to this idea despite being in our backyard (East Rutherford). Hence the market is wide open for a professional football team in the New Jersey area. I also believe the USFL made a smart business decision by playing all of their games in their first season in two stadiums, both in Alabama. it keeps costs down while giving themselves a chance to gain tv popularity in the meantime, especially considering that fox owns the league. I would assume they made this decision with the idea they would eventually be moving to their suggestive states once the time came. If they did, then the generals have the branding to make a big splash in the New Jersey area, I’m already completely on board and plan on watching every one of their games this season. The rest is up to their roster and their coaching staff. if the league learned anything from past attempts at what they’re tryna do, which it seems like it really has, and if they can continue to provide the same quality of product they did today, then they might be the first to succeed at this.
Oakland, St Louis, San Diego, Nebraska, New Mexico, Albuquerque Wyoming Cheyenne, Montana, Utah , Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Milwaukee, West Virginia, Kansas, San Antonio, North or South Dakota, Alabama. This is where they need teams Orlando Florida.
Hungry markets I like it
Most of those markets would never be considered. Wyoming? Montana? Never.
Same for North and South Dakota. Salt Lake had porous attendance but its cold and snow in Feb when the AAF kicked off. SA, ORL, STL, OAK,MIL, OKC and SD should be the only metros in the Conversation. Not these sparsely populated states in the West or Upper North.
the Express could play in San Diego?? The CFL even went to cities that the NFL were not present. IF the XFL does a merger with the USFL, that could be huge for the league,
The CFL were in Sacramento. Instead of New Orleans, put the Breakers in Shreveport....CFL had a team there. ST Louis Oakland and SD are brilliant (USFL had SD as an inaugural site) . Bring back the Orlando Renegades too
If anything, put the Breakers in San Diego (thematically, it makes sense). I went to the Fleet's home game against the SLC Stallions in the AAF and San Diego is thirsty for a pro team, having the second best attendance behind only San Antonio.
@@AdderTude if the Breakers move to San Diego Jack Murphy/Qualcomm is torn down where will they play there home games and Jacksonville don't love the jaguars only if good
I feel like Sacramento would be a good location for a football team. They don’t have a team there and now the closest team to them are the rams and chargers
That would be interesting
Roughneck games were well attended for sure. Everyone here hates the Texans ownership. I believe San Antonio has been very vocal about not wanting another football team to come to town after the commanders and aaf debacle.
Why wouldn’t San Antonio want one? And Commanders games had better attendance than Roughnecks games
@@primeconor I should rephrase. I think city council came out and said they don’t want another lower tier football team. They still want an nfl team, but they are tired of spring ball teams coming in and closing after a season or two.
These USFL teams have history
So do other USFL teams in better markets
@@primeconor But these 8 teams chosen are good for the first season. I'm sure the plan is to expand West.
@@kpowers not really why would anyone care about a third New York team
@@primeconor Well the only other USFL North team would be the Washington Federals and I would be ok if they chose them over the Generals for starting season 1. I do understand where you are coming from about NY having another team, but from a business side, the USFL has to at least try to have a team in New York. Trust me, head of operations Darryl "moose" Johnston (who played in the NFC East) knows the culture and climate in New York all too well. I think the Generals should heavily promote themselves in New York state and in New Jersey than trying to woo New York City fans. But then again New York fans are very frustrated with how the Jets and Giants have played these last 15 years or so. If they can't attract New York fans maybe just focus on being a "New Jersey" team and play in Trenton. If that doesn't work then move the Generals to Baltimore where the Philadelphia Stars move to in season 3. Now LA will also be a hard sell but like I said the USFL will have to a least try to have a team in LA. Play in a smaller stadium like the LA Coliseum (or smaller) and if that doesn't work move the LA Express to San Diego. Of course, they will have to remove the "LA' from the helmet and just have it say "Express".
@@kpowers The Federals the USFL team in rooted for in 1983 and 1984, liked the league so much, that I rooted for the Baltimore Stars in 1985. College Park was acutally in the suburbs of DC. Alhough the Stars tried playing at the Naval Academy that last year and got turned down, so they played at Maryland.
Playing on Monday night and Thursday might save them.
They're playing in the spring! Where's the competitive issue? They're not playing at the same time!
The culture
Oklahoma Outlaws, Orlando Renegades, and I would go with the Jacksonville Bulls. Why the Bulls? Because the Jaguars are a habitually bad organization and at times uses the threat of moving in order to get what they want. Also, the Bulls had a strong following until the end.
In regards to those big city teams that were brought in; We can't ignore that any spring team would compete with NBA, MLB, Hockey (yeah I know), and other spring leagues. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson purchased the XFL and Canadian Leagues (not sure if he also bought the Arena league) to make a minor league team...so that is going to hurt too.
Imo Jacksonville should get a USFL team while the Jags move to San Antonio
@@primeconor San Antonio doesn't have the population or stadium size. But I think the Gunslingers were cool.
@@shawnclement9242 they can build one
@@primeconor Not over night and ask your fellow San Antonians if they are willing to pay the increased taxes to pay for half the bill.
@@shawnclement9242 privatize it like all stadiums should be
The teams do not have actual cities. The games will be played in one stadium. Making the city irrelevant.
Btw NY does not have three times. New Jersey has 3 times. The two NY teams play in NJ.
Fans in New York claim them
How about the new OC and QB for the Tampa Bay Bandits Tom Brady LOL I could see him at age 50 wining his 6th USFL championship.
Agree with Birmingham the only problem is they are a sudo city of Atlanta
I think they’re far enough from Atlanta
The home team Stallions will do ok with attendance but no other teams will bring fans to Birmingham to watch.
I think you saw that this weekend
Least they stayed away from LA thank god, that place is like snake oil, looks good on paper until its put in practice
Why does these leagues hate Portland and Columbus?
Does Portland have a stadium?
@@primeconor Providence Park where the Breakers used to play at
@@primeconor It is located downtown on the light rail system. Plus Portland needs more sports teams and there is no NFL team
@@matthewwelsh294 I like that idea
@@primeconor And yet these leagues put teams in LA, New York, Tampa, etc No wonder why they failed
Hey champ! I’m not sure that it matters this year! All games are being played in Birmingham. Why do you ramble on and on? It’s not about attendance this year!
Well typically when you run a business you want to run it for more than one year so when they do go to their respective cities attendance will be awful
If USFL brought a team to Albuquerque NM and play in the NM Lobo's stadium the Attendance could be in second to third but it could also bring money from out of state football fans who come to support their teams.
I wondered about New Mexico I’d like to see them get a chance
@@primeconor yeah me too
@@primeconor
What I don't understand is why Brian Woods wants the USFL to be a developmental League when he already has The Spring League but I think Fox Sports should of waited for Redbird Capital to sell their share of the XFL then Fox buys it and
I might watch the USFL games but I am not going to buy any merchandise that has anything to do with Brian Woods.
@@m8j365 who’s Brian woods?
@@primeconor The Spring League is funded through Brian Woods and he's the president of the USFL.
If you consider Omaha, why not look at North Dakota or Montana? Is it better to sell out a 25k seat stadium or have 15k in a 50k seater. Everyone knows, no USFL team will draw 50k, outside of the 1st game
Example 1: Fargo, ND
1) No pro football teams 2) They have a 20,000 seat Fargodome 3) Fargo is basically located in Minnesota and has 650k within a 100 mile radius . 4) NDSU is a big deal in part because of limited options
2) Missoula Montana - Montana Griz sell out a 28k stadium. Strong college football fan base. No pro teams.
3) Harrisonburg Virginia - Home of James Madison University
I actually really like the idea of Fargo