With news that the United Football League is set to launch its Premiere season this October, the obvious question is can yet another potential competitor to the NFL survive? Especially one that is operating during the NFL's regular season? As a fan of football, I hope it does. The games won't be taking place on Sundays, so from a fan perspective it means more opportunities to watch professional ball. Then again, I also got excited about the USFL (go Breakers!) and the XFL --- loved the fact that one of the teams used my Fantasy Football name.Some points of interest:
- Teams for the inaugural season will be based out of the following four markets:
Las Vegas/Los Angeles
New York/Hartford
San Francisco/Sacramento
Orlando
- The teams will be league-owned
- Backers include Tom Pelosi (husband of Nancy), Bill Hambrecht (San Francisco Investment Banker), and Tim Armstrong (a Senior Executive at Google)
- Average ticket price = $20-$25
- Games will be broadcast on the Versus network on Thursday and Friday nights
- There will be advertising on the jerseys
Some interesting coaches have been lined up ...
Jim Fassel (Las Vegas)
- 1997 NFL Coach of the Year
- Led the NY Giants to the Super Bowl in 2001
Ted Cottrell (NY)
- NFL executive and professional coach with over two decades of NFL experience
Jim Haslett (Orlando)
- 2000 NFL Coach of the Year
- Guided the New Orleans Saints the first playoff victory in franchise history
Dennis Green (San Francisco)
- NFL regular season record: 113 - 94
- Led the Minnesota Vikings to a 15-1 record in 1998
The way I see it, three possible positive outcomes come to mind:
- The league is successful as its own entity, and provides expanded football entertainment for fans of the sport.
- The league evolves into a developmental league for the NFL, giving young players a chance to hone their skill before making the leap to the pros.
- The teams are successful enough to be folded into the NFL (particularly the markets that do not currently have an NFL team).
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The foundation of the league is solid but I feel they may have been better off forgoing this season rather than have four teams playing in seven cities. I doubt they do well in drawing fans on Friday nights with high school football taking place. Playing in the fall on Thursday nights might work if the league has six teams at the minimum. Watching the same four teams play each other over six weeks just seems stupid.
ReplyDeleteIf the UFL doesn't try to sign away the top NFL free agents or draft top collegiate stars then playing in the fall should not bother the NFL.
It is doubtful playing in the fall will allow the UFL to ever be anything close to the caliber of the NFL. I think the USFL if run right this time has a much better shot at competing with the NFL at some point in the late future. If either league could get two of the richest men on the planet to buy in they may have a bit of leverage. Warren Buffet and Richard Branson would be great. Richard Branson loves to put his brand on things being the playboy that he is. It won't happen but if I were a CEO of one of these leagues I would court a Buffet or Branson Billionaire type.
Great points, Shazam. I really think that this league's best shot as success would be if it were rolled into the NFL as a developmental/minor league. It would allow the NFL to expand into smaller cities, and also increase their marketing power.
ReplyDeleteI love your thoughts on Branson --- he would seem to be the perfect fit for a rival sports league.