Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL!

The Amazing Virginian

The Amazing Virginian

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In my lifetime, sooooooooooo many attempts at non-NFL professional football - especially in the spring and summer. World Football League (WFL), United States Football League (USFL) 1.0, Arena Football League, World League of American Football, Alliance of American Football, XFL 1.0, XFL 2.0 . . .

None lasted very long.

Yes, there was the AFL before it merged with the NFL. But by the time I was old enough to even understand professional football, the NFL had already agreed to play the AFL in this thing called a "Super Bowl" as a prelude to an eventual merger.

Now comes USFL 2.0. In less than an hour. I expect it's fate to be the same as its predecessors.

Still, I'll probably watch. Because I'm a football mutant.

Anyone else here thinking of giving it a watch?




Didn't think so.
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
Anyone else here thinking of giving it a watch?

Didn't think so.
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Where?

Just looked for a game and saw a clip. At least it's played on a full sized field. I hated arena football.

Have to assume that USFL players are those who were/have been passed over by the NFL. So, it should be a lot like watching college foodball. A lot of mistakes and a lot of "excitement" caused by mistakes, which is the reason I do NOT watch college football (or basketball, for that matter).

However, it should provide a way for passed over players to highlight their "talent" to get called up to the NFL later in the year due to injuries or whatever. So, I see the benefit for the players. The "fans"? Not so much.

No West Coast teams (yet) and none in any city that I've ever lived in, so no interest in the new "league" on my part (yet).
 
sgt1372 said:
Where?

Just looked for a game and saw a clip. At least it's played on a full sized field. I hated arena football.

Have to assume that USFL players are those who were/have been passed over by the NFL. So, it should be a lot like watching college foodball. A lot of mistakes and a lot of "excitement" caused by mistakes, which is the reason I do NOT watch college football (or basketball, for that matter).

However, it should provide a way for passed over players to highlight their "talent" to get called up to the NFL later in the year due to injuries or whatever. So, I see the benefit for the players. The "fans"? Not so much.

No West Coast teams (yet) and none in any city that I've ever lived in, so no interest in the new "league" on my part (yet).
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Where? Simulcast on NBC and Fox. Three more games today. First (Noon) is on NBC, second (4 PM) is on USA, and third (8 PM) is on FS1.

I once lived in "Tampa Bay" (actually, St. Petersburg) but that's not why I'll watch.

Last night's game was entertaining. Certainly not NFL quality. The most obvious drop off is, not surprisingly, in the quality of QB play. None of these guys was consistently accurate. If they were, they probably would be in the NFL where teams are desperate for good QBs. Perhaps for that reason, the Generals ran the ball on something liked 17 consecutive plays. I haven't seen that in the NFL since the 1970s.

There WERE some players with NFL experience. And I saw a couple that impressed me. The receivers were maybe the standout group. I think some of these guys may catch on in the NFL this fall.

I'd say the overall quality was about the same as top tier NCAA football. Crowd was smallish - but actually bigger than I expected. And it was enthusiastic. But, as they say, Rome was not built in a day.

I'm rooting for this league as I have rooted for all new leagues. But I also expect it to suffer a similar fate.
 
Can't help but think the drones are a bad idea...accident waiting to happen. Helmet cam is kinda neat tho.
 
Happened to see parts of the NJ/Birmingham and Houston/Michigan games recorded on my DVR.

Both ended w/unsuccessful "hail Mary" plays.

I like the way they broadcast the signals/plays; assume the opposing team can't hear them. The drones also seem to provide better play coverage but I wonder what would happen if a drone interferred w/a play.

Their replay system also seems "better"(or at least quicker) than the NFL. A TD was called for Michigan based on a replay that clearly showed the ball breaking the plane. Still wondering if a "drone" took that shot. It kept Michigan in the game but wasn't enough for them to win.

The NJ/Birmingham game seemed well attended but the seats were empty for the Houston/Michagan game.

Seems like they have some decent "talent" and some some of the "action" that I saw was "compelling" but I don't see how they can succeed if they can't draw any fans (and advertisers who pay for ads based on how many fans the pollsters say are attending/watching the games).

I'll record the Tampa Bay/Pittsburg game that is airing on FS1 at 4pm PST tonight to see what that game looks like.
 
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Locutus D'Borg said:
I'll watch. Didn't a former president own the New Jersey Generals in the 80's/90's?
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He was a future game show host at the time. LOL.

I heard that they drew 3.5 million viewers at the peak yesterday. That is a very good number.

But, yeah, if they're gonna survive they're eventually gonna have to put butts in seats. Ownership has to be prepared to lose money for at least a couple of years until they can do that. If they did not expect and plan for that, then this whole thing is foolish.
 
So, I watched the beginning and ending of the Tampa Bay/Pittsburg game.

The most notable thing to be was obviously the totally empty stands, particularly in the end zones. Very sad.

Maybe part of the problem is playing all of the games in the same stadium in the same city. The game w/the most attendance was the 1st involving the "home team" in Birmingham but it was a ghost town after that. Who would want to attend a game to root for any other than the home team?

As for the quality of play, it was inconistent. TB's opening drive was impressive but Pitt was able to figure it out to stopped the bleeding after the 2nd possession field goal and limited TB to just 1 more TD the rest of the game.

The only problem was that Pitt essentially had no offense (or just couldn't deal w/TB's defense) and why they didn't thow the ball once in their 1st 3 possessions when running wasn't working was just puzzling, especially since Josh Love (who was the QB at the time) threw for a total of 7206 yards during his career at San Jose and had a career year in 2019 by throwing 3923 yrds w/a 60.9% competion percentage, a QB rating of 141.2 and 22 TDs (vs 8 INTs) and who was named the Offensive Player of the Year in his conference as a result.

So, why not let him throw after two 3 and outs only trying to run?

Gave up watching the game at that point and fast forwarded to the end where Pitt was in desperation mode and the other QB (Lauletta) was just throwing garbage in the air. Didn't see the whole game but I don't see why they replaced Love w/Lauletta who (just based on the game stat) was the better QB. Again, puzzling.

The most interesting part of the game for me was the appearance of Vinny Papale (WR) for TB who had 3 receptions in the game (but I only saw 1).

Vinny (who's real name I assume is Vince Jr.) is the son of Vince Papale -- made famous in the Mark Walhberg movie "Invincible" -- who "walked on" to play 3 seasons w/the Eagles in the mid/late 70's (at 30+ years of age) mainly as a special teams player (even though he was listed as a WR, as is Vinny).

That's a connection I did not hear adequately explained (or discussed) by the commentors who I thought "dropped the ball" in this respect.

Sorry but, based on the 3 games I just saw, I not going to bother trying to watch any more USFL games.

Give me the NFL.
 
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sgt1372 said:
So, I watched the beginning and ending of the Tampa Bay/Pittsburg game.

The most notable thing to be was obviously the totally empty stands, particularly in the end zones. Very sad.

Maybe part of the problem is playing all of the games in the same stadium in the same city. The game w/the most attendance was the 1st involving the "home team" in Birmingham but it was a ghost town after that. Who would want to attend a game to root for any other than the home team?

As for the quality of play, it was inconistent. TB's opening drive was impressive but Pitt was able to figure it out to stopped the bleeding after the 2nd possession field goal and limited TB to just 1 more TD the rest of the game.

The only problem was that Pitt essentially had no offense (or just couldn't deal w/TB's defense) and why they didn't thow the ball once in their 1st 3 possessions when running wasn't working was just puzzling, especially since Josh Love (who was the QB at the time) threw for a total of 7206 yards during his career at San Jose and had a career year in 2019 by throwing 3923 yrds w/a 60.9% competion percentage, a QB rating of 141.2 and 22 TDs (vs 8 INTs) and who was named the Offensive Player of the Year in his conference as a result.

So, why not let him throw after two 3 and outs only trying to run?

Gave up watching the game at that point and fast forwarded to the end where Pitt was in desperation mode and the other QB (Lauletta) was just throwing garbage in the air. Didn't see the whole game but I don't see why they replaced Love w/Lauletta who (just based on the game stat) was the better QB. Again, puzzling.

The most interesting part of the game for me was the appearance of Vinny Papale (WR) for TB who had 3 receptions in the game (but I only saw 1).

Vinny (who's real name I assume is Vince Jr.) is the son of Vince Papale -- made famous in the Mark Walhberg movie "Invincible" -- who "walked on" to play 3 seasons w/the Eagles in the mid/late 70's (at 30+ years of age) mainly as a special teams player (even though he was listed as a WR, as is Vinny).

That's a connection I did not hear adequately explained (or discussed) by the commentors who I thought "dropped the ball" in this respect.

Sorry but, based on the 3 games I just saw, I not going to bother trying to watch any more USFL games.

Give me the NFL.
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"Give me the NFL."

You can't have the NFL right now. Wait another five months.

Until then, it's the USFL or nothing. Many will choose nothing and I totally respect that. I like football. Given no other options, I'm watching the USFL.
 
I hope it's successful. It gives some players from D2 and lower tier D1 schools a chance to play and develop. Two I noticed right away are Perez from Texas A&M Commerce and Deyon Sizer, from my home town team, CSU Pueblo. Sizer was on the Broncos and other NFL teams practice squads.
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
"Give me the NFL."

You can't have the NFL right now. Wait another five months.

Until then, it's the USFL or nothing. Many will choose nothing and I totally respect that. I like football. Given no other options, I'm watching the USFL.
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I like football too but I expect a certain "quality of play" and I wasn't impressed w/what I saw of the "new" USFL.
I gave it a shot and I'll take NOTHING (in terms of football) until the NFL starts play again.
There's baseball, golf and other things to kept me "interested" in the meantime.

I "might" give them another shot later in the season (whenever that is) in hopes that they tighten up the quality of play and make it more "worth" watching but it's a HARD PASS for me for now.
 
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I watched part of the Pittsburgh and Philly game this weekend.

It was painful to watch and I'm not sure if it was level of play or that fact that I am also a hockey fan.
I am a football fan, watching both NCAA and NFL, even teams I'm not rooting for. We do fantasy football and carry season tickets for the Hokies.
I've pretty much only watched hockey since the super bowl. being a faster paced games where there is not a break after each play is a strange transition.

We dealt with the same thing a few years ago, when due to quarantine the NHL wrapped up the season in late summer in the bubble. it was a tough transition going from NHL to NCAA and NFL for this same reason.
part of me wonders if the NFL is just the right size to fit the top talent from the college ranks, and any additional leagues are only gonna get second tier talent and a few sleepers.
I do like that it offers players a chance that didnt get drafted or signed out of college to show off what they have a bit more and maybe get to transition to NFL.

I did enjoy the commentary and being able to hear the calls and how the game was broadcast.
It's gonna be a tough sell long term, just like every other football league that has tried in the past. I think it might be beneficial to locate teams in areas that don't already have an NFL team, which may create more of a hometeam fan base (understanding that those areas and facilities are going to be limited)
 
You know, watching Olympic beach volleyball where the women wear bikinis gave me an idea: a USFL WOMEN's football league where they wear bikinis. I think that would put butts in seats.
 
l1ranger said:
part of me wonders if the NFL is just the right size to fit the top talent from the college ranks, and any additional leagues are only gonna get second tier talent and a few sleepers.
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All major sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA & NHL) have expanded to the point where they use up all of the available talent from collegiate and other sources and there's not much left over.

I'm mainly a baseball fan and still remember back in the late 50's when there were "only" 8 teams in both leagues which concentrated (rather than diluted) the quality of the players on the teams. There were also only 6 teams in both leagues in the NFL around the same time.

I've always been a SF Giants fan and the team that I grew up w/in the 1950-60's included 7 HOFers (5 who were regular players) and 2* who only played for the team for a year at the end of their careers) who I saw play for the Giants at Candlestick Park:

Willie Mays
Willie McCovey
Orlando Cepeda
Juan Marichal
Gaylord Perry
Duke Snider*
Warren Spahn*

Of course, there were many other Giant's HOFers who played for the team in NYC before the Giants moved to SF in 1958 just before the MLB began to expand.

Even the 49ers which pretty much s*cked as a "team" in the 1950-60's had 6 HOFers before the NFL also began its expansion:

YA Tittle
Joe Perry
Bob St. Clair
Hugh McElhenny
John Henry Johnson
Jimmy Johnson
Dave Wilcox

What a GREAT time to be a fan of those teams "back in the day." ;)
 
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sgt1372 said:
All major sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA & NHL) have expanded to the point where they use up all of the available talent and there's not much left over for the "new" league.

I'm mainly a baseball fan and still remember back in the late 50's when there were "only" 8 teams in both leagues which concentrated (rather than diluted) the quality of the players on the teams. There were also only 6 teams in both leagues in the NFL around the same time.

I've always been a NY/SF Giants fan and the team that I grew up w/in the 1950-60's included 7 HOFer (5 who were regular players) and 2* who only played for the team for a year at the end of their careers) who I saw play for the Giants at Candlestick Park:

Willie Mays
Willie McCovey
Orlando Cepeda
Juan Marichal
Gaylord Perry
Duke Snider*
Warren Spahn*

Even the 49ers which pretty much s*cked as a "team" in the 1950-60's had 6 HOFers:

YA Tittle
Bob St. Clair
Joe Perry
Hugh McElhenny
John Henry Johnson
Jimmy Johnson
Dave Wilcox

What a GREAT time to be a fan of those teams "back in the day." ;)
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I grew up in NY in the 50's and kids liked either the NY Yankees or the Brooklyn Dodgers. There was no other option. And we only played and watched baseball. When we moved to Alabama, age 10, all the kids cared about was football. A real change in perspective.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
I grew up in NY in the 50's and kids liked either the NY Yankees or the Brooklyn Dodgers. There was no other option. And we only played and watched baseball. When we moved to Alabama, age 10, all the kids cared about was football. A real change in perspective.
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No Giants? No stickball?

I grew up in Florida in the 1960s. Mostly baseball for me and my friends, too (even though the only MLB team in the entire southern US in those days was Los Bravos). But we also played basketball, and . . . tackle football in the street 😲 which probably explains a lot about me today. There were no organized youth basketball leagues, but there was Pee Wee football. I played it, but it wasn't too big. Mostly what we had was baseball. Little League. Senior League. Bade Ruth league. T-ball. I watched a LOT of American Legion ball as a kid. We also saw a lot of professional softball teams come through the area . . . I saw the King and His Court more than once.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
I grew up in NY in the 50's and kids liked either the NY Yankees or the Brooklyn Dodgers. There was no other option. And we only played and watched baseball. When we moved to Alabama, age 10, all the kids cared about was football. A real change in perspective.
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Just the Yankees or Dodgers fans in your group?

The Yankees were in the Bronx at around 161st St. The Dodgers were in Brooklyn at Ebbetts Field close to Prospect Park.. And the Giants were in the upper tip of Manhattan around 158th St. in the Polo Grounds directly across the Harlem River from Yankee Stadium.

Which borough of NY did you grow up in?

My guess is that you lived in/near Brooklyn and those who weren't Dodgers fans were Yankees fans.

PS: I don't know if it was "planned" or not but it's interesting that the "rivalry" between the Giants and Dodgers was transplanted from Manhattan/Brooklyn to SF/LA after both teams moved west in 1958 and that that "rivalry" still endures to this day.
 
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