Has anyone tried to watch much USFL ? It is terrible football. Bama would crush any of these teams.
New Orleans Breakers
- Thread starter Ralph Cramden
- Start date
I’ve tuned in twice and watched very little in those games. My biggest takeaway is the stands are nearly completely empty. This won’t last long.
What’s the deal with all these failed football leagues. Every sort of non-NFL league in the US seems to tank hard. Maybe arena was an exception for a while. Is there some financial angle that make people go back to it?
I think viewership is higher than expected. But the talent level is about equivalent to the 4th quarter of the last NFL exhibition game of preseason.
I was in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago while the Indy Car race stuff was going on. We were staying at a hotel where a couple off the Indy Car teams were staying. As I was getting off the elevator one morning one of the team people asked another one if they really went to the football game the night before. The person said they did. When asked if it was any good the response was "Terrible, high school game."
Birmingham is hosting every single game this season, I assume for cost saving reasons. So why would anyone want to go see Houston play Pittsburgh in Birmingham? Next year, if the league makes it another year, the plan is for each team to play in their home city.
I accidentally turned to the game this after noon, and noticed the stands were virtually empty - maybe 200 people all around. Probably more on the field than there were in the stands.
But there seemed to be crowd noise. Are they pumping in fake noise over the speakers?
The USFL attendance and viewership here is EXACTLY what college football would look like if you took away the college connection, the campus experience, etc. That’s why this NIL charade frustrates me so much. The student athletes, even the best ones, are driving almost none of the value in the college football proposition. It’s the connection to the school, pride in all the fans’ own universities, etc.
Here's my suggestion to make non-NFL football work:
1. Only play in cities that don't have any professional sports teams at all. I realize they're all playing in Birmingham for this season anyway, but the plan is to branch out to the cities they're named after, and 7 of the 8 already have an NFL team. Same for the XFL and AAC, almost all in cities that already have teams.
2. Better yet, they shouldn't be in cities that think they deserve a team. Nobody in San Antonio or St. Louis is going to get wrapped up in a second-tier football team because they think they deserve the NFL. How's this for an 8-team league: Birmingham, Omaha, Des Monies, Providence, Charleston, Norfolk, Louisville, and Hartford. Most of those are top 50 metro areas in the US, and none worse than #82, all of them are big enough to get into a team, but aren't too good for a second tier team, because none of those cities realistically expect to host an NFL franchise anyway.
3. Allocate teams by college so that every college fanbase has an easy go-to team to cheer for. Imagine if all of the MSU guys were playing on the same team.
4. Embrace gambling/betting hard. Let people do real-time prop bets from the seats, etc.
1. Only play in cities that don't have any professional sports teams at all. I realize they're all playing in Birmingham for this season anyway, but the plan is to branch out to the cities they're named after, and 7 of the 8 already have an NFL team. Same for the XFL and AAC, almost all in cities that already have teams.
2. Better yet, they shouldn't be in cities that think they deserve a team. Nobody in San Antonio or St. Louis is going to get wrapped up in a second-tier football team because they think they deserve the NFL. How's this for an 8-team league: Birmingham, Omaha, Des Monies, Providence, Charleston, Norfolk, Louisville, and Hartford. Most of those are top 50 metro areas in the US, and none worse than #82, all of them are big enough to get into a team, but aren't too good for a second tier team, because none of those cities realistically expect to host an NFL franchise anyway.
3. Allocate teams by college so that every college fanbase has an easy go-to team to cheer for. Imagine if all of the MSU guys were playing on the same team.
4. Embrace gambling/betting hard. Let people do real-time prop bets from the seats, etc.
USM has sent down a contingent to see if they can learn how to draw crowds that large.
Well nobody really cares about any professional sports leagues outside the Big 4. Its not just football.
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