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USFL's Birmingham Stallions celebrate championship with 40s of Miller High Life

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes•07/03/23•

NickGeddesNews

Stallions
(Photo by Jason Miller/USFL/Getty Images for USFL)

The Birmingham Stallions did away with the champagne to celebrate their second consecutive USFL Championship Game victory.

Of course, that may be a stretch, as the team instead chose to douse themselves with 40 ounces of Miller High Life following their 28-12 win over the Pittsburgh Maulers Saturday.

Doing Edward Fortyhands after winning a championship is certainly a bold move, yet one that has to be respected. After all, nobody *actually* likes champagne. And with the USFL being the antithesis to the NFL, this is as on brand as it gets. Kudos to the upstart spring football league for getting it right.

“Edward 40-Hands after a championship is something that needs to become mainstream,” one Twitter user wrote.

The Stallions captured their second USFL championship in as many seasons on the back of quarterback Alex McGough. The reigning league MVP completed 18-of-25 passes for 243 yards and four touchdowns. He added another 64 yards on the ground to go along with a score. In two playoff games, he recorded a perfect 8:0 touchdown to interception ratio. McGough looked for receiver Deon Cain often, who hauled in four receptions for 70 yards and three touchdowns.

“The people played for each other. It helps everyone on the field,” McGough said, via the Canton Rep. “I could never sit here and say I did anything alone. I’m slowing something down. People are helping me. Everyone helps everyone.”

Birmingham Stallions off to historic start in USFL

The Stallions are now an improbable 21-3 over two seasons and have proven to be the class of the USFL under head coach Skip Holtz. Winning three championships in-a-row would put the Stallions in rarefied air, though Birmingham will likely see many of its players receive opportunities in the NFL, including McGough.

“I don’t want to see any of them go,” Holtz said, via AL.com. “I’d love to have them all back. But that’s all part of this league. That’s why we do it. That’s why I say a football team has a life expectancy of one year, especially in this league because a lot of these guys are going to get the opportunities to go move on, and I’m going to cheer like crazy for them and hope they make it big.”