UFL in 2010

[kinznk]

Summary of chat with league coo

Here is a link to some uniform and branding things of the United Football League.

[Yankj1]

I spoke with a few people players, and people in the league, and they all said the same thing; that everyone agreed the uniforms were atrocious and that they were going to be overhauled in season 2! Thank god!!...lol....they were truly an epic fail this season..

[Shumway]

There's gonna be a UFL in 2010?

[Saintsfan]

There was a UFL in 2009?

[walkerws]

I commend their effort to display a united league look and although they were failures for the most part, The league got off the ground. The USFL looks like it won't pass the planning stages at this point. Very unfortunate because Spring football can work, people have to be willing to put in the effort to do it right. It will be interestingto see what happens in the next few weeks with some of the better players in the UFL now done with thier 2009 commitments.

[Quillz]

There's gonna be a UFL in 2010?

There's talk that the UFL may ultimately develop into a development league for the NFL similar to Minor League Baseball or the NBA Development League.

It was also rumored Michael Vick would play in the UFL before he was reinstated in the NFL.

[WideRight]

I understand why the UFL premiere season uniforms were not the best. It was clear from their comments on UFLAccess.com that they had imagined this season as a test run and were originally not even going to name the teams. They were going to have UFL NY and UFL Florida as team names and basically play as if it were an intrasquad game each week. That is why all the teams wore variations of the UFL shield logo colors. It was by design. When folks on UFLAccess protested so loudly and uniformly (no pun intended) it sent a message that you cannot run the league for a year as a test run. They had to hurry the process of branding the teams, which is why you only have a primary logo and a helmet-stripe logo and no wordmarks or more comprehensive identity package.

I have faith that for year two, the real "first season" of the UFL, you will see 6-8 teams with their own identities, including all the typical features, with unique color palettes and distinct uniform designs. I only hope that they can also get the rights from the stadia they use to also alter the field so that you can have better endzone and midfield designs.

So, consider 2009 a scrimmage, and the real UFL will be on tap next year. Best hope for alternate football since the USFL (sorely missed!!! Damn you Trump!!!!!)

[EJ_Barlik]

<gripe>The Tuskers were robbed in the first Championship game.......it was fixed. They should have won.........</gripe>

I hope the uni's get better too. But I also hope the Tuskers keep their logo. Maybe I'm hoping against hope.....would that be the "audacity of hope" as one nameless polical figure put it?

[walkerws]

Yeah. Trump blows that's why he has so much hairspray to keep his hair from moving. The USFL unfortunately won't get off in 2010 and the alternative league may well end up being the Indoor Football League since AF1 is down to 15 teams. Of course too many teams can spoil the broth. Ask the NIFL. I see the USFL coming back with 8 teams IF it makes the 2011 start. The AAFL won't go anywhere with the lame set up it has. Too many "elite" back-ups left school for the product to be good.

[BallWonk]

There's gonna be a UFL in 2010?

There's talk that the UFL may ultimately develop into a development league for the NFL similar to Minor League Baseball or the NBA Development League.

An interesting idea. It would be especially good if the season were shifted, such that minor-league football played at least the first half of its season before the NFL regular season.

However, it'll probably never work, since the NFL already has a vast minor-league system in the form of college ball, and not only does this system cost the NFL zero dollars to maintain, minor-league football doesn't even have to pay its players. There's just no competing with free.

[Cuse2000]

There's gonna be a UFL in 2010?

There's talk that the UFL may ultimately develop into a development league for the NFL similar to Minor League Baseball or the NBA Development League.

An interesting idea. It would be especially good if the season were shifted, such that minor-league football played at least the first half of its season before the NFL regular season.

However, it'll probably never work, since the NFL already has a vast minor-league system in the form of college ball, and not only does this system cost the NFL zero dollars to maintain, minor-league football doesn't even have to pay its players. There's just no competing with free.

College is great as a development league for the pros, but when you have injuries in the regular season, you can't just pluck the best players off of Florida and USC to play for you in week 12. The UFL offers NFL teams that opportunity, especially with the league ending before Thanksgiving. And the UFL is still free to the NFL.

Look for the UFL to grow next year, especially as it positions itself to be the football-league-in-waiting in case of a 2011 NFL work stoppage.

[Saintsfan]

There's gonna be a UFL in 2010?

There's talk that the UFL may ultimately develop into a development league for the NFL similar to Minor League Baseball or the NBA Development League.

An interesting idea. It would be especially good if the season were shifted, such that minor-league football played at least the first half of its season before the NFL regular season.

However, it'll probably never work, since the NFL already has a vast minor-league system in the form of college ball, and not only does this system cost the NFL zero dollars to maintain, minor-league football doesn't even have to pay its players. There's just no competing with free.

But college basketball is strong and the NBA maintains a development league! I have argued on these boards for a development league for the NFL before. Not a massive league, and perhaps the UFL could grow into that. The problem with college as the only development system is what happens to a player who maybe isn't quite ready for the NFL at 22 or 23, and needs a year or two more maturation and maybe the idea they have to fight for their place in the big spotlight, rather than survive on talent alone. Where would Kurt Warner be without somewhere to fall back on? Where would a similar player go at the moment, if the UFL were not around?

If the UFL is smart it could probably develop into a useful fall back for those guys and an opportunity for guys who haven't quite stepped upto the grade to be able to play pro football for a few years.

[gosioux76]

There's gonna be a UFL in 2010?

There's talk that the UFL may ultimately develop into a development league for the NFL similar to Minor League Baseball or the NBA Development League.

An interesting idea. It would be especially good if the season were shifted, such that minor-league football played at least the first half of its season before the NFL regular season.

However, it'll probably never work, since the NFL already has a vast minor-league system in the form of college ball, and not only does this system cost the NFL zero dollars to maintain, minor-league football doesn't even have to pay its players. There's just no competing with free.

That's true, but without an NFL Europe around anymore, the NFL has no opportunities to give practice squad players any snaps. A deal with the UFL, along with a smarter spring schedule, would have some value in that sense. I'd look at this as an equivalent to the Arizona or Latin American fall and winter leagues, where MLB teams send prospects to get injured.

[BallWonk]

Good points about a minor league as a "warehouse" for replacement-level players for midseason call-ups. That would argue for a UFL season that significantly overlapped with the NFL, but started earlier. As a GM, you'd want to see these guys in action before you signed any to a rest-of-the-year contract, and you'd also want to be confident that they would arrive in playing condition, so a UFL schedule would have to start in late summer and run through at least October. Or something along those lines.

I was thinking strictly in terms of the developmental nature of a farm system, which college ball provides better than any conceivable pro minor league could. But college doesn't provide a store for talent to be called up, and that's an important function of baseball's minor leagues alongside development.

[Burmy]

I think the Midwest is definitely a "must" region for the UFL in 2010-after all, it's the cradle of pro football!

They should definitely talk with Toyota Park in Bridgeview for a Chicago team...Milwaukee would be a PERFECT place for this game, but which stadium would they play at? (Would they be willing to take a gamble with Miller Park?)

[DustDevil61]

I'm holding out for hope in Salt Lake and San Antonio, but I think it will be a couple months until we hear any actual team announcements.

[BrySmalls]

I think the Midwest is definitely a "must" region for the UFL in 2010-after all, it's the cradle of pro football!

They should definitely talk with Toyota Park in Bridgeview for a Chicago team...Milwaukee would be a PERFECT place for this game, but which stadium would they play at? (Would they be willing to take a gamble with Miller Park?)

Wait a second, MLS Clubs would welcome to house a UFL team in their Soccer Specific Stadiums?

[Burmy]

I think the Midwest is definitely a "must" region for the UFL in 2010-after all, it's the cradle of pro football!

They should definitely talk with Toyota Park in Bridgeview for a Chicago team...Milwaukee would be a PERFECT place for this game, but which stadium would they play at? (Would they be willing to take a gamble with Miller Park?)

Wait a second, MLS Clubs would welcome to house a UFL team in their Soccer Specific Stadiums?

The UFL flirted with Home Depot Center for hosting a game for the Las Vegas Locos...Though that plan was later derailed, word is that's going to be the home of a Los Angeles team for 2010...

As for the existing teams:

The Sentinels are most likely done, at least in New York. The New Meadowlands Stadium will have their hands full with the Giants & Jets, plus Hofstra's dropped its football program, and the Mets will most likely not want Citi Field used by a football team. The only way I could see the sentinels in New York is maybe if Steinbrenner bought a part in the team and they'd play in Yankee Stadium...otherwise they're likely moving to Hartford (with a new name...Hartford doesn't have any iconic skyscrapers)

The Redwoods are staying in NoCal, but not in San Francisco. I've heard Sacramento and San Jose as potential spots. I hope it's Sacramento, because it's a distinct market, home of the best team in minor-league-baseball (both on AND off the field), and has some minor league football experience with the Surge ('92 WLAF Champions) and the Gold Miners (CFL USA)

The Tuskers should be fine-if the Jaguars carry out a plan to play a few of their games in the Citrus Bowl, I could see the Tuskers go Tropicana full-time.

And finally, the Locos are stable, the league's flagship team (and I think the title game was fixed-but that's another post)

[Texasrangers13]

The UFL has been widely panned as a failure, and is known to have lost a fair amount of money. I do not suspect it will see a second season.

[BallWonk]

The UFL has been widely panned as a failure, and is known to have lost a fair amount of money. I do not suspect it will see a second season.

The same was said about Amazon.com after its first year. And its second year. And its third year. Losing lots of money in year one is part of any responsible business plan at this level.