This is the UFL! (XFL/USFL Merger)

[GDAWG]

 

[MJWalker45]

San Antonio had me worried there for a minute, but I'm happy to see them hold off St. Louis. Not sure what they were doing at the end, when they knew they needed two scores but I'll take it. McFarland and Lovett were great tonight.

 

CRAZIEST STAT OF THE NIGHT: St. Louis did not convert on a third down last night until 1:15 left in the game. That's some pretty good defense, though a couple 15 yard penalties on the Battlehawks O-line helped out as well. One negated a first down run and backed them up to inside the 5 yard line. 

 

[GDAWG]

 

[GDAWG]

 

[Germanshepherd]

7 hours ago, GDAWG said:

 

He deserved that 10 times over. We failed him so hard at Nebraska and it was awesome to see him play to his full talent level. 

[Red Comet]

 

[GDAWG]

 

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

These good television numbers underscore the reality that, for this league, what is most important is viewership, so as to attract and keep sponsors.

 

By contrast, the only role that attendance fills is to enhance the look of the games on television. This is why this league (apart from St. Louis and D.C.) should aim to use the smallest possible stadiums, so that the television viewers are more likely to see occupied seats than empty seats in the background of each shot.

[DCarp1231]

So, any truth to “Canton Bulldogs” and “Nashville Tuners” coming into the league? Whether through expansion and/or relocation?

[MJWalker45]

22 minutes ago, DCarp1231 said:

So, any truth to “Canton Bulldogs” and “Nashville Tuners” coming into the league? Whether through expansion and/or relocation?

Moose has said they aren't planning to move or add teams next season. So if it happens, it will likely be because a team can't get the stadiums for the dates the league needs. 

8 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

These good television numbers underscore the reality that, for this league, what is most important is viewership, so as to attract and keep sponsors.

 

By contrast, the only role that attendance fills is to enhance the look of the games on television. This is why this league (apart from St. Louis and D.C.) should aim to use the smallest possible stadiums, so that the television viewers are more likely to see occupied seats than empty seats in the background of each shot.

I think if they can get buy in from MLS or USL teams that fit that 20,000-30,000 seat setup it can help with how the game looks on TV. The idea that if New Orleans Breakers could come back and that they'd be stuck using a setup similar to what the Vegas Vipers had is not a good look in my opinion. Using Yulman Stadium on Tulane's campus is a better choice in my opinion. Something else I've noticed about stadiums in the US is how even newer ones, outside of MLS, don't really utilize the idea of covering the stands with an overhanging roof like we see in most European stadiums that help protect fans from the heat and the rain.  

[gosioux76]

9 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

These good television numbers underscore the reality that, for this league, what is most important is viewership, so as to attract and keep sponsors.

 

By contrast, the only role that attendance fills is to enhance the look of the games on television. This is why this league (apart from St. Louis and D.C.) should aim to use the smallest possible stadiums, so that the television viewers are more likely to see occupied seats than empty seats in the background of each shot.

I agree, but it also underscores the folly of having neutral-site championship games for this league. 

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see attendance at the Dome in St. Louis fall from 40,000 to 4,000 for the championship this weekend. 

[Skycast]

On 6/8/2024 at 3:23 PM, GDAWG said:

They would probably bring back the Oklahoma Wranglers.

 

There never was an Oklahoma Wranglers, the Oklahoma Outlaws where the USFL team (featuring Doug Williams at quarterback) and then you had the Arizona Wranglers. Oklahoma played for a single season and then they merged with Arizona and became the Arizona Outlaws.

[gosioux76]

9 minutes ago, Skycast said:

 

There never was an Oklahoma Wranglers, the Oklahoma Outlaws where the USFL team (featuring Doug Williams at quarterback) and then you had the Arizona Wranglers. Oklahoma played for a single season and then they merged with Arizona and became the Arizona Outlaws.

 

This is all true, though since this league seems willing to apply its USFL trademarks in loosely-defined historical context (i.e., changing the Showboats colors), then I could see them using either of the Wranglers or Outlaws for an Oklahoma team, were it to come to fruition. 

[Skycast]

23 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

 

This is all true, though since this league seems willing to apply its USFL trademarks in loosely-defined historical context (i.e., changing the Showboats colors), then I could see them using either of the Wranglers or Outlaws for an Oklahoma team, were it to come to fruition. 

 

I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying here, however you originally said "bring back" which is what I was primarily responding to, there never was an Oklahoma Wranglers to bring back. However the color change for the Showboats is the only thing they've changed, the trademarks/team names have yet to stray from the originals so I think it's more than likely they continue along that path.

[GDAWG]

58 minutes ago, Skycast said:

 

There never was an Oklahoma Wranglers, the Oklahoma Outlaws where the USFL team (featuring Doug Williams at quarterback) and then you had the Arizona Wranglers. Oklahoma played for a single season and then they merged with Arizona and became the Arizona Outlaws.

 

Right, I was thinking about the AFL.  

[GDAWG]

20 minutes ago, Skycast said:

 

I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying here, however you originally said "bring back" which is what I was primarily responding to, there never was an Oklahoma Wranglers to bring back. However the color change for the Showboats is the only thing they've changed, the trademarks/team names have yet to stray from the originals so I think it's more than likely they continue along that path.

 

It wouldn't necessarily need to be in the same cities though right?  Because it will be really hard to bring the Maulers back to Pittsburgh at this point.  With the Stars and Generals, there are options in Philly and New Jersey, but whether or not any of those options actually happen remains to be seen.

 

The one thing I have noticed among UFL fans on Reddit is whenever an expansion thread comes up, they always pick MLS stadiums without realizing that MLS stadiums are harder to get than they think.  While I do think MLS stadiums are the right size, not every MLS team will be open to allowing the UFL in their stadiums as DC United has been, otherwise Philly and New Jersey would have remained in the league.  

[ManillaToad]

25 minutes ago, Skycast said:

 

I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying here, however you originally said "bring back" which is what I was primarily responding to, there never was an Oklahoma Wranglers to bring back. However the color change for the Showboats is the only thing they've changed, the trademarks/team names have yet to stray from the originals so I think it's more than likely they continue along that path.

 

They changed the Maulers' colors too

[GDAWG]

3 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

Moose has said they aren't planning to move or add teams next season. So if it happens, it will likely be because a team can't get the stadiums for the dates the league needs. 

I think if they can get buy in from MLS or USL teams that fit that 20,000-30,000 seat setup it can help with how the game looks on TV. The idea that if New Orleans Breakers could come back and that they'd be stuck using a setup similar to what the Vegas Vipers had is not a good look in my opinion. Using Yulman Stadium on Tulane's campus is a better choice in my opinion. Something else I've noticed about stadiums in the US is how even newer ones, outside of MLS, don't really utilize the idea of covering the stands with an overhanging roof like we see in most European stadiums that help protect fans from the heat and the rain.  

 

There's always a chance that DC United is an outlier in allowing the UFL to play at their place, because I can't see The New York Red Bulls, Philly Union, Colorado Rapids, Nashville SC or the Portland Timbers being open to it.  It could be that DC United is the only one, although if the UFL wants to go to Columbus, I can see the Columbus Crew saying to the UFL "You can't play at our current place, Lower.Com Field but you can set up shop at our old place Historic Crew Stadium."

[Skycast]

Multiple responses here with no quotes...random thoughts kinda.

 

@GDAWG

I think that if they go back into a city or area that had a pre-existing USFL team they are more than likely to keep the original nickname. However I could totally see them using an old name and identity and putting it into a new city as well. I mean I've read Canton as a viable option countless times and I could see them using a relocated USFL IP just as easily as going with something brand new.

 

@ManillaToad

Yea, I forgot about the Maulers color change, which I understand given the Pittsburgh color scheme but I didn't like it. Their purple and orange was pretty great and fairly unique, I was okay with the Showboats change given all the red schemes.

[GDAWG]

I think if the Maulers and Gamblers do return, they will not be in the cities that they were designed for in the event that the USFL ever moved out of the hubs.  The Stars and Generals might be in the places they were assigned to, but it all depends on stadium availability in Philly and New Jersey.  So out of the inactive USFL teams to return, the most likely is the Breakers in New Orleans.