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USFL IS BACK!


danmerz

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While I think it is dubious that this league will ever play a game, it is fun to imagine. I think the key for AAA level football is to tie in to NCAA fans as much as NFL fans, because there will be high player turnover (everyone wants to be in the NFL) so you need another hook for fans, and using local colleges as a way to connect to fans can work.

For example:

Birmingham franchise = exclusive rights to Alabama, Auburn & Georgia players.

Memphis franchise = exclusive rights to Tennessee, Old Miss & MSU players

Orlando franchise = Florida, FSU & Miami

San Antonio = Texas, TAMU & Houston

Columbus = Ohio State, Kentucky & Penn State

Salt Lake = Utah, BYU, Colorado

LA = UCLA, USC & Fresno

Portland = Oregon, OSU, Washington

etc. (Northeastern teams would be at a bit of a disadvantage since it is not a hotbed of college talent like the South or west coast.)

You draw fans from the connections to the colleges, and then the rest of the players are free agent acquisitions.

It could work, but only if you have enough $ to support the startup costs, low revenue of early seasons and to support the inevitable 1-15 or 2-14 teams who will not draw well. Having enough startup money is what kills most attempts to develop new leagues in any sport. Football is very expensive so it is even more vital to have huge funding reserves to start with.

A TV contract is critical to any fringe league's survival. That's the real challenge for this league and the model you just outlined. While I agree focusing on major college towns makes sense, especially when it comes to drawing interest from the locals, those college towns aren't major media markets that would make the league appeal to a top network. There has to be some greater appeal to get the networks to bite. It wasn't good enough for the UFL to bring in retreads like Daunte Culpepper and Maurice Clarett.

Nobody televises minor league baseball, either, so making the case for minor league football isn't likely to fare much better.

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Yes they need to be a minor ish league but not anything to do with colleges and their locations just simply go in non NFL markets and expand the game of American football beyond what it is today & maybe we will get the idea of new markets for football along with a training crop of young FA's during the offseason to make a name for themselves.

#DTWD #GoJaguars

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Well, a bigger folly would be trying to place a minor league team in a major league town. Now that would be a collosal waste of money. There's plenty of evidence that big league cities don't support minor league teams. But on the other hand, I see no major TV markets in that list of potential cities. That means no TV deal.

Another potential problem I see is player fatigue. They're talking about a 14 game season, and then an NFL training camp, if a player gets invited. How well do you think they'll perform? And if the whole point of this league is to give "bubble" guys a shot, don't you want them performing at their top level when they try out for the NFL team?

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Anyone else surprised that Orlando wasn't mentioned in the list of possible markets?

yep

Orlando as a site puts them in direct competition against the Predators.

Well, a bigger folly would be trying to place a minor league team in a major league town. Now that would be a collosal waste of money. There's plenty of evidence that big league cities don't support minor league teams. But on the other hand, I see no major TV markets in that list of potential cities. That means no TV deal.

Another potential problem I see is player fatigue. They're talking about a 14 game season, and then an NFL training camp, if a player gets invited. How well do you think they'll perform? And if the whole point of this league is to give "bubble" guys a shot, don't you want them performing at their top level when they try out for the NFL team?

Jeff Garcia, who is on their Advisory Board, spoke on Tampa sports radio this week about the potential cities and other facets of the USFL reboot. His response was perplexing as he mentioned a MLS style model, but they started in major cities.

I still think they will not see the field.

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Jeff Garcia, who is on their Advisory Board, spoke on Tampa sports radio this week about the potential cities and other facets of the USFL reboot. His response was perplexing as he mentioned a MLS style model, but they started in major cities.

I still think they will not see the field.

The MLS didn't have an entity like the NFL to go against, thus they went with the bigger cities. They will still need to find the right mix of towns to be successful.

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Actually, a rumored new league logo is available on UFL Access boards and an article about a Jeff Garcia radio interview.

USFL-logo_JPG-10181.jpg

It is a major improvement.

But still sucks.

There's an odd slash or two that are trying to be bars on the facemask. He's got a Picasso-styled face, and looks like he has a poorly drawn cartoon-hand holding a rounded ball that isn't a football.

It's where I sit.

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I would be more interested to see team logos and really where are you going to put teams for spring football a city saturated with major sports & profootball or new up and coming markets which are thirsty for football and have a lack of spring sports. It could give a view of future NFL markets.

#DTWD #GoJaguars

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Anyone else surprised that Orlando wasn't mentioned in the list of possible markets?

Not really. The Florida Tuskers played in 2 UFL championships and still folded before the 3rd season.

The Orlando Thunder, Rage and Renegades all were medicore in gate success where many southern teams fared better.

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Anyone else surprised that Orlando wasn't mentioned in the list of possible markets?

yep

Orlando as a site puts them in direct competition against the Predators.

Well, a bigger folly would be trying to place a minor league team in a major league town. Now that would be a collosal waste of money. There's plenty of evidence that big league cities don't support minor league teams. But on the other hand, I see no major TV markets in that list of potential cities. That means no TV deal.

Another potential problem I see is player fatigue. They're talking about a 14 game season, and then an NFL training camp, if a player gets invited. How well do you think they'll perform? And if the whole point of this league is to give "bubble" guys a shot, don't you want them performing at their top level when they try out for the NFL team?

Jeff Garcia, who is on their Advisory Board, spoke on Tampa sports radio this week about the potential cities and other facets of the USFL reboot. His response was perplexing as he mentioned a MLS style model, but they started in major cities.

I still think they will not see the field.

I think they'll play. Be successful? That's another story.

They certainly can be as damn bad as the UFL, who showed flashes of really having something but their ownership killed them at every turn. Really, the UFL gave the WFL a run for worst-lead leagues.

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I think the XFL still wins. Though it did prove even with cities that had strong gates, television controls the bottom line.

This.

I remember reading on ESPN that you need world class players for people outside of the two markets playing would watch. People all over the world are not tuning in because they care about the New England area. They want to see the best players in the world.

Since MLS had added a few DP spots for each roster, TV ratings have gone up.

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Anyone else surprised that Orlando wasn't mentioned in the list of possible markets?

yep

The most recent list here they had said south florida is "under consideration", but Orlando wouldn't really be considered south? The rest of the cities listed were Austin, Portland, Akron, Memphis, Birmingham, Raleigh-Durham, OKC, Omaha, Las Vegas, and Orange County, CA.

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The most recent list here they had said south florida is "under consideration", but Orlando wouldn't really be considered south? The rest of the cities listed were Austin, Portland, Akron, Memphis, Birmingham, Raleigh-Durham, OKC, Omaha, Las Vegas, and Orange County, CA.

There nowhere *in* OKC for a team. The only thing in the city is Taft Stadium, a WPA building that's too small and too decrepit. Central Oklahoma up in Edmond has Wantland Stadium, but it's only about 10k seats. Any OKC team would have to be in Norman, and I don't think Boren/Castiglione/Stoops will go for that.

Austin may have similar issues, but there's at least some larger HS stadiums down there. I can't see them playing on campus, either.

Selecting markets for a venture like this doesn't stop when you've got a map full of push-pins. The venue is half the equation.

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