Imagine if in this county football was like soccer. Pretend that there is no real strong history of football in America, but there is a small section of people that want to make it relevant in the sports landscape. After years of trying to find a footing, a league would finally be formed. That league would be the UFL.
I've had my eye on this little league throughout it's inception, and it's always nice to watch some sort of football even if it is played in atmospheres similar to Friday nights at a small-town high school. And even though there are only four teams in the league, and they all pretty much have the same jersey color scheme based on the league's logo, these games have given me a good opportunity to pass the time every now and again.
I thought that the league was just reaching it's halfway point, but all of a sudden it was time for the UFL championship already. Turns out, the season was only six weeks long, as every team would have already played each other twice. The team that I had "picked" to like at the beginning of the season, the Florida Tuskers, were 6-0, and they'd be taking on the 4-2 Las Vegas Locomotives for the title.
Blink though, and you missed this one, as it was played the day after Thanksgiving during the afternoon. Not a terrible slot, as a lot of people are football hungry and used to watching it during this weekend, but a nighttime slot might have brought in more viewers. Nevertheless, the game took place in front of a rousing crowd of 14,801 (although judging by what I saw on TV, the UFL might have the same statisticians that the Milwaukee Iron do when it come to counting attendance).
With that being said, it turned out to be a pretty decent game, especially in the fourth quarter. Former Badger quarterback Brooks Bollinger found his Tuskers down late, but led them on a comeback drive to force overtime. Bollinger's quest for an undefeated season fell up short though as Las Vegas won 20-17 in overtime. So instead of Brooks raising the UFL trophy, it was Locos quarterback J.P. Losman and coach Jim Fassell.
It'll be interesting to see what the future of this league holds, if any, in the coming years. Apparently more teams are going to be created, but league attendance and ratings were already struggling with just the four squads. Plus, the old USFL is looking to recreate a league, and there's the fact that football leagues not named the NFL never do well. The UFL's best chance is to team up with the NFL as a developmental league and go from there, in my opinion.
But hey, all the league has to do is play one game next year and it'll already have more of a lasting impact than the XFL.
0 comments:
Post a Comment