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Post by rad on Feb 19, 2022 5:23:00 GMT
Surprised we don't have a thread for this already.
Re-inaugural kickoff game is scheduled for April 16th. 8 teams in 2 divisions which are North and South. All teams are playing a 10-game schedule. Top two teams in each division will then play in a semi-finals game, with the winners of each meeting in the USFL Championship Game.
All 8 franchises will be retreads from the 80's:
- Birmingham Stallions
- Houston Gamblers
- Michigan Panthers
- New Jersey Generals
- New Orleans Breakers
- Philadelphia Stars
- Pittsburgh Maulers
- Tampa Bay Bandits
UPSIDES:
- Spring More foozeball: 'nuff said.
- Airing on major broadcast networks, so no AAF channel hunt bullshit.
- Most of the unis and the nostalgic but modernized logos look really nice on the eyes imo. I like that they brought back the old teams.
- No Donald Trump trying to take on the NFL like a complete buffoon.
DOWNSIDES:
- Lower quality level of play on the field.
- All games are being played in Birmingham, which means they're targeting big TV markets instead of worrying about sales at the gate. Not sure how long they plan on doing this but it seems a bit of an odd strategy to me.
- Jeff "7-9"/"OG Bob Belcher" Fisher will be coaching again.
- No San Antonio Gunslingers. Cancel culture and even numbers strike again.
Thoughts so far?
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Post by 🤯 on Feb 19, 2022 13:32:09 GMT
I was close when I bumped the XFL thread!
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Post by UT on Feb 19, 2022 13:38:33 GMT
I can just never get into new football leagues. The quality isn't there nor is the lifetime of devotion. Hope for all involved it can be successful but it probably won't be for me.
Nice to know Zack Wilson is going to have a place to go in a few years though.
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Post by @admin on Feb 21, 2022 0:07:35 GMT
I do like the Spring leagues but it's a series of diminishing returns for my interest each time there's a reboot. In general though, the product is a lot more entertaining than people give credit, and the exploration of new rules contributes a lot to that. I'll pay loose attention but Saturday afternoon games are a bad timeslot for me so I'm not sure how many I'll get around to watching.
Go Generals!
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Post by @admin on Feb 23, 2022 7:06:17 GMT
Draft was today - here's the QB situation:
Michigan Panthers: Shea Patterson (former Wolverine hero) and Paxton Lynch (only USFL QB to have started an NFL game)
Tampa Bay Bandits: Jordan Ta'amu (shined in the XFL)
Philadelphia Stars: Bryan Scott (the Aaron Rodgers of D3)
New Jersey Generals: Ben Holmes
Houston Gamblers: Clayton Thorson
Birmingham Stallions: Alex McGough
Pittsburgh Maulers: Kyle Lauletta (2018 Senior Bowl MVP)
New Orleans Breakers: Kyle Sloter
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Post by RagnarokMike on Feb 23, 2022 9:35:30 GMT
I hope one of these succeed eventually, would love a spring league that also gives other players a chance to prove themselves and feed into the NFL.
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Post by @admin on Apr 19, 2022 3:10:03 GMT
Didn't get a chance to watch any of the opening week games because of Easter but it sounds like it was a relative success. The opening Generals/Stallions game was apparently very entertaining, the two games on Sunday were at least close and competitive, and it was only the abject Maulers offence that really stunk out the joint. 
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Post by rad on Jun 23, 2022 17:18:51 GMT
Welp, it's survived a full regular season, something the other two spring leagues failed to do (with the XFL having the more understandable fall out).
Every time I've watched a game this season it happened to be Birmingham playing. Having family in Bama + Scooby Wright, the Stallions have easily become my favorite team.
Playoffs are this weekend up north in Canton:
New Jersey v. Philadelphia
Birmingham v. New Orleans
And the title game is slated for July 3rd.
TV ratings (put as much stock in those as you want) were actually pretty good, save for maybe the middle of the season which is to be expected.
They've been very active on socials and interactive with fans. Obviously the QB talent has been their biggest weakness but the rest of the play has not been quite as sloppy as the AAF was imo.
Surprisingly, Jeff Fisher and his moustache couldn't go 5-5 or at least 4-6. In fact, they went 2-8. So much for consistency.
The true test will be where they go from here and how competition with the XFL plays out, but all in all they've even surpassed my expectations this year.
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Post by @admin on Jun 23, 2022 23:29:16 GMT
Surprisingly, Jeff Fisher and his moustache couldn't go 5-5 or at least 4-6. In fact, they went 2-8. So much for consistency. Turns out it wasn't .500 that was the guarantee, it was 8 losses. :suspic:
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