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The 2024 UFL Thread


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1 hour ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

At first I thought the entire XFL and the entire USFL combined to make a big league. That would be much cooler. Still, the games yesterday were pretty good. I have enjoyed it

 

Only 4 franchises from each former league survived the merger, but they could be reactivated later 

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Punter to center TD earlier game today was cool.

 

Vinny Papale just scored a nice toe drag drag TD. Son of Eagles great Vincent Papale.  Had no clue his son was a pro football player. CFL, Spring League and USFL.

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1 hour ago, Jerry Jabber said:

Wade Phillips got a Defenders TD reversed by challenging a play, by which the RT moved early. TD was called back and the Defenders got a False Start penalty. 

The same RT got ejected on that play for spitting on the opponent.  

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3 hours ago, Jerry Jabber said:

Currently watching the DC Defenders vs the San Antonio Brahmas. Wade Phillips is the Brahmas HC and Gregg Williams is the DC for the Defenders. 
 

Brahmas look decent, they had a nice trick play on a punt where the punter threw a 40yd TD pass. 

 

There are some things I like this league. You get to hear the refs and coaches talk a lot more. The Defenders HC was blasting his WR after a key drop. Coaches can challenge any play (don’t know how many challenges they get per game?)

Would be awesome if the NFL had the same system

 

Based on this opening weekend, the merger seems to have been good for the quality of play.

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26 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

TBS has The Replacements and Water Boy back to back today.

 

might as well watch those 2 for your spring  ball fix… 

 

"There's a lot of pain and shame in those eyes"

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Any official and unofficial attendance figures? 

 

I am expecting XFL to cite ticket sales but many may not be used as has happened in past in alternate leagues.

 

Cameras by broadcasters appeared to avoid showing sections of stadiums with few fans but I only saw FOX since I do not pay for ESPN.

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Neilson numbers may be more important to keep broadcasters continuing to show games.

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/ufl-attendance-gets-off-to-so-so-start

UFL attendance gets off to so-so start

(NBC is not broadcasting partner so do not expect soft treatment)

 

UFL’s debut had so-so attendance, to no surprise. Via Mike Mitchell of SI.com, the opening game between the Birmingham Stallions and the Arlington Renegade attracted 14,153 fans.

The second game, featuring the Michigan Panthers hosting the St. Louis Battlehawks, drew 9,444 to Ford Field.

 

NFL analyst points out reasons for "so-so" attendance at UFL season opener

https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/news-nfl-analyst-points-reasons-so-so-attendance-ufl-season-opener

 

The official attendance figure for the UFL’s opening game at Choctaw Stadium between the @USFLStallions and @XFLRenegades is 14,153.

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, Punching Bag said:

 

Neilson numbers may be more important to keep broadcasters continuing to show games.

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/ufl-attendance-gets-off-to-so-so-start

UFL attendance gets off to so-so start

(NBC is not broadcasting partner so do not expect soft treatment)

 

UFL’s debut had so-so attendance, to no surprise. Via Mike Mitchell of SI.com, the opening game between the Birmingham Stallions and the Arlington Renegade attracted 14,153 fans.

The second game, featuring the Michigan Panthers hosting the St. Louis Battlehawks, drew 9,444 to Ford Field.

 

NFL analyst points out reasons for "so-so" attendance at UFL season opener

https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/news-nfl-analyst-points-reasons-so-so-attendance-ufl-season-opener

 

The official attendance figure for the UFL’s opening game at Choctaw Stadium between the @USFLStallions and @XFLRenegades is 14,153.

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Louis had huge numbers last year. Wait until their home opener. But UFL aren't going to go above 20K on average. 

 

Ever watch Tuesday/Wednesday MACtion college games on ESPN? Most nights they barely have a hundred people in the stands.

Edited by PromoTheRobot
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2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

St. Louis had huge numbers last year. Wait until their home opener. But UFL aren't going to go above 20K on average. 

 

Ever watch Tuesday/Wednesday MACtion college games on ESPN? Most nights they barely have a hundred people in the stands.

 

I have never watched a full college game and never went to games when I went to UB.

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20 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Wade Phillips does it again. His Brahmas outscore Memphis 20-3 in the 4th, including scoring 2 TDs (12pts) in the final :48 seconds to win 20-19 and improve to 2-0.

Didn't see the whole game, but saw the last drive. Pretty nice finish 

On 4/3/2024 at 9:43 AM, Mr. WEO said:

All games combined averaged 1 million for the weekend.  But Sunday's numbers were almost half off from saturday

Been saying it for years now, but they have to change the rules for the UFL. I'd eliminate running completely and maybe even punts. Each team gets 4 downs, if they don't get a first, ball goes to the other team. They have to do something to make these games entertaining. At the very least, shorten the quarters. You can't expect these games to be anywhere near nfl level, yet they play with almost all the same rules. 

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1 hour ago, Steptide said:

Didn't see the whole game, but saw the last drive. Pretty nice finish 

Been saying it for years now, but they have to change the rules for the UFL. I'd eliminate running completely and maybe even punts. Each team gets 4 downs, if they don't get a first, ball goes to the other team. They have to do something to make these games entertaining. At the very least, shorten the quarters. You can't expect these games to be anywhere near nfl level, yet they play with almost all the same rules. 


the only reason someone might at least start to watch is because it’s football, something every viewer is intensely familiar with already.

 

You’re describing a game that bears no resemblance to football..so why would MORE people watch than do now? D list players doing passing drill scrimmages sounds awful

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1 hour ago, Steptide said:

Didn't see the whole game, but saw the last drive. Pretty nice finish 

Been saying it for years now, but they have to change the rules for the UFL. I'd eliminate running completely and maybe even punts. Each team gets 4 downs, if they don't get a first, ball goes to the other team. They have to do something to make these games entertaining. At the very least, shorten the quarters. You can't expect these games to be anywhere near nfl level, yet they play with almost all the same rules. 

I don't think they need to change anything. Keep it like pro football because that's what it is. It's not the arena league. Combined, this is the 3rd season for the USFL and 2nd for XFL. That's better than previous spring leagues, so they're figuring it out. They seem to have no trouble getting sponsors, the talent pool is better, and the game quality is better.

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15 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

I don't think they need to change anything. Keep it like pro football because that's what it is. It's not the arena league. Combined, this is the 3rd season for the USFL and 2nd for XFL. That's better than previous spring leagues, so they're figuring it out. They seem to have no trouble getting sponsors, the talent pool is better, and the game quality is better.


 

You are absolutely correct that they don’t need to change anything, but I disagree with the they are figuring it out part.

 

The only reason the XFL and the USFL survived the first and second years is that TV providers (Fox, NBC, and ESPN) are part of the groups and are providing coverage for the leagues at little to no cost compared to the past leagues.

 

The USFL saw a healthy drop in viewers from year 1 to year 2 and had average ratings of 600,000 lower than the XFL last year.

 

The XFL last year averaged around 650,000 viewers, but week 1 was between 1.3 - 1:4 million for an average.

 

The UFL was formed because both the USFL and XFL saw that they were failing and needed to pool resources and hopefully get a better pool of players by combing the 2 leagues.

 

Week 1 for the UFL was an average of 1 million viewers - which is well down from what both the XFL and USFL did for week 1 last year.  They seem to be hoping that the decrease is due to March madness, but if as in past seasons, they hemorrhage viewers weekly - the average for the UFL will be below 600,000 viewers on a weekly basis by seasons end.

 

I expect the UFL will survive another year and may continue solely due to the networks having a stake in the league, but they have to be worried that the viewership for week 1 was down so much compared to last year and that the typical trend is a loss of viewers week to week until the championship game which draws back a % of viewers.  They really need to see the fan base stabilize.

 

The unfortunate thing is that it shows that the XFL and USFL were probably watched by the same pool of NFL fans as their ratings were very similar and the UFL is pulling a percentage of those fans, but it is not bringing in newer fans.  

Edited by Rochesterfan
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16 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

I don't think they need to change anything. Keep it like pro football because that's what it is. It's not the arena league. Combined, this is the 3rd season for the USFL and 2nd for XFL. That's better than previous spring leagues, so they're figuring it out. They seem to have no trouble getting sponsors, the talent pool is better, and the game quality is better.

 

Not quite.  Neither league could stand on it's own and folded (as they all do).  UFL will suffer the same fate when the networks lose money televising these games to no one watching.  How long can you produce live football games given their massive costs when you are drawing fewer than "Lost U Boats of WW2" (History) and "Rose De Guadalupe" (Univision)?

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6 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:


 

You are absolutely correct that they don’t need to change anything, but I disagree with the they are figuring it out part.

 

The only reason the XFL and the USFL survived the first and second years is that TV providers (Fox, NBC, and ESPN) are part of the groups and are providing coverage for the leagues at little to no cost compared to the past leagues.

 

The USFL saw a healthy drop in viewers from year 1 to year 2 and had average ratings of 600,000 lower than the XFL last year.

 

The XFL last year averaged around 650,000 viewers, but week 1 was between 1.3 - 1:4 million for an average.

 

The UFL was formed because both the USFL and XFL saw that they were failing and needed to pool resources and hopefully get a better pool of players by combing the 2 leagues.

 

Week 1 for the UFL was an average of 1 million viewers - which is well down from what both the XFL and USFL did for week 1 last year.  They seem to be hoping that the decrease is due to March madness, but if as in past seasons, they hemorrhage viewers weekly - the average for the UFL will be below 600,000 viewers on a weekly basis by seasons end.

 

I expect the UFL will survive another year and may continue solely due to the networks having a stake in the league, but they have to be worried that the viewership for week 1 was down so much compared to last year and that the typical trend is a loss of viewers week to week until the championship game which draws back a % of viewers.  They really need to see the fan base stabilize.

 

The unfortunate thing is that it shows that the XFL and USFL were probably watched by the same pool of NFL fans as their ratings were very similar and the UFL is pulling a percentage of those fans, but it is not bringing in newer fans.  

And how many viewers does a typical baseball game get? Hockey game? Arena league game? MLS game? Minor league soccer?

 

Yet, somehow these leagues still survive....go figure.

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Just now, Mike in Horseheads said:

I watched some of last nights game in STL.  I thought it was pretty good football

How large was the crowd? They draw the best numbers in St. Louis.

 

So Taco Charlton is playing in the UFL. 🤔

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3 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

How large was the crowd? They draw the best numbers in St. Louis.

 

So Taco Charlton is playing in the UFL. 🤔

Just looked it up and....   The UFL game in St. Louis last night had a record-setting attendance of 40,317 fans at The Dome at America’s Center. This was a significant event as it set a new record for a modern spring football league game1.

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2 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Just looked it up and....   The UFL game in St. Louis last night had a record-setting attendance of 40,317 fans at The Dome at America’s Center. This was a significant event as it set a new record for a modern spring football league game1.

Wow, that is much higher than I expected. But St Louis really wants a football team again, I guess.

Reuben Foster is a monster in this league. He's 30 years old and I imagine he gets one final NFL contract as a backup.

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3 minutes ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

The Uniforms are horrid ...

Just sayin'

And what was the Logo on the side of the Arlington "Whatchamacallits" supposed to mean?

Yeah, I don't understand why they changed from the original cowboy head to the current "AR" stylized logo. For my taste, the Defenders have the best unis. Traditional style and subtly creative.

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3 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Just looked it up and....   The UFL game in St. Louis last night had a record-setting attendance of 40,317 fans at The Dome at America’s Center. This was a significant event as it set a new record for a modern spring football league game1.


That’s nearly as many watching anywhere at home…

 

 

16 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

Wow, that is much higher than I expected. But St Louis really wants a football team again, I guess.

Reuben Foster is a monster in this league. He's 30 years old and I imagine he gets one final NFL contract as a backup.

 

lol Foster is riding toward the sunset, not the NFL.

 

the most impressive feature is how many 1st round picks are in this league. That and the coaches are usually guys who somehow got way past retirement age with no money in the bank 

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9 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:


That’s nearly as many watching anywhere at home…

 

 

 

lol Foster is riding toward the sunset, not the NFL.

 

the most impressive feature is how many 1st round picks are in this league. That and the coaches are usually guys who somehow got way past retirement age with no money in the bank 

Can I put you down as anti spring football 😁

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41 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Can I put you down as anti spring football 😁

He's SO anti spring football that he watches this thread hourly

52 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

lol Foster is riding toward the sunset

 

Yeah, that's a good description of what I said

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