Back In the USFL

Feeling nostalgic for the mid-80s?  Never fear!  The USFL is back!  The spring football league that actually worked...until it decided to move to a fall schedule and attempt to go head-to-head against the NFL, with that famous $3 settlement in the anti-trust lawsuit.  Now, after the XFL, AAF and XFL 2.0, USFL 2.0 is our latest attempt at the spring pro football league America doesn't actually want yet for some reason people think it does.

Of course, XFL 2.0 isn't officially "dead."  The Rock bought it out of bankruptcy and plans to relaunch it in 2023.  So, assuming that actually happens and USFL 2.0 makes it that long, we'll once again have two second-rate spring football leagues.  But, even without the XFL, we're set for yet another relaunch in 2022--the USFL.

Unlike the original USFL, this one doesn't plan on being a competitor to the NFL.  They've said as much.  Rather, they want to be an NFL "feeder" league, much like The Spring League and the FXFL also tried.  (Let's not forget, that those two leagues are also a thing of the past.)  Only time will tell if they're actually able to succeed where all others have failed.

One thing USFL 2.0 has going for it, though, is brand recognition.  And I'm not just talking about the league   They did something very smart and acquired the trademarks for the team names, too.  In fact, all eight teams in the new version of the USFL have the same name as teams from the original league.  It's not just those eight, either.  They acquired some other names that they aren't currently using...just in case they want to expand in the future.

The original USFL holds a special place in football history.  It obviously didn't achieve its ultimate goal.  But, even if people don't know anything else about the league, they know that Donald Trump was one of the owners and that they "won" $3 in an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL.  And they also know that the original USFL had some damn good players, from Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Steve Young and Reggie White to Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker.

That's why keeping the original branding made so much sense.  Jim Kelly played for the original Houston Gamblers.  Herschel Walker played for the original New Jersey Generals.  So why not bring those teams back?  Especially since they could!

USFL 2.0 will consist of the Generals, Philadelphia Stars, Pittsburgh Maulers and Michigan Panthers in the North Division, and the South Division will include the Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers, Tampa Bay Bandits and Birmingham Stallions.  What's interesting, too (and what sets USFL 2.0 apart from the other startup leagues) is that seven of those eight markets are already the home of at least one NFL team.  Playing in major cities that already have NFL teams was a big risk that paid off in the mid-80s.  And I can understand the thought process that you need to be in the big cities to be successful.  But that can also be a recipe for disaster.

Another thing that I found interesting beyond what cities were chosen is where those cities are.  The AAF also had eight teams, seven of which were located in the South.  The 2020 edition of the XFL had two on the West Coast and two in Texas.  Those were both split East/West.  USFL 2.0, meanwhile, is almost entirely based East of the Mississippi (with the exception of Houston and New Orleans) and split North/South.  I know from a TV perspective that doesn't make too much of a difference, but, should the league last more than a season or two, you'd have to think they'd want to expand beyond just the Eastern and Central time zones.

We won't get to see what type of attendance figures these USFL teams can attract in their home markets until 2023 at the earliest (if at all)!  Their plan for 2022 is to play the entire 10-game season in a bubble, using two stadiums in Birmingham (which may be why Birmingham was selected as one of the franchises).  When they do eventually go to their home markets, though, I'm curious to see what stadiums they end up playing in.  Because they won't fill the NFL stadiums in those cities.  Do they play in the MLS facilities (during soccer season)?

They've already got the TV partners, which is essential.  In this day and age, you'd better have at least one TV partner already lined up before you even think about starting to have any prayer of even getting off the ground.  (It's worth noting that USFL 1.0 was huge for the growth of ESPN.)  In USFL 2.0's case, it's FOX.  FOX is also a partner in the XFL, though, which could create a very interesting situation where they're broadcasting two competing leagues targeting the same audience at the same time in the Spring of 2023, with only so much airtime available.

I'm sure that's a problem FOX would love to have.  Because it would mean that the new USFL made it to a second season.  Which is by no means a guarantee.  COVID obviously hastened the demise of Vince McMahon's second attempt at the XFL, but, even if it does return, does anybody think it'll last?  USFL 2.0, unfortunately, seems destined to suffer that same fate.  Would simply making it to Year 2 qualify as a victory?

There's still a lot we don't know about USFL 2.0.  All we know is the league name and the team names.  From what I can tell, they won't have any quirky rules to make themselves stand out, but we won't know that officially until they publish the rules and other details of the league.   So, it's entirely possible that USFL 2.0 will look exactly like the football we're accustomed to seeing in the NFL.

Although, what the football looks like is only half the battle.  The AAF and XFL didn't even make it through an entire season before going bankrupt.  That's the other thing about all these failed attempts at a spring football league that blows my mind!  It's ridiculously expensive just to get it off the ground, with a virtual guarantee that you're going to lose more money than you make!  Yet people still keep trying to do it anyway!

Who knows what would've happened had the original USFL not tried to go head-to-head against the NFL?  This new version of the league won't make that same mistake, but still faces an uphill battle.  Because, no matter how much these various league-starters may want to deny it, there's only so much of an appetite for second-rate pro football played in the spring.