PFT: United Football League and USFL, XFL Articles

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... field-goal

>>It had been a long time since Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates made a field goal, but the UFL player made the most of his chance to change that.The Panthers called on Bates at the end of Saturday’s season opener against the St. Louis Battlehawks because they needed a 64-yard field goal to win the game and they felt the kickoff specialist gave them the best chance of getting one. Bates had not made a field goal since high school, but came through twice — a late timeout gave him a practice try — and the Panthers got an 18-16 win that might propel Bates to the NFL.Tony Paul of the Detroit News reports that the Lions are one of multiple NFL teams that have reached out to the Panthers about Bates in the wake of the field goal.

<<

 

[MGB01]

This might be an exercise in futility considering how much Alan Gustafson Campbell values field goals.

(Gustafson was the genius who pitted Chase Elliott in the 2020 Coca Cola 600, costing him a win, much like Campbell cost the Lions the NFCCG)

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ts-weekend

>> The UFL opted to debut in a crowded sports weekend. The games, televised by Fox and ESPN, generated solid audiences.Via Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily, both Saturday games — broadcast on Fox — got seven-figure audiences.
 The opener, between Birmingham and Arlington, averaged 1.18 million viewers. The later game, pitting St. Louis against Michigan, had 1.35 million viewers.
 On Sunday, the ESPN-televised games drew 960,000 (D.C. at San Antonio) and 703,000 (Memphis at Houston).<<

SBJ article in "Media Reacts" thread

 

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... io-brahmas

>> In the UFL, teams that have scored can choose not to kickoff but instead to take the ball at their own 28-yard line, facing fourth-and-12. That’s what the San Antonio Brahmas did today, when they trailed the Memphis Showboats 19-14 with 48 seconds left.

The end of the game was exciting, and that’s what the onside kick alternative is designed to bring. The NFL has considered various alternatives to the onside kick, including a fourth-and-20 option that was voted down this year but so far hasn’t adopted one. Perhaps seeing it work well in a spring league could convince the NFL to adopt it as well.<<

who cares what NFL does - UFL got it!

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ome-opener

>> The Battlehawks’ home opener happened in Week 2. And St. Louis set an attendance record for post-Rams football, with 40,317 to watch their game against the Arlington Renegades.Whether it’s because folks in St. Louis love their local teams or want to give a lingering middle finger to Stan Kroenke or some of both, people are going to see the Battlehawks play.The prior record was set on March 12, 2023, with 38,310.  <<

Nothing on the game itself... which was fantastic and likely the best yet of the short season.  Someone needs to let MFer that attendance does not translate into viewers... though it helps with positive media/press coverage

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... etroit-yet

>>  Detroit loves its Lions. The city, and the rest of the state, are decidedly lukewarm on the UFL’s Michigan Panthers.The Panthers have played a pair of home games to start their 2024 UFL season. Attendance in Week 1 was not great, coming in at 9,444. This week, it was even worse.Via Mike Mitchell of SI.com, the attendance for the Week 2 game against the Birmingham Stallions was only 7,475.

That’s one of the biggest challenges for the latest iteration of professional football in the spring. Getting people to show up.

It’s also important to get people to watch. We’ll find out in the coming days whether last weekend’s strong to quite strong debut extended to the second week. <<

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... for-week-2

>> The UFL is off to a solid start. Yes, the attendance leaves something to be desired, in every city except St. Louis.
The TV ratings are solid, especially given the competition.

Via Mike Mitchell of SI.com, the four UFL games for Week 2 had average viewership of 842,000. It’s a 38-percent bump over the average viewership of the XFL and USFL for their Week 2 ratings a year ago.On Saturday, San Antonio at Memphis averaged 718,000 viewers on ESPN. Arlington at St. Louis drew 908,000.On Sunday, Birmingham at Michigan drew 903,000 on ESPN. Houston at D.C. on Fox got 849,000 viewers. 

The Houston-D.C. game started at 4:00 p.m. ET, putting it up against the women’s NCAA basketball championship, which averaged 18.7 million viewers.

None of the Week 2 games cracked seven figures. Two of the Week 1 games did.Next week, there’s no college basketball. Which should help. <<

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... e-comeback

>>  With less than a minute remaining in today’s United Football League game, the Arlington Renegades led the DC Defenders 28-18. But the Defenders managed to win, thanks to a rule that exists in the UFL but has been rejected by the NFL.

That rule is the onside kick alternative, which allows teams to follow a scoring play not with a kickoff, but by taking the ball at their own 28-yard line, facing fourth-and-12.

It’s the second consecutive week that a team in the UFL has used the fourth-and-12 rule to mount a successful comeback, and it makes the ends of games more exciting. In the NFL, onside kicks have become almost impossible to recover, which makes comebacks harder. The UFL alternative is a rule that promotes fan-friendly football with more fantastic finishes. <<

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... n-st-louis

>>  The powers-that-be cranked up the hype machine. In the days before the game, Stallions coach Skip Holtz declared (via AL.com), “It’s going to be an event more than just a football game, and really looking forward to having the opportunity to come back and be a part of all that.

”Holtz hoped that the Stallions would enjoy the same type of support as the St. Louis Battlehawks, who drew more than 40,000 to their home opener last weekend.

“My dream and goal is to watch when Birmingham has 40,000 people because [St. Louis] is now setting the standard in the way that community is supporting that spring football league,” Holtz said.  His dream wasn’t fulfilled on Saturday night. Attendance for the Showboats-Stallions game was only 12,265.While falling far short of Holtz’s goal, at least they cracked 10,000.  <<

MFer going to focus on attendance for a TV focused league.  Lets see what those numbers are. 

At some point he'll talk about the play on the field... well maybe.

[GDAWG]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... n-st-louis

>>  The powers-that-be cranked up the hype machine. In the days before the game, Stallions coach Skip Holtz declared (via AL.com), “It’s going to be an event more than just a football game, and really looking forward to having the opportunity to come back and be a part of all that.

”Holtz hoped that the Stallions would enjoy the same type of support as the St. Louis Battlehawks, who drew more than 40,000 to their home opener last weekend.

“My dream and goal is to watch when Birmingham has 40,000 people because [St. Louis] is now setting the standard in the way that community is supporting that spring football league,” Holtz said.  His dream wasn’t fulfilled on Saturday night. Attendance for the Showboats-Stallions game was only 12,265.While falling far short of Holtz’s goal, at least they cracked 10,000.  <<

MFer going to focus on attendance for a TV focused league.  Lets see what those numbers are. 

At some point he'll talk about the play on the field... well maybe.

His recent spiel is to abolish the NFL Draft and allowing college athletes (even first round picks) to decide where they want to play.