By Sonny Sanders – Birmingham Bolts Team Co-Reporter
27 August 2000 – There is on, Graymont Avenue, an unseen graveyard. It is a final resting-place for the defunct teams of professional football past. Though the graves are unmarked the memory of these failures lives on. Therefore the football fans of Birmingham should be forgiven for their lack of enthusiasm regarding the XFL. Too many times fancy football leagues have tried to establish themselves in the Magic City only to have the foundation crumble beneath them. To the fans in Birmingham it has become a revolving door of teams that are not the NFL.
The XFL must put a quality product on the field. The Birmingham team more so than others must be a winning franchise. The football fans in this area are used to the success that Auburn and Alabama have had. That weighs heavily in the minds of the Birmingham fans. The Birmingham Stallions of the USFL were successful on the field and in the stands. Unfortunately the league folded. There is proof that a winning pro football team can work in Birmingham. The Stallions of the USFL did very well. The league itself did not fare so well. The fans will show up out of curiosity. They will stay only if the quality of the football played is up to their standard.
The announcement of Gerry Dinardo was not an announcement that brought to mind glorious championships though. They remember that he was fired from LSU after a rather pathetic season. His name has been etched in their minds as that of less than stellar coach. Dinardo reputation as a bad coach maybe undeserved. It seems that maybe he was in the wrong environment at LSU. His record proves that he can win. Dinardo was 19-25 with Vanderbilt. That is the best four-year record in twenty plus years. Dinardo went on to compile a 26-9-1 record in his first three years at LSU. The LSU Tigers had a six-year losing streak before Dinardo arrived. Then the bottom fell out. Dinardo claims to be a victim of circumstance. It’s true that one of the toughest coaching jobs is in the SEC. There is a lot of pressure to win in every facet of the game. Can he be successful in the XFL? Yes. He knows the talent in this area and can use that knowledge and his contacts to recruit the best players that will not head to the NFL.
The XFL has made a very good decision in hiring Kent Partridge to become the director of media relations. Partridge is leaving Texas Tech University to take this position. He was also the media relation’s director for Auburn. This is a great move for the XFL. Partridge is well like and highly respected in this area. He is familiar with the local media and will have a very positive influence on the Birmingham team. The hiring of Tim Berryman as general manager will have a positive affect. Berryman was the president and chief operating officer of the Little Rock-based Arkansas Twisters of arenafootball2 and the East Coast Hockey League’s Arkansas RiverBlades. The Twisters led the af2 in attendance in the inaugural season.
With the money and marketing of the WWF and the television contract with NBC and UPN the league can and should survive. A winning team on the field will assure that the XFL will survive in Birmingham. The fans seem to be in a wait and see mode. The XFL will have to prove themselves. That seems to be one of Vince McMahon’s biggest attributes.
