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The USFL is back

Benjamin Grimm Jun 03 2021 02:45 PM

The league plans to resume play in 2022 with eight teams. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/usfl-set-to-return-in-spring-2022-after-being-shut-down-in-mid-1980s-original-team-names-will-remain/ The USFL announced its re-emergence Thursday with a return in the spring of 2022. The league plans a minimum of eight teams for its first season and will retain rights to key original team names -- like the New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars. Memphis Showboats and Los Angeles Express. So now kids can once again dream of growing up to be a Memphis Showboat.

kcmets Jun 03 2021 02:49 PM Re: The USFL is back

A buddy of mine and I had Generals season tickets for two seasons. Fifty yard line but in the upper deck. God it was freaking hot but we were young and drank a lot of Prestone back then.

Lefty Specialist Jun 03 2021 03:30 PM Re: The USFL is back

Don't let Trump anywhere near this.

MFS62 Jun 03 2021 03:32 PM Re: The USFL is back

Will Donald own a team this time around? It would be like distracting a toddler with a new toy. OE, was writing when Lefty was posting. Later

whippoorwill Jun 03 2021 03:48 PM Re: The USFL is back

I'm all for it if it distracts him enough to forget to run in 2024

Double Switch Jun 03 2021 04:04 PM Re: The USFL is back

Trump is the present day Lyndon LaRouche. His campaign from prison will be less successful than LaRouche's.

Fman99 Jun 03 2021 08:17 PM Re: The USFL is back

He already fucked the USFL once. I doubt they let him anywhere near it this time.

kcmets Jun 04 2021 09:29 AM Re: The USFL is back

Mind boggling how long ago this was... [BLOCKQUOTE]In August 1984, the USFL voted to move from a spring to a fall schedule in 1986 to compete directly with the NFL. This was done at the urging of New Jersey Generals majority owner Donald Trump and a handful of other owners as a way to force a merger between the leagues. As part of this strategy, the USFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League in 1986, and a jury ruled that the NFL had violated anti-monopoly laws. However, in a victory in name only, the USFL was awarded a judgment of just $1, which under antitrust laws, was tripled to $3.[2] This court decision effectively ended the USFL's existence. The league never played its planned 1986 season, and by the time it folded, it had lost over US$163 million (over $389 million in 2021 dollars).[/BLOCKQUOTE] From USFL Wikipedia Page

LWFS Jun 05 2021 12:28 AM Re: The USFL is back

My first pro football game was a Generals (con Flutie y Walker) vs. Breakers game around my 7th birthday, with my older cousins. I remember a LOT of bright uniforms on late-night early ESPN.

Frayed Knot Jun 05 2021 05:18 AM Re: The USFL is back

There is currently some kind of spring pro-league going on, including some team called the Generals. I have no idea where it came from but it's getting significant cable and network TV coverage. And I'm sure somebody somewhere is losing the rent money by betting on these games.

Edgy MD Jun 05 2021 07:21 AM Re: The USFL is back

I'm not sure if you're referring to them, but the second iteration of The XFL also began spring play in 2020, before shutting down when COVID took hold. Dwayne Johnson bought the league out of bankruptcy and they are supposed to get back on the field in 2022.

Frayed Knot Jun 05 2021 08:59 AM Re: The USFL is back

No, this is something going on right NOW!!!! FOX Network (not FS1 or FS6) is televising the Sea Lions vs the Generals at 3:00 this afternoon. I have no idea where either of those teams are based but the game is taking place at Rice Stadium in Houston So, between this league, The Rock's XFL, and the USFL, by next year there could be four separate football leagues going on ... and three of them will almost certainly fail.

MFS62 Jun 05 2021 09:34 AM Re: The USFL is back

Stumbled upon one of the games last night. I thought it was strange not identifying the teams by home city. And the stadium looked totally empty. I remember when the AFL started in 1960, they would bunch the fans in the lower stands across from the camera in order to make it look like they were packed. There was no such thing here, but they pumped in crowd noises that sounded like a full house at an NFL game. Eerie. I turned it off in less than a minute without finding out anything about the league, teams or players. Later

Edgy MD Jun 05 2021 10:31 AM Re: The USFL is back

Ah, you're referring to "The Spring League (TSL)" — a "developmental" league. I think: [list=a] [*]It was founded by agents, to showcase their clients to NFL teams, [*]Has no official link to the NFL, and [*]Pays no player salaries, despite having a TV contract. [/list]

Edgy MD Jun 05 2021 11:51 AM Re: The USFL is back

My USFL memories: [list] [*]They could have built a whole division, or maybe even a conference, around teams who championed the underworld. There were teams with names like The Outlaws, The Renegades, the Gamblers, The Invaders, The Gunslingers, The Maulers ... wtf? The Maulers? [*]The Generals were originally coached by Walt Michaels, which surprised more than a few, in that he was a respected guy, but when the Jets had let him go a few years earlier, it was widely rumored to be related to a drinking problem. [*]Michaels, despite seemingly being representative of old-white-guyness, actually introduced a lot of novelty plays and formations, such as lining up his guards and tackles over by the sideline in front of the flanker, and leaving the quarterback virtually naked in the middle, with just the center in front of him. [*]Despite the signing of Herschel Walker being a massive coup, Michaels had him split ball-carrying duties with the unknown Maurice Carthon, which was reminiscent of his Jets days when he split rushing duties among as many as five backs. I assumed this pissed off his bosses and the other powers that be, but it worked, as defenses keyed exclusively on Walker, and both carriers ended up with over 1,000 yards. Carthon's success earned him an NFL job and a long successful career as a blocking back winning two rings with the Giants, but rarely touching the ball with anything like the frequency he found in the NFL. [*]Then-General owners Trump was known to wonder out loud about why anybody needs linemen — that nobody knows or cares who they are. Marquee value is the only value, baby! [*]The future president was jealous that, despite trying to corner the market on boutique names (Walker, Flutie), the crazy Houston Gamblers and their run-and-gun offense built around Jim Kelly got the national press. So he insanely acquired the whole team and merged them with the Generals, just to get his hands on this Kelly guy. The league folded before The Gamblerals ever took the field, but there was a lot of curious talk about how the team was going to deploy Flutie and Kelly at the same time, possibly with them alternating series, or playing side-by-side in a two-quarterback formation. [*]A team called The Breakers had a logo featuring waves and seabirds, invoking their city's beloved shoreline. The team ended up playing each of the league's three seasons in three different cities — Boston, New Orleans, and Portland — but they never had to change their name or their logo, as the beloved shoreline they represented switched from Boston Harbor to Lake Pontchartrain to The Columbia River. [*]I'm pretty sure most teams recruited cheerleaders before players, although that's probably not true. I'm also pretty sure the TV contract was in place before any player acquisition. [*]I think their presence imposed itself more on the NASL than it ever did on the NFL. [/list]

Frayed Knot Jun 05 2021 06:36 PM Re: The USFL is back

Edgy MD wrote: Ah, you're referring to "The Spring League (TSL)" — a "developmental" league. I think: [list=a] [*]It was founded by agents, to showcase their clients to NFL teams, [*]Has no official link to the NFL, and [*]Pays no player salaries, despite having a TV contract. [/list] Good to know that the powers at be have concocted new ways to hold out carrots in front of future longshots while not paying them in the process. btw, there's another game on TV tonight and it is also emanating from Rice U stadium, so there appears to be a reason why these teams aren't identified by their home base ... because they don't have them.

Willets Point Jun 05 2021 07:37 PM Re: The USFL is back

Edgy MD wrote: Ah, you're referring to "The Spring League (TSL)" — a "developmental" league. I think: [list=a] [*]It was founded by agents, to showcase their clients to NFL teams, [*]Has no official link to the NFL, and [*]Pays no player salaries, despite having a TV contract. [/list] Sounds like those high-priced clinics/camps for youth sports that promise parents "access" to big league scouts but turned up to 11.