The new ESPN documentary "Small Potatoes: Who Killed The USFL?" is a great piece of storytelling, especially for those of us who knew and loved the United States Football League back in the 1980s.
It was a quality organization that was the proving ground for future NFL Hall of Famers such as Steve Young and Jim Kelly and helped guys like Steve Spurrier and Jim Mora earn their coaching stripes.
Had the USFL followed its original business model and not the ego of Donald Trump, it might still exist today as an important spring football league.
Yet the film also serves as a cautionary tale. It's too bad it didn't come out in time for the founders of the United Football League to watch it.
When the USFL opted to move to a fall schedule and go head-to-head with the NFL, it sealed its fate. Even if the antitrust lawsuit it won had paid more than three bucks and change, it would've still faltered against the tackle football league to end all tackle football leagues.
And that's what the UFL is finding out. In fact I'm guessing league officials already know it.
The UFL has good coaches and good players, but not enough people care.
TV ratings are miniscule.
And fans? They aren't so much paying customers as they are loiters.
When the San Francisco-based California Redwoods played their home opener at AT&T Park, only 6,000 people showed up. It was the smallest crowd to ever see, well, anything at the facility.
At New York's home opener Thursday night at Giants Stadium, only 10,318 showed up to see the Sentinels remain the only winless team in the league (0-3) as the Redwoods escaped with a 20-13 victory. But at this rate, at least the Sentinels do have a chance to break the Redwoods' record for most fans disguised as empty seats.
For some reason, the UFL folks still stand by their belief that this league fills an unmet need for football fans.
I think our needs are met pretty well in the fall.
On Saturdays you can choose from as many as 20 college games, and even without benefit of cable or satellite you can watch four NFL contests on Sunday. Throw in Monday Night Football and the occasional Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday night college games to go with ESPN's Thursday night matchup, and we're in football heaven.
If the UFL wants to survive, it needs to play in the spring. It might not make it then, but it would certainly have a better chance than it does now because now it has no chance.
There are those of us who can take or leave baseball in the spring and summer and would jump at the chance to watch quality pro football during the "offseason."
For three glorious years from 1983-85 the USFL provided the best brand of pay-for-play gridiron action outside the NFL, then died by its own hand.
The UFL, unfortunately, was at death's door right from the start.
(Contact Scott Adamson of the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C., at adamsonl(at)independentmail.com.)
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The UFL could work, it has
The UFL could work, it has good owners, great players and great coaches it just needs to play it smart. The UFL should expand, but not to much. When I see a four team league i think minor league, now i know that the UFL isn't aiming to rival the NFL but the league still needs to advertise good players and get itself noticed. I read the league is looking into adding teams to LA, Hartford and Mexico. I think a LA based team could work if they played in a good venue and signed some good players. And Hartford isn't a good idea because it is to small of a market to have to share with the NCAA.
The UFL should go to Mexico, I think a American Football team would do great in Mexico City if they were playing against large market teams like NY or LA, it would draw great crowds. But the problem is i think the UFL might want to go to smaller markets such as: Rochester, NY... Salt Lake City, Utah... and maybe some medium sized markets like Portland, Oregon and San Antonio, Texas
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