UFL Week 1

[Sun Tzu]

Well...lets see how this goes. I have to admit I'm moderately excited/interested to see how this looks. There are a handful of former 49er starters scattered throughout the league, plus one of the teams plays just a few minutes from me at AT&T Park. Tonight at 6pm pacific time is the California Redwoods @ the Las Vegas Locomotives, played in Sam Boyd Stadium in LV. It will be on the Versus network...

Lets try to keep this thread free of unnecessary prank links plz. k tnx

[Matthean]

Closest team is NY. Only one player from Michigan and 'Bama on any of the four teams, so it's hard to sell me on this right now. Tuskers and Locomotives seem like odd nicknames for teams based in Florida and Las Vages. I'll do a wait and see and hope it expands into my area eventually.
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[Flasch186]

god damn Versus!

[wade moore]

There's a former W&M WR (Dominique Thompson) on the Florida team - so I'll probably watch to see him play. If he's at the bottom of the depth chart, I'm not sure that I have a lot of other motivation to watch.

[fantom1979]

I don't get versus or hdnet, so I don't think I will be able to get into this, even though I would like to. I will probably hold off on this and see if the new USFL takes off in the spring.

[fantom1979]

Anyone know the starting QB's for these teams... It appears on the roster that the Redwoods have Mike McMahon, Shane Boyd, and Liam O'Hagan. The Locomotives have JP Losman, Russ Michna, and Tim Rattay.

[Sun Tzu]

The two starters for tonight are McMahon and Losman.

[Lathum]

has Vegas set lines for these games?

[Honolulu_Blue]

There's simply no way I'll watch this. Between college and NFL, I get more than my fill of football each week. There's the full slate of games Saturday and Sunday, Monday Night, and the Thursday night college game (and after that the Thursday night pro games). You throw the start of the NHL season into the mix and I am totally maxed out on the amounts sports I care to watch (and am WELL over the amount of sports Lady H_B would like to see me watching).

I certainly hope it's successful, because I like to see people's work rewarded, but, personally, I have neither the interest, energy or time to watch or care about the league.

[digamma]

Anyone know the starting QB's for these teams... It appears on the roster that the Redwoods have Mike McMahon, Shane Boyd, and Liam O'Hagan. The Locomotives have JP Losman, Russ Michna, and Tim Rattay.

Liam O'Hagan actually has a decent arm and throws on the run pretty well. Of course it's easy to look good against Ivy League defenses.

[cthomer5000]

Tonight at 6pm pacific time is the California Redwoods @ the Las Vegas Locomotives, played in Sam Boyd Stadium in LV.


FWIW.... Sam Boyd Stadium also hosted the debut of the XFL. Not necessarily a great omen.


It will be on the Versus network...
I would have watched this for the novelty... but DirecTV and Versus are having some sort of fight for reasons i've been too lazy to look up.

[Apathetic Lurker]

I always liked Losman so i'll be watching tonight

[sooner333]

has Vegas set lines for these games?

Not sure, but Pinnacle Sports has Vegas as a seven-point favorite.

[Galaxy]

If VS covers football like it does hockey, it won't be a good thing for the UFL.

[watravaler]

I hope the Browns are relegated to the UFL in 2010...The Tuskers deserve a shot at NFL glory...

[Denial Of Freedom]

For those without VS that are interested. (http://linksadoor.com/index.php?news=3756)

[aran]

Apparently we're going to watch some hardcore football tonight. Thanks, Doug.

Redwoods jerseys are horrible. HORRIBLE.

[aran]

dola,

This is embarrassing. It looks like there are maybe 100 people at the game. Looks like a high school game.

Kordel Stewart talking up the intensity just makes me want to vomit.

Hopefully once this thing gets underway it'll be less painful to watch.

[Young Drachma]

I'll watch it, I mean why not. At least because you all reminded me anyway.

[Young Drachma]

The uniforms are terrible, indeed though.

[DeToxRox]

Was that Marcel Shipp on the fumble?

[aran]

There's nowhere near enough contrast between the jerseys. Both teams have similar colors as well. What's up with glow-in-the-dark green and blue anyway?

[cthomer5000]

There's nowhere near enough contrast between the jerseys.

Agreed. Ridiculous.

[aran]

The quality of play has been reasonable considering the teams have only been practicing together for three weeks. Lots of underneath throws and runs. Playbooks must be minimal so everyone can get on the same page.

Apparently you can ground the ball in the UFL, as long as the ball goes past the line-of-scrimmage there's no grounding regardless of the QB's position, race, or poop size.

[RainMaker]

I don't get why all these secondary leagues need to create the most obnoxious uniforms.

[Young Drachma]

I don't understand who the marketing person was that thought the uniform brand consistency for the league jerseys was a good idea. It's just absurd. They could've made a killing on great looking jerseys, even if the league was lame.

What's more likely is, they didn't HAVE a branding person, just some intern turned marketing guru who used a coursebook to tell the league how it ought to roll out it's first season. I see they deviated on their initial plan to just have the UFL logo on the helmets (an idea that honestly, wouldn't be as bad as stupid jerseys...) I guess realizing that people bitched about their stupid jerseys and it was too late to change them.

But still.

[aran]

Who could think that consistency between team jerseys is a good thing? That doesn't make any sense. You'd want them to be distinctive while inoffensive. The reason why the NFL brands are so strong is because the logos are distinct and team's jerseys are diverse and memorable.

[Autumn]

That site is interesting, I've never seen that one before.

Is there really any chance for this league if they're not on a network most people get?

[Young Drachma]

Who could think that consistency between team jerseys is a good thing? That doesn't make any sense. You'd want them to be distinctive while inoffensive. The reason why the NFL brands are so strong is because the logos are distinct and team's jerseys are diverse and memorable.

Right. We get that and apparently their guru didn't. I'm thinking the person who suggested it was thinking "outside the box."

They're paying their coaches and players with most of their capital, so they're probably not investing much on the backend staff to run this operation and so, there's absolutely no doubt they skimped on the brand research end of things.

[RainMaker]

It's so beyond stupid I hope it fails.

Besides integrating colors, the colors are atrocious. Pick some football colors, not something I'd see on a Saved By The Bell episode.

[Young Drachma]

That site is interesting, I've never seen that one before.

Is there really any chance for this league if they're not on a network most people get?

The XFL was on freakin' NBC and it died. This thing is DOA.

When will these leagues get smart and start putting teams in Green Bay like towns where the fans will come out in droves to have their own pro football team? Sure, it won't be a media draw in the same way, but that's where spin comes in. And in a small, four-team limited schedule league...it'd be less of a problem.

Or have two big market teams and two small market ones. Or something. But playing in Vegas to a JV football crowd is gonna make folks take your league seriously? Uh, no.

The XFL surely had more at their debut game, I'm guessing.

[Young Drachma]

Oh yeah, here's from the XFL's opening debut. This league doesn't have any of the advantages that league did. This league is betting on its connection to the NFL as former this and thats, to somehow catapult them into a place where they can be the NFL farm league. But that ain't gonna happen.

XFL Debut Gets Huge Rating - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=99850&page=1)

[Galaxy]

It's almost like these leagues are trying to be "edgy".

[cuervo72]

There's nowhere near enough contrast between the jerseys. Both teams have similar colors as well. What's up with glow-in-the-dark green and blue anyway?

Agreed...it is a little tough to tell them apart.

I like the LV coach shirts though!

[RainMaker]

If they are trying to be edgy, they should get a hotter sideline reporter. Just dress up a playmate in something slutty. No one gives a shit what JP Losman thinks anyway.

[k0ruptr]

Hey, I think the quality of football is above decent actually. Not bad at all. I'm enjoying the game. The more football during the season the better IMO.

[Sun Tzu]

I'm digging the cameras/mics in the lockers rooms at half time. Really brings back memories. I agree that the uniforms are attrocious, but quite frankly, writing off a league because you think the uni's are too similar is pretty lame. What's wrong with giving it a chance? What do you have to lose? Seriously? If you don't like it, then turn it off.

[k0ruptr]

TD Vegas!! lol this is turning into a pretty damn good game, haha.

Something else that I think is pretty solid is VS. TV coverage of the game is not half bad at all.

[cuervo72]

I don't mind the colors, and think they work pretty well in the UFL logo. I think that's pretty sharp.

But when you're trying to market a new league? What's the first thing you should do? I say it should be to start forging identities for teams. The faster there is some familiarity with them, the better for the league.

When I watch football with my kids, the first thing they ask is "what team is the [insert color] team? who is the white team?"* For a new league like this that's what I would even ask as an adult. But with that blue on every player, it's tough to even identify who is on what team, let alone sorting out team identity. I'm sure eventually it will sink in, if given enough time. Are eyes going to give it that time though? Are most viewers going to give it more than 5 minutes before giving up and turning on something else (NEB/MIZZOU, MLB, anything else)?


*They also learn through the logos that are on helmets and everywhere else in the broadcast. These logos don't particularly grab me as being anything specifically....and I have worked with a decent number of logos.

[Young Drachma]

. I agree that the uniforms are attrocious, but quite frankly, writing off a league because you think the uni's are too similar is pretty lame. What's wrong with giving it a chance? What do you have to lose? Seriously? If you don't like it, then turn it off.



But when you're trying to market a new league? What's the first thing you should do? I say it should be to start forging identities for teams. The faster there is some familiarity with them, the better for the league.

When I watch football with my kids, the first thing they ask is "what team is the [insert color] team? who is the white team?"* For a new league like this that's what I would even ask as an adult. But with that blue on every player, it's tough to even identify who is on what team, let alone sorting out team identity. I'm sure eventually it will sink in, if given enough time. Are eyes going to give it that time though? Are most viewers going to give it more than 5 minutes before giving up and turning on something else (NEB/MIZZOU, MLB, anything else)?


*They also learn through the logos that are on helmets and everywhere else in the broadcast. These logos don't particularly grab me as being anything specifically....and I have worked with a decent number of logos.

Exactly. It's just approaching it from a brand perspective. I'm not writing the league off, but these sorts of things really do impact viability, because if it's not memorable, people will watch HS football where the players are accessible and the food is cheaper. It's good football, agreed though...and maybe these guys who are in the league working it are using their NFL experience to really show the league that they can be a cost-effective player development league for them as opposed to the NFL Europa boondoggle...

[Sun Tzu]

Cuervo, I think we can all agree that the UFL marketing department could use your art/logo skills.

[Young Drachma]

Cuervo, I think we can all agree that the UFL marketing department could use your art/logo skills.

:+1:

[Young Drachma]

Sweet, Denzel Washington's kid gets highlighted now.

[Young Drachma]

I'm guessing the ticket guy didn't realize it was actually Denzel? Or he doesn't watch movies?

[cuervo72]

The XFL was on freakin' NBC and it died. This thing is DOA.

Maybe. Maybe not. The XFL had a pretty much immediate need to grab ratings; on NBC it was on too high profile a stage. It didn't, and it got dumped. When that happened it was toast.

Vs on the other hand needs programming. Yeah, it has the NHL (which hasn't really helped them). But what else? I couldn't really tell you what else is even on Vs (although I don't get it atm...which doesn't bother me in the least). They're like early ESPN (and I think Comcast's ultimate goal would be to have Versus on-par with ESPN*) - they have all sorts of hours to fill. So I doubt they will be dumping the UFL. I think they'll give it time enough to either gain momentum, or fail on its own merits.


*might be interesting if Comcast does wind up buying NBC...would there be an attempted synergy with NBC/Versus as there is with ABC/ESPN? Would Comcast push for UFL games to be aired on NBC?

[Young Drachma]

Maybe. Maybe not. The XFL had a pretty much immediate need to grab ratings; on NBC it was on too high profile a stage. It didn't, and it got dumped. When that happened it was toast.

Vs on the other hand needs programming. Yeah, it has the NHL (which hasn't really helped them). But what else? I couldn't really tell you what else is even on Vs (although I don't get it atm...which doesn't bother me in the least). They're like early ESPN (and I think Comcast's ultimate goal would be to have Versus on-par with ESPN*) - they have all sorts of hours to fill. So I doubt they will be dumping the UFL. I think they'll give it time enough to either gain momentum, or fail on its own merits.


*might be interesting if Comcast does wind up buying NBC...would there be an attempted synergy with NBC/Versus as there is with ABC/ESPN? Would Comcast push for UFL games to be aired on NBC?

I was thinking the league would run out of money. Then I remembered Mark Cuban was an investor. And you make a valid point on the whole XFL deal and it having to make a big impact immediately, whereas this can just ride under the radar like early arena football did to a degree.

I want to see the NY team and that Utah QB, but they're showing Vegas again apparently in the next broadcasted game.

[Sun Tzu]

wtf is HDNet?

[JonInMiddleGA]

not on a network most people get?

Bad as Versus can be at times, 73 million households really isn't that bad, about 2/3rds of the country gets it (114.9 million TV HH is the Nielsen number for the current season).

It's not ESPN's 98 million plus, but it's on par with, say, Oxygen in terms of availability.

Better rip on their TV deal would probably be "not on a network that anyone watches very much", kind of makes the whole promo thing a moot point.

[JonInMiddleGA]

wtf is HDNet?

Here ya go
HDNet Fact Sheet (http://www.hd.net/factsheet.html)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Then I remembered Mark Cuban was an investor.

He's also co-founder of HDNet btw.

[Sun Tzu]

Yeah...I dont' think I get HDnet. San Francisco Bay Area, Comcast, and I don't see it on the lineup. Weird.

[MikeVic]

I'm watching on their official website... they're streaming it. They just mentioned Winnipeg when some guy Thurman caught a pass, so I'm happy.

[cuervo72]

I was thinking the league would run out of money. Then I remembered Mark Cuban was an investor. And you make a valid point on the whole XFL deal and it having to make a big impact immediately, whereas this can just ride under the radar like early arena football did to a degree.

I want to see the NY team and that Utah QB, but they're showing Vegas again apparently in the next broadcasted game.

wtf is HDNet?

HDNet is a network owned by Mark Cuban. :D

The more I think about this, the more I wonder if it could work under the right circumstances and given the right investors. I mean, the USFL gained pretty decent traction before they decided to shift from the Spring to the Fall (though with this STARTING in the Fall...) If NFL teams are going for close to a billion dollars, $30M seems piddly. Heck, if he gets turned down with his Rams bid maybe Limbaugh will buy a UFL franchise. ;)

[Sun Tzu]

Losman has looked very innacurate all game on downfield passes.

Hell of a kick by Gano btw. I don't care what league you play in, 53 yards from the hashmark is impressive.

[Young Drachma]

He's also co-founder of HDNet btw.

Si yo se.

And the dude who sold broadcast.com to yahoo for $5.9 billion in Yahoo stock lucky bastid.

[Young Drachma]

Losman has looked very innacurate all game on downfield passes.

Hell of a kick by Gano btw. I don't care what league you play in, 53 yards from the hashmark is impressive.

Maybe he'll replace the kicker that was thrown under the bus by Jim Mora the other week.

[Groundhog]

"A crowd of 14,209 fans attended the game at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium."

That's not too bad really.

[aran]

It'll be interesting to see what kind of reaction this garners from sports information sources people actually care about.

[Honolulu Blue]

14,209, huh? Half of them must have been disguised as empty seats.

I watched most of this first game. Not bad, a typical OPU-level game. The offenses seemed ahead of the defenses, which is not the norm for a new league. The announcers? Meh. They made some obvious bobbles and could use some more practice. And why in God's name do they need TWO useless sideline reporters? Though I have to admit it was good to see what Kordell was up to, for a minute or two.

With the use of the overhead cam, it's offically gone from edgy to old hat. The XFL was the first one to use that regularly.

I'll watch, but I won't actively search for them. No strong indications either way on whether the league will last.

[Young Drachma]

Official New York Sentinels/Florida Tuskers Game Day Thread - UFL (United Football League) Access Forums (http://uflaccess.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3745)

[Vince, Pt. II]

Are there box scores available for games already played? A cursory look didn't find me anything.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Are there box scores available for games already played? A cursory look didn't find me anything.

Apparently you weren't alone, same question was on their forum.

Should find it (.pdf d'load) if you go to the "Schedule" page on the league website. The scores are there with a box score link beneath.

[Galaril]

It'll be interesting to see what kind of reaction this garners from sports information sources people actually care about.

Me too. I bet though that that the NFL has already told ESPN that they better not show any of the ufl highlights.

[cuervo72]

Watching this off of the DVR (missed it at 7PM, taped the 2AM replay).

* Production quality is surprisingly good. Wife complained about the "UFL" replay splash screen, which she thinks look like "cheesy diamonds and should be in Las Vegas".

* This combo is a LOT easier to distinguish between the teams

* Logos...ok, I can tell what they are at least. Sentinels is kinda cool but still doesn't stand out (so much silver in this league), Tusker looks a little goofy.

* My wife likes the blue Tuskers uniform (with the "black leg warmers"? I dunno). I have to agree - I really like that blue. Still not sold on the design of the uni, but the colors look solid.

* Sentinels...eh, not as much. The green trim actually looks a little too drab.

* Paul Maguire! I actually can stand Paul Maguire. He used to do USFL games, which is kinda fitting here.

* Craphonso! Just because I like saying "Craphonso".