The fate of the USFL depends on Alabama

The state of Alabama ranks sixth in the nation for college football recruits. Fifty-eight players from the state are currently in the NFL. For a period of 1,459 days, college football’s national championship trophy didn’t cross the state’s border. The SEC’s motto is “It Just Means More,” and in the state of Alabama, it means the most.

The brain trust behind the relaunch of the USFL is banking on that, at least.

On April 16, the United States Football League (USFL) will kick off its season with a game between the Skip Holtz-led Birmingham Stallions and the New Jersey Generals. This game and almost every single USFL game this season will take place in Birmingham’s Protective Stadium, with Legion Field hosting a handful of games as well. The USFL is all in on Alabama and hopes that Birmingham truly is “The Football Capital” that Alabama State Senator Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia Hills) claimed it to be.

This upcoming USFL season marks the third attempt in recent years for a new league to capitalize on America’s current favorite pastime. To date, none but the NFL have gotten full at the table of professional football. While the NFL has gorged themselves at that cornucopia, the XFL, AAF and XFL (again) have not managed to scrape a handful of crumbs for their efforts.

Upstart leagues have been unable to navigate poor product quality, zany rule changes and a global pandemic. These issues and more still exist, so why should the latest USFL attempt fair any better? That will depend in large part on the people of Alabama.

Protective Stadium in Birmingham housed 47,100 people for Auburn vs. Houston. An average of 27,000 showed up to see the UAB Blazers play there in 2021. On any given Saturday, 200,000 fans fill Bryant-Denny and Jordan-Hare. If the USFL can immediately tap into that distinctive brand of football fervor that Alabamians have, then they will have something that no previous spring leagues have had from the very beginning: a beating heart.

Our podcast, Throw the Flag, has no connection to the USFL, but there are reasons beyond our own fan entertainment to support the league. As mentioned earlier, this is a uniquely-Alabama thing. No matter which team is yours, there is a real opportunity to grow the state’s already outsized influence when it comes to college football.

There might be early reason to believe in success for the USFL. The latest iteration of spring football has worked the closest yet with the NFL when compared to previous attempts to build a new league. For better or for worse, a working relationship with the NFL is a necessity to make it to a second season in this business.

While we’re in the It Just Means More vein, perhaps the most important reason to support the USFL is, simple, football players. To date, 1,696 jobs exist for football players on active NFL rosters. A few more are there for practice players and another 414 in Canada’s CFL. That represents just about every avenue to make a living as a football player.

A 2015 Saturdays Down South study showed that 22,000 players from Alabama alone participated in 11-man college football games. These are the same players who produce highlights for us under Friday Night Lights, during blistering Saturday afternoons on the collegiate gridiron and, with any luck, on Sundays in the NFL. With the USFL, they have another chance to collect a check, provide for their families, and entertain us in the Spring.

These are the same players whose Saturday exploits are retold for years. These are the same players who sacrifice their physical well-being to give the country a game to love. If Alabama-dependent USFL succeeds, it’ll open up roster spots for more of those we love to watch.

Even if you, for some messed up reason, root for a team outside the state, chances are you’ll find a player you remember.

The USFL is giving us all a chance this Spring to be a job creator for the low, low price of $10 or simply turning on your TV for a few hours. Let’s do it and be a part of something cool.