Author: Scott Adamson

Geography made me a fan of the World Football League’s Birmingham Americans and Vulcans. After all, they played at Legion Field, which was a mere 14 miles from my house.

But if I’d based my allegience on sartorial splendor, I would’ve cheered for the Southern California Sun. Not only was I mesemerized by the Anaheim-based team’s magenta jerseys and orange pants, I even got to see them up close when they came to Birmingham on July 10, 1974, to play the Americans.

I was forever smitten.

The Sun (along with The Hawaiians) hold the distinction of playing the final game in WFL history – a 26-7 Southern California victory on October 19, 1975, in Honolulu.

Yet while the league officially folded on October 22, 32 Sun players were back on the field less than three months later, with head coach Tom Fears stalking the sidelines and running back Anthony Davis toting the freight.

Too bad none of it was real.

The demise of the alternative football league left hundreds of athletes out of work, but Sun players found temp jobs as actors during filming of the movie “Two-Minute Warning,” a football-themed thriller starring Charleton Heston, John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands and Jack Klugman.

Football scenes were filmed at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and Fears served as the film’s technical director. He told the Los Angeles Times it was a “unique” coaching assignment.

“It’s difficult getting 22 guys to play authentic football for movie cameras,” Fears said. “When they know they’re likely to shoot the same scene several times, they have a tendency to ease up. I can get ‘em up for one play, but if we have to do it over and over, it’s a problem.”

Like many WFL players across the league, some members of the Sun found themselves still waiting on paychecks from management. The movie was paying each player $125 per day, and Fears took a shot at the defunct league by joking that that money was “in escrow.”

At that point he Times reported that Sun punter Al White pretended to walk out and said, “So long – I’ve heard that before.”

Fears played one of the coaches in the thinly-disguised Super Bowl, while the other was portrayed by former Suns director of player personnel Gerry Okuneff (who was also an experienced Hollywood stuntman who had appeared in several movies). Fears told the Times he made a pitch to the moviemakers that using actual football people would make the scenes much more realistic.

“I sold the studio on the idea of hiring the whole team,” Fears said. “They were going to suit up extras and I told them my guys could do it more realistically and more quickly.”

Former NFL and Canadian Football League player Joe Kapp was the “star” among the fotball-trained actors, playing Baltimore quarterback Charlie Tyler. (The Times story listed the name of the teams as the Baltimore Stars and L.A. Cougars, but when the movie came out there were no references to nicknames).

Davis, the former USC Trojan star and one of the Sun’s premiere signings for the 1975 season, was originally hired only as a football player but caught the attention of the director and wound up playing a member of the SWAT team as well.

According to Associated Press, other former Sun players getting screen time included Terry Lindsay, Keith Denson. Dave Williams, Chuck Bradley, Ed Kezerian, Art Kuhn, Joe Carollo, Benny Ricardo, Mike Ernst, West Grant and Dave Roller.

When the movie came out I rememeber seeing it at the theater because anything relating to the gridiron was going to get my attention (and money).

I recognized Fears and Davis, and it was kinda cool knowing that I’d seen them both in person a little over a year ealier (the Sun beat the Vulcans, 35-25, at Legion Field on August 23, 1975).

As for the uniforms, they were modeled after those of USC and Stanford. Footage of a game between the teams played at the Coliseum earlier in the 1976 season was spliced into the action staged by the Sun players.

That meant no magenta and orange, and therefore no feast for my eyes.

“Two-Minute Warning” was savaged by critics and flopped at the box office in 1976 (although it was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Film Editing category), then later massively re-edited for a 1979 network television re-release. If I saw the TV version, I can’t recall.

But it served a purpose by giving football jobs to football players. So even after the sun set on the WFL, Sun players still got one last chance to shine.

It’s no secret that I’m an alternative gridiron groupie – someone so devoted to non-NFL professional football I even wrote a book about it. But I’m also old enough to have seen many such leagues live fast and die young, thus I try to avoid getting too attached.

So, whether this new version of the United States Football League has staying power or stays only long enough to become a trivia question, well, time will tell. For now, though, I’m going to enjoy the ride. And I’m going to enjoy watching the players enjoy the ride.

Observing the sausage being made via the USFL Draft was a lot of fun. Tuesday morning all the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, New Orleans Breakers, Philadelphia Stars, Pittsburgh Maulers and Tampa Bay Bandits had were coaches. As of Wednesday afternoon – and after 35 rounds of the draft – they now have rosters. (Complete rosters can be found via each of the teams’ Twitter feeds: @USFLStallions, @USFLGamblers, @USFLPanthers, @USFLGenerals, @USFLBreakers, @USFLStars, @USFLMaulers and @USFLBandits). Some of these players will parlay their time in the USFL into an opportunity to make an NFL team. Others who might not otherwise be playing for pay can keep competing for both love and money.

And hearing the excitement in the voices of the eight quarterbacks who were taken in the first round of the draft – and seeing the social media reactions of those who learned they’d be playing in the USFL – was downright inspiring.

I was really happy for the first overall pick, quarterback Shea Patterson, who couldn’t stop smiling after being selected by the Michigan Panthers and becoming the first face of a new league. And later, when the Panthers picked former NFL first rounder Paxton Lynch, I started looking forward to Jeff Fisher refereeing the QB battle on his team.

Alex McGough, the Birmingham Stallions’ pick for QB, is an impressive young man who thinks he’ll thrive in Skip Holtz’s offense. But Holtz also selected J’Mar Davis-Smith, who played for him at Louisiana Tech and won Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2019. That could also signal a tight race among signal callers.

The player I found most intriguing on Day 1 is Jordan Ta’amu, who will be behind center for the Tampa Bay Bandits. Ta’amu was outstanding for the XFL St. Louis BattleHawks in 2020, only to see the season – and league – collapse at the halfway point due to COVID-19.

Since then he’s knocked around several NFL practice squads, and it’d be great if he could make his second stint with an alternative league a memorable one.

But it’s not just quarterbacks who get another chance at a pro payday – or another alt football gig.

On Tuesday the Generals drafted running back Trey Williams who, like Ta’amu, last played in the XFL (with the Seattle Dragons). Yet he also played previously for the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football, who just happened to be under the guidance of New Jersey coach Mike Riley.

Of course the pro football community is relatively small, so with this number of people there are bound to be reunions. Beyond that, once the season gets underway players – and coaches – will have a chance to hit the reset button. Whether it’s a last hurrah for some of the guys on the sidelines or another chance for the men between the hashmarks to make a good impression, the USFL provides them with their latest opening.

And it gives college football fans another circuit to cheer on players from their favorite school. I’m a UAB fan, so I’ll be rooting for former Blazers Justice Powers (Stallions) and Nick Vogel (Gamblers).

Look, you might not care about this league. You might be waiting around for the launch of the XFL or be completely indifferent to spring football altogether. But once you take a closer look at the 280 athletes filling the rosters, you can’t help but care about the people.

And for the people who heard their names called on Tuesday and Wednesday, I truly hope they enjoy the ride.

May it take them where they want to go.