Author: Scott Adamson

Notes, quotes and random thoughts from Birmingham’s 27-10 win over New Jersey … and other USFL stuff, too.

HOW THEY SCORED

Birmingham struck paydirt on its first play from scrimmage following a fumble. J’Mar Smith dropped back to pass at his own 39 and hit UAB product Austin Watkins on a 61-yard TD play, one that saw Watkins stretch for the catch at the 5-yard line and roll into the end zone following a fingertip grab.

Brandon Aubrey’s kick made it 7-0.

Generals’ backup QB Dakota Prukop put his team on the board next in the second quarter with a 2-yard run over left guard, and Nick Sciba toed the PAT to tie things up at 7-all. It capped off a nine-play drive that covered 61 yards.

Birmingham regained the lead on the ensuing march when Aubrey nailed a 23-yard field goal after a Stallions’ drive stalled, making it 10-7.

A goal line stand forced a turnover on downs and prevented the Generals from moving ahead before halftime, allowing Birmingham to take over at its own one with 3:20 left before intermission.

However, D.J. Daniel picked off a Smith pass at the Stallions 14, and the visitors were back in business, but only briefly.

The Birmingham defense tightened, and held Jersey to a 25-yard field goal that put things even again at 10-10.

The Stallions only had 1:21 to run their two-minute drill, but that’s all they needed as Alex McGough stepped in and fired a six-yard scoring toss to Jace Sternberger on his first throw of the night with just :04 left on the second quarter clock.

The kick was good, and the Protective Stadium tenants were ahead 17-10 at halftime.

McGough was at it again in the third quarter, this time with his legs.

Engineering a two play, 40-yard mini-drive, the signal caller finished things off with a hard-charging, tackle-breaking 29-yard TD run.

The kick made it 24-10, and the Generals were on the ropes.

Birmingham added insurance with just 6:49 left on the game clock with a 49-yard field goal, upping the ante to 27-10 and sending some fans heading for the exits.

ORIGINAL STALLIONS HONORED

Those of us who followed the first iteration of Birmingham Stallions got a blast from the past Saturday when four of their former players were honored before the game. Receiver Joey Jones, offensive guard Buddy Aydelette, defensive lineman Jackie Cline and linebacker Herb Spencer were reintroduced to Birmingham football fans, along with team president Jerry Sklar.

Aydelette was a USFL all-star during all three of the Stallions’ seasons (1983-85).

INJURY WOES

Smith injured his finger – which paved the way for McGough’s appearance –  and there were several other Stallions worse for wear when the game ended, including linebacker Scooby Wright. The most serious injury was to receiver Marlon Williams, who suffered a torn Achilles.

“We’ve got more depth on this team this year than last, and we’re gonna need it,” Stallions coach Skip Holtz said. “I grabbed (general manger) Zach Potter and said, ‘We’ve got to talk.’ We may be on the free agent hunt to find some guys to fill the roster so we have enough guys to practice at the level we want to practice.”

ALL FOR ONE

McGough and Smith are both competitors, but they’re also friends who cheer each other on. McGough said that’s the way it’s been the whole time they’ve been teammates.

“We both know that if he’s in there, he’s gonna do good and if I’m in there, I’m gonna do good,” McGough said. “There’s no competition in that sense. There’s love and respect, and you see it down on the field. J’Mar hurt his hand and coach told me to be ready and I was ready.”

McGough was 7-11-0 passing for 68 yards and a TD, and ran for 51 yards and a score to lead Birmingham’s ground game.

Smith finished 10-15-1 for 160 yards and a touchdown.

TODAY IN HISTORY

The original Stallions played the Michigan Panthers on April 15, 1984, at the Pontiac Silverdome before 42,655 fans. Birmingham won, 28-17, to improve to 7-1 in their second USFL season. Stallions quarterback Cliff Stoudt – in his first year with the club after playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers and backing up Terry Bradshaw for seven years – threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another.

That was also the same day the New York Times proved to be harbingers of the league’s ultimate doom. The paper reported that – based on conversations with two “prominent USFL executives” – the league would play spring seasons in 1985 and 1986 and move to a fall schedule for 1987.

Commissioner Chet Simmons told the Times a possible shift to fall had been discussed at length.

“But this is a league of very prudent businessmen, who will look at all reasonable opportunities that may be made available to us,” Simmons said.

Yeah, about that …

TODAY IN HISTORY: PART 2

The Birmingham Fire played the London Monarchs on April 15, 1991, losing 27-0 before 18,512 fans at Legion Field in a World League of American Football game. The Fire were outgained 404 yards to 112, dropping to 1-3 on the season.

DÉJÀ VU

The Memphis Showboats made their United States Football League debut Saturday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, dropping a 27-23 decision to the Philadelphia Stars in a contest that kicked off the circuit’s 2023 campaign. Case Cookus led the winners with 212 yards and three touchdowns on 20 of 29 passing.

The original Showboats also played their first USFL game against another version of the Stars back in 1984, falling to Philly, 17-9, in front of 28,898 fans at what was then known as the Liberty Bowl.

While the franchise 39 years ago was a pure expansion team – the USFL grew from 12 to 18 teams in its second season – the modern Showboats are a rebrand of the 2022 Tampa Bay Bandits.

ATTENDANCE

The USFL doesn’t release attendance figures, and I’m terrible at making guesses, but the Protective Stadium crowd seemed to be around 18,000.

Holtz appreciates every one of them.

“The crowd was great and hopefully we can continue to build on it,” he said. “I told the team at the end of the game I want them to get to the locker room so I can talk to them, but it’s hard for me to pull my players away from the fan base. They’re all on the wall signing autographs and pictures. We’re so appreciative of the way the people support us, chanting for the defense … the crowd was awesome. I’d love to see it just continue to build.

“It’s professional football in Alabama. Come support it.”

When it comes to the United States Football League, there are basically two camps. One thinks the original league (1983-85) has nothing to do with the newest version (2022-  ), while the other likes to make a historical link between the circuit that gave pro football fans their first spring fling and the one playing today.

Traditionalists have a point. Aside from league and team names and a few logos, they’re nothing alike. The first USFL spent big money to lure players away from the NFL, while the current version hopes to help players make the jump to the NFL so they can earn big money.

“The one thing that’s unique about our league is kind of the rebuilding process that we have each season,” USFL president Daryl Johnston said earlier this week. “Our goal is to provide the opportunity for our players to have a chance to go back to the NFL, and this time, have an opportunity to stay, and we had several players throughout our league last season accomplish that.”

That’s a noble pursuit, and justifies the modern USFL’s existence regardless of your thoughts on how it relates (or doesn’t) to USFL Prime.

And we never have to worry about it moving to a fall schedule.

But historical links?

Birmingham Stallions coach Skip Holtz embraces them.

“The Stallions were here in 1983, 1984 and 1985, and then they were taken away,” Holtz said. “When I got this job (Clemson head football coach) Dabo Swinney called me and said, ‘Hey, you better take care of my team.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ and he said, “I grew up in Alabama … those are my guys. I was one of those guys collecting Stallions wristbands and autographs.’ I think everybody’s excited that pro football is back.”

As for me, you know I can’t resist finding commonalities between my city’s sports past with its sports present, especially if I’m directly involved.

So here you go: the original Birmingham Stallions opened their second season against the New Jersey Generals in Birmingham, and the current Stallions tangled with the Generals in Week One of season two of the new millennium’s USFL, also in Birmingham.

I was there for both games.

On February 26, 1984, former NFL standout Brian Sipe led the Generals to a 17-6 victory over the Stallions in front of a (then) league record 62,300 fans at Legion Field. Sipe – who played 10 years with the Cleveland Browns – connected on 12 of 24 passes while Maurice Carthon scored both New Jersey TDs on 1-yard runs.

Birmingham’s only points came on 16 and 32-yard field goals courtesy of Scott Norwood.

Thirty-nine years later – and at a two-year-old venue roughly two miles away from Legion Field – another generation of Generals and Stallions hooked up.

And instead of going 60 minutes without a touchdown, this Birmingham team – defending USFL champions –  got one on its first play from scrimmage, courtesy of a 61-yard scoring pass from J’Mar Smith to Austin Watkins.

The end result was a 27-10 victory, one that hinted these Stallions will once again be a force.

The first score was the biggest splash on a warm spring night in the Uptown, but it was just one example of why leagues like this can and should exist.

These are pro players who give off a college vibe, playing with the kind of joy that goes beyond a paycheck. All of them want to get to the NFL, but they were all exactly where they needed to be on Saturday.

And they were happy to be there, too.

“These guys are fun to watch play,” Holtz said. “They play with passion and energy and togetherness and they fly around and celebrate together. It’s a family atmosphere.”

Speaking of that … back in 1984 at the Stallions-Generals game, I was nestled between my dad and brother while we sat in frustration as Birmingham could get nothing going against the New Jersey defense. In fact, that was the game where my dad basically swore off spring football.

Saturday, as I was watching and notebooking the game, I got sidetracked when I started thinking how much they would’ve enjoyed it.

Pop was a college football-first fan, and the spirit and passion Holtz talked about – and the points – would’ve been very much to his liking.

I’m confident he would’ve given spring football another shot.

Bub was all about defense, and there was plenty of popping going on from wire-to-wire. A goal-line stand by Birmingham would’ve surely been the highlight of his evening, and turnovers on downs would’ve inspired fist-pumps.

Had we all been together, I don’t think any of us would’ve been comparing USFLs … we would’ve simply appreciated the action in the here and now.

It’s weird, though, how things hit you.

My dad died in 1994.

My brother died less than two months ago.

Yet somehow, a game played nearly four decades after we watched the Stallions and Generals at Legion Field brought us together again – at least in my heart.

And tonight, that’s the link that matters most to me.

If you’re a fan of alternative football, you’re likely experiencing a tingling sensation in your tender regions this morning.

Two alt leagues, 16 alt teams, eight alt games – all playing on the same weekend, all games nationally televised.

Who would’ve ever believed it possible?

It starts today with a Week 9 XFL clash between the Vegas Vipers and Houston Roughnecks at 11:30 a.m. CDT on ABC (all games are also on ESPN+). The first game of the USFL’s second season kicks off when the Philadelphia Stars meet the Memphis Showboats at 3:30 p.m. on FOX.

Then it’s back to the XFL at 6 p.m. for the Orlando Guardians vs. the San Antonio Brahmas on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, and the USFL closes things out starting at 6:30 p.m. as FOX beams the matchup between the defending champion Birmingham Stallions and New Jersey Generals.

On Sunday, spring gridiron aficionados must choose between the Michigan Panthers vs. Houston Gamblers (USFL, NBC and Peacock) and Arlington Renegades vs. D.C. (XFL, ESPN), which both start at 11 a.m.

The Seattle Dragons and St. Louis Battlehawks put the XFL in the spotlight at 2 p.m. on ESPN, and then at 5 p.m. it’s the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers clashing with the New Orleans Breakers with FS1 providing coverage.

That’s a lot of good athletes on display, all hoping they can prove they’re good enough to take the next step in their careers.

“We lost some players in the offseason to the NFL, and we lost some players to the XFL because of the calendar, because they wanted to be done earlier,” Birmingham Stallions coach Skip Holtz said. “Everybody’s got their reasons for why they want to play in each league. (The USFL) has got a full season under its belt and it’s very healthy and has great backing. I like what’s going on in this league.

“But there’s plenty of players to fill two leagues. I just look at the way free agency happened this year and the number of talented players that were out there, and it proves there are enough players for both.”

Quick confession: I haven’t seen a full XFL game this year.

I haven’t purposely avoided it – I want it to succeed and I’ve meant to make time to watch. For me, though, it’s timing is a bit off.

XFL 3.0 debuted the weekend following Super Bowl LVII, and I had no appetite for minor league football just days after the sport’s ultimate game was staged. Plus, I was knee deep in NBA, G League and men’s and women’s college basketball, and had basically shut down the football portion of my brain.

Now that it’s mid-April, I’m much more open to gridiron entertainment, especially since my beloved Canadian Football League is a month away from starting its preseason schedule. It might not yet be (traditional) football season, but it’s football season-ish.

Of course, it’s NBA playoff time, and the NHL postseason begins on Monday. Major League Baseball season is also underway, but sadly I’ve reached the “I can take it or leave it” stage of big-league fandom. I’d much rather be at the park watching the Southern League.

Still, I’ll be checking out my share of USFL games; I enjoy writing about the league and its flagship hub is just seven miles from my condo. And I want to be in the stands when the Stallions and Showboats play at Protective Stadium because I have a moral obligation to attend sports clashes between teams representing Birmingham and Memphis.

Anyway …

There were enough spring football fans watching all the games on TV in 2022 to convince the USFL to return.

Last year it averaged 715,000 viewers during the regular season and had solid viewership during the playoffs.

“The USFL worked for us on a bunch of fronts,” NBC Sports executive Jon Miller told the Sports Business Journal last June. “Is it a profitable property? All things put together, I would say yes, it was a profitable property for us.”

XFL officials say their circuit will definitely be back in 2024, regardless of any growing pains experienced in the first season of its third try. I’d be lying if I told you what kind of ratings are required to keep offseason, non-NFL pro football viable in the long term. I really don’t know.

The good news for the XFL is that its Week Eight games saw a boost in TV viewership, with last Saturday’s game between St. Louis and Vegas on ESPN peaking at 1.8 million viewers.

And it’s becoming more and more obvious that fans in front of televisions and not in stadiums will determine the fates of both the USFL and XFL. Except in rare instances (hello, St. Louis!) this brand of football no longer seems to be a major draw at the gate.

Excluding the original USFL – which was a legitimate competitor to the NFL – there have since been six professional Triple A spring leagues; the World League of American Football (1991-92), original XFL (2001), Alliance of American Football (2019), XFL 2.0 (2020), USFL 2.0 (2022 to present) and XFL 3.0 (2023).

Before rebranding as NFL Europe (and finally NFL Europa), the North American-based WLAF teams did pretty well at the box office.

I was at the 1991 WLAF opener between the Birmingham Fire and Montreal Machine at Legion Field, and it drew 52,942 fans.

Later in the season the Machine hosted 53,238 paying customers for a Monday night game against the Barcelona Dragons.

The average per game attendance in 1991 for North American teams was 33,947 (Montreal); 32,260 (New York/New Jersey); 25,500 (Birmingham); 19,537 (Orlando); 17,994 (Sacramento); 14,853 (San Antonio); and 10,999 (Raleigh-Durham).

By year two attendance was down among “traditional” gridiron markets, and 1992 was the final season American and Canadian franchises were part of the league.

The 2001 XFL was led by the San Francisco Demons’ 35,005 per game attendance average; New York/New Jersey was second with 28,309. All but two teams (Birmingham and Chicago) averaged at least 20,000 per contest.

Next up was the AAF, which – with the exception of the San Antonio Commanders – never attracted more than modest in-house crowds. San Antonio brought in 27,721 per game, but no other team cracked the 20,000 mark.

The first XFL reboot was a good draw in St. Louis (28,541 per game) and Seattle (25,616) before being shuttered midseason during the pandemic. Houston was third in average attendance at 18,230.

The USFL sequel was played in a hub format and league officials were tight-lipped about attendance (although they did announce the inaugural game at 47,000-seat Protective Stadium between the Stallions and Generals welcomed 17,500 paying customers). Only a handful of people bothered to show up for games that didn’t involve Birmingham, making for bad TV optics.

And now XFL 3.0 is winding down with Battlehawks fans turning out in huge numbers (38,310 in Week Four, 35,868 Week Five and 35,167 in Week Eight) but the rest of the league playing before underwhelming crowds.

San Antonio is far below its AAF numbers, pulling in just 13,387 fans per game, while Seattle is down to 11,626 – about 14,000 less than its average XFL crowds in 2020.

But the leagues will ride or die because of TV, and I don’t know what the folks at FOX, NBC or Disney think the magic number is for viewers.

The bottom line is making money, so I assume if ratings are good enough to keep major advertisers happy then all is well.

And fans in the stands? I have no clue what the new normal is. Maybe we’ve reached the point where 12,000-15,000 people in the house for spring football is good – even though not terribly long ago those were considered disappointing crowds. And truthfully, with ticket prices as low as they are, the Stallions should be pulling in at least 30,000 per game.

I’m hoping maybe with new USFL hubs in Memphis, Detroit and Canton, fans in those cities will wage “attendance wars” in an effort to prove which town is the biggest league hotbed. (According to various reports, Memphis has already sold 25,000 tickets for today’s home opener against the Stars).

Regardless of who shows up at the stadiums and who plops in front of their televisions, there is professional football – pretty good professional football – being played today and tomorrow, and you can watch any or all of them.

If you’re a fan of alternative football, this is a great time to be alive.