Category: Alternative Football

I’m genuinely excited about Sunday’s matchup between the 2-0 Birmingham Iron and 0-2 Atlanta Legends at Georgia State Stadium.

Is it because it’s a Week 3 clash between a pair of Eastern Conference rivals in the Alliance of American Football?

Sure, there’s that; I’m enjoying this league a lot and the more I see, the more I like.

Or maybe it’s because it features two of my favorite American cities. Even though I don’t currently live in Birmingham it’s my hometown, and I’ve developed a real fondness for Atlanta over the years.

But for me, the historical significance of the game is the biggest reason I’m eager to watch.

In fact, it’s been 45 years in the making.

Sometime during the summer of 1974 – while the World Football League Birmingham Americans were riding a 10-game winning streak – I was thinking big.

The Ams were the class of the upstart circuit, and the WFL would, quite obviously, last forever. I mean, I assumed it was formed as a personal favor to all football-crazy 13 year olds like me who didn’t previously have a pro team in their city, so it was implied that we’d grow old together.

The first order of business was for Birmingham to become the dominant franchise in the league, and not knowing any better, I figured the WFL was already the National Football League’s equal.

And even though they were separate leagues and had an adversarial relationship from the get-go, I wanted nothing more than for the Americans to play – and destroy – the Atlanta Falcons.

Why?

Because I was jealous of Atlanta, and wanted Birmingham to beat it at something.

See, in the early 1950s, the two cities were roughly the same size and basically had an equal shot at becoming the biggest of the big Southeastern cities.

But while my town had become infamous for clinging to Jim Crow laws, their town was working toward a more progressive – and inclusive – future.

So when businesses looked for opportunities, they looked at Atlanta. And when it came time for an international airport to be built, the “Empire City of the South” got it.

There were a number of factors, of course, but the air hub was game, set and match. It will likely always be Atlanta’s biggest victory over the Magic City.

It’s a major reason why the Birmingham Falcons, Birmingham Braves and Birmingham Hawks never were and will never be.

But Birmingham was going through a renaissance in the 1970s, and I just knew pro football – WFL style – was going to help it give the ATL some competition.

Besides, while Birmingham was in the midst of a season that would end with a WFL championship, the lowly Falcons were stumbling to a 3-11 mark.

Oh, how I wanted the NFL and WFL to agree to exhibition games, in the hopes that a Falcons vs. Americans game would take place.

Of course, I knew nothing about the business side of pro sports and didn’t realize such a pairing was out of the question before the question was ever asked.

But I had convinced myself Birmingham could beat Atlanta in football and maybe – just maybe – that would in some weird way close the prestige gap between the cities.

We’ll never know.

The WFL barely survived its first season and didn’t make it through its second. In fact, on October 19, 1975, Atlanta lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 22-7, while Birmingham beat the Memphis Southmen, 21-0.

But three days later the Falcons were back on the practice field prepping for a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, while Birmingham’s WFL team (renamed the Vulcans) were no more.

The World Football League folded on Oct. 22, 1975.

So not only was I denied a chance to see Birmingham earn bragging rights over Atlanta on the gridiron, I was denied a team, period.

There have been others since then – the Birmingham Stallions (USFL), Birmingham Fire (World League of American Football), Birmingham Barracudas (CFL) and Birmingham Bolts (XFL) – yet until the Alliance came along, there was no opportunity for Birmingham versus Atlanta.

The record will show that on February 24, 2019, that finally changes.

The Alliance isn’t the NFL – or even the WFL – but it’s a quality spring league that’s going to give me a sporting event I’ve always wanted to see.

It’s about time.

After two weeks of league play, the Orlando Apollos (2-0) are arguably the Alliance of American Football’s best team.

There’s little argument, however, about the entertainment value of Steve Spurrier’s charges.

They’re a blast.

Orlando rallied from an early 12-0 deficit to defeat the San Antonio Commanders, 37-29, on Sunday afternoon in the best game of the weekend and – if we’re being honest – the most watchable contest the Alliance has produced so far.

The winners racked up 428 yards, including 393 through the air, to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Garrett Gilbert had a terrific game behind center, connecting on 19 of 28 passes for nearly 400 yards and two touchdowns.

Charles Johnson was Gilbert’s favorite target, hauling in seven balls for 192 yards and a score.

“A big takeaway for me is I had a lot of fun, and that’s something that I’ve really been focusing on,” said Johnson, who had a stint with the Minnesota Vikings. “Playing a sport again is really having fun with it, because I’ve kind of lost that desire to really have fun playing in the NFL for the first five or six years. It’s kind of just became part of my … what I did was a job. I kind of lost the fun and the love of the game.

“So, getting back to loving the game and having fun with it with a group of guys as passionate and willing to come out here to compete every day, I’m excited about that.”

Gilbert found eight different receivers for the Apollos, who have now put up a league best 77 points.

THE IRON CURTAIN

Sometimes, not even your best is good enough.

Other times, just enough is all you need.

Birmingham gutted out a 12-9 victory over Salt Lake on Saturday in improving to 2-0, and the contest was not – for the most part – aesthetically pleasing.

The victors netted only 216 yards of total offense and lost two fumbles, while the losers turned the ball over twice and missed three field goals.

But the object of the game is to secure the “W,” and that’s what the Iron did, staying perfect at Legion Field.

Once again it was defense and special teams leading the way; a muffed punt turned into Birmingham’s first touchdown, and the defense limited the Stallions to 105 passing yards and 256 total.

“Our defensive coordinator (Rick Minter) wasn’t here (Saturday) so I had the honor of calling a game for the first time in a long time,” Iron coach Tim Lewis said. “We did a nice job and the guys played hard, fast, tough, and played smart, did what we asked them to do. We did a nice job on third down and we did a nice job finishing the game. We had some adversity situations, and they did a nice job stepping up and making plays.”

In a 26-0 season-opening win over Memphis, special teams contributed four field goals and punts that forced the Express to work with a long field. Versus Salt Lake, they delivered in a different way.

“Fortunately, for our special teams, we were able to get a fumble and turn it into a touchdown,” Lewis said. “That was huge for us. Our special teams came up big again and really excited about the way the team played. Every day I meet with them about playing fast, smart, tough and to this point, two games into it, 2-0 and looking forward to getting ready for Atlanta, they’re doing exactly that.

“I cannot really ask for any more.”

STAYING HOT

The Arizona Hotshots join Orlando and Birmingham as the three undefeated teams left in the Alliance, and they did it the hard way on Saturday.

Arizona had to rally from a 12-0 halftime deficit to escape with a 20-18 victory over the Memphis Express before 11,980 fans at the Liberty Bowl.

“Memphis came out inspired and gave us fits with their defense,” Hotshots coach Rick Neuheisel said. “I coached with (Memphis defensive coordinator) Dennis Thurman a long time, and he had some tricks up his sleeve and basically stymied us, and those three first half turnovers put us in a real hole. But I found out a little bit about my team. I kinda expected we had that kind of grit and resolve, and we came roaring back.

“Our tempo put them in a little bit of a quandary.”

COMMANDING ATTENTION

San Antonio has played two home games, and the team is proving to be quite popular in the River City.

Saturday night the Commanders drew 29,176 paying customers to the Alamodome, besting week one’s mark of 27,857. San Antonio is far and away the top draw in the young league, with only Orlando and San Diego eclipsing the 20,000 mark in their lone home games.

Atlanta and Salt Lake have yet to play in their friendly confines, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can challenge San Antonio as the Alliance’s top hot spot for fans.

STILL SEARCHING

Speaking of the Legends and Stallions, they are two of the three winless teams remaining in the Alliance, with Memphis also 0-2.

Atlanta jumped out to a 9-0 first quarter lead but fell to San Diego on Sunday night, 24-12, giving the Fleet their first victory in pro football’s return to “America’s Finest City.”

Ironically, Salt Lake and Memphis also had 9-0 leads before fading down the stretch and losing their games.

UP NEXT

On Saturday it’s 2-0 Arizona at 0-2 Salt Lake, and 0-2 Memphis at 2-0 Orlando.

On Sunday 2-0 Birmingham plays at 0-2 Atlanta and 1-1 San Antonio travels to 1-1 San Diego.

Follow Scott Adamson on Twitter @adamsonsl. Email him at [email protected].

When you spend three decades as a newspaper sportswriter, you tend to forget as many players as you remember – especially when covering high school athletics.

Justin Tuck, though?

Yeah, I remember him quite well from my days at The Daily Home.

As an all-star athlete at Central High School of Coosa County in Alabama, he was a dual threat for the Cougars’ football team as a defensive end and tight end.

He was named Class 4A Player of the Year in 2000 – capping off a career that ended with 492 tackles and 37 sacks as well as 2,106 receiving yards and 17 TDs.

He had his pick of colleges and he chose Notre Dame, where he set several defensive records – including tackles for loss (43) and sacks (13.5) in a single season.

The next step was an NFL career and Tuck had a great one, spent mostly with the New York Giants.

By the time he was done he had a pair of Super Bowl rings, two Pro Bowl appearances, and in 2016 was inducted into the Giants’ ring of honor.

So when I listened to him speak to members of the media last Sunday after the Alliance of American Football Game at Legion Field, it was a bit of a nostalgia trip for me. I’m guessing the last time I had actually talked to him was during a phone interview while he was still playing for the Fighting Irish.

Now a member of the Alliance’s Player Engagement Board of Advisors, he seems genuinely excited about his role in the new venture.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the product on the field last weekend,” said Tuck, who was in his home state to watch the Birmingham Iron blank the Memphis Express, 26-0. “We’re really excited about bringing the Alliance to all these players who need a second chance. In my time in the NFL, we were always around guys who were just on the cusp, who just needed a little more experience to go to the next level. So I’m very excited and proud to be part of the AAF.”

First impressions are important, and the Alliance made a good one.

OK, maybe fans of the losing teams weren’t overly thrilled, but the presentation of the product – and the product itself – was ahead of the curve.

“The feedback we’re getting is great,” Tuck said. “Obviously we still have some things to work on, we still have some bumps we need to clear out, but hopefully I think we’re built for success. We’ll continue to walk this thing forward. We’re not trying to hit a home run overnight, but we know there are a lot of steps to get where we want to be.”

One of Tuck’s duties is to help shape policy in the league, ensuring that the needs of the players are met first and foremost, and that the Alliance is a fan-friendly experience.

But with his All-Pro credentials he also knows how to spot skill, and he saw plenty of it during the league’s opening weekend.

“I think one of the most pleasant surprises was the talent level,” he said. “I was very impressed with the quality of football and the response I’ve gotten, from social media to fans, has been the same. Look – this is a new league – there are a lot of logistical things we need to shore up, but that’s to be expected. At the end of the day, we can only go so far as the product takes us, and that’s the players in this game.

“There are some talented people out here.”

Certainly Tuck has nothing to prove by hitching his wagon to a spring football league.

His “life after football” is already a success; he has an MBA from The Wharton School, works as a Goldman Sachs vice president and – along with his wife, Lauran – has created the Tuck’s R.U.S.H for Literacy program. Its aim is to bring the same opportunities that made them successful to low-income kids in New York, New Jersey and Alabama.

Still, he relishes helping build something new and different in the world of professional football.

“A lot of people watched the games on TV and we were in the top 20 trending topics on social media, and that’s a good first weekend,” Tuck said. “We understand this was one week, and if we go where we want to go, we have to put our hardhats back on and our work boots back on.”

Hard work has never been a problem for Tuck – one of the true class acts in professional sports.

I’m proud to say I “knew him when.”

It’s kinda cool to know him now, too.