Category: History and More

I want the team to be called the Birmingham Battalion and their color scheme should be Army green, black and silver.

Right now I’m thinking Army green helmets, but then again, silver hats always look nice.

Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Birmingham today became the seventh city to land a franchise in the fledgling Alliance of American Football, joining Atlanta, Orlando, Memphis, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and San Diego.

It already introduced its coach (longtime NFL assistant Tim Lewis) but soon the team will need a name and colors and I’ve already provided those.

You’re welcome.

Of course more than that, the team and league will need a lot of luck, and about all I can do toward that end is send my well wishes, promise to buy AAF-branded apparel, and hope there are plenty of four-leaf clovers in their path.

The eight team league (there is one more franchise still to be named) will start play next February, the week after the Super Bowl. And for a Birmingham boy, this will be the sixth outdoor pro football team I’ll be able to call my own.

And I hope it beats the odds, because my hometown teams have had extremely short shelf lives.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

It’s no secret that the Birmingham Americans (1974) of the World Football League were my first and greatest love. As a 13-year old kid, I didn’t know it was a business – I thought all these guys loved me so much they wanted to show up at Legion Field and play for me whether they got paid or not.

Of course the WFL limped to the finish line that year, and even though the Americans won the World Bowl, the bloom was already off the rose by the time the season ended.

The WFL actually folded after its first season, but reorganized as New League Incorporated (doing business as the WFL) for 1975.

The Americans were replaced by the Vulcans, which had new ownership but the same colors and many of the same players. My dad even owned $25 worth of stock in the franchise, so I felt like a big shot.

I felt like less of a big shot when the WFL folded for good in October, 1975.

Then came the Birmingham Stallions (1983-85) of the United States Football League, a good team in what, in my opinion, was the best non-NFL league to be formed since the American Football League.

It had big names and big talent, and its spring schedule meant it didn’t have to go head-to-head with pro football’s ultimate juggernaut.

But …

New Jersey Generals owner Donald Trump convinced the other owners to move to the fall and put all the USFL eggs in an antitrust suit basket.

It won the suit, collected three dollars in damages, and never played again after July, 1985.

I like to think the USFL would’ve survived and thrived had it stuck to its original plan, but it was killed by stupidity. And once it folded, I was pretty jaded about leagues that didn’t have “NFL” as their acronyms.

Having been a New York Jets fan since I was seven, I figured I’d just stick with Gang Green the rest of my days and not get emotionally involved with any of these fly-by-night circuits that parachuted into the Magic City.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t curious – and sometimes even quietly hopeful.

By the time the World League of American Football (1991-92) came along, I was already working for a newspaper and actually covered the Birmingham Fire. Since the league was funded by the NFL I thought it had a chance, and it did live on for years as NFL Europe (and later NFL Europa).

But American cities were only around for two seasons and, quite frankly, it never captivated me. I don’t recall a single memorable game or performance.

Now when the CFL expanded to the United States and the Birmingham Barracudas were founded in 1995, I did allow myself to get excited. Not only was I a longtime fan of the Canadian game (with a rooting interest in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats), but the CFL was an established league.

I was sure its foray into the Lower 48 would be a great success and the Cudas – while sporting a ridiculous nickname – would give me a “home” team in the “Longer, Faster, Wider” circuit.

Nope.

Except for the Baltimore Stallions (reborn as the Montreal Alouettes) the CFL’s expansion in the U.S. was a failure, and Birmingham was one and done.

And that was when I basically washed my hands of pro football in The Ham.

When the XFL came along in 2001 I didn’t care, and when the league folded after one season I still didn’t care. I covered the Birmingham Bolts but can’t say I particularly enjoyed it; I thought the league as a whole was a sleazy misfire.

Now, however, I’m retired from sports writing and have time – once again – to formulate kinships with teams.

So I’ll give the AAF a chance.

I’ll embrace its rule changes (no kickoffs, no PAT kicks) and trust that the league will stock its rosters with the best available talent.

And when AAF officials explain how this league will work even though all others like it have failed, I’ll listen politely and hope they’re right.

And then I’ll wait patiently for the announcement of the Birmingham team’s nickname.

I’m really looking forward to going to Legion Field and yelling, “Charge, Battalion, charge!”

I spent 30 years working for daily newspapers, and I don’t think I wrote a single story about rugby during my entire career. In fact, the only times I even used the word was contextually – as in explaining how the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union merged with the Western Interprovincial Football Union to form the Canadian Football League.

However, I’ve become a pretty big fan of the game since my retirement, and thanks to NBC Sports Network’s coverage of Premiership Rugby and Six Nations competition, I’ve gotten up to speed on its rules and a bit of its history.

But being a guy tucked away in the southeastern portion of the United States, I kinda wanted to have a circuit rooted closer to home.

With Major League Rugby, which began its inaugural season last Saturday, now I do.

And I like it a lot.

I watched the debut match on CBS Sports Network, an exciting contest that saw the Glendale (Colorado) Raptors beat Austin Elite, 41-26. And throughout the weekend I tracked the other two games (there are seven active clubs this season, including the Seattle Seawolves, New Orleans Gold, Houston SaberCats, San Diego Legion and Utah Warriors. New York and Dallas entries are expected to join in 2019).

I’m hardly an expert, and I’m sure those who follow rugby closely had some nits to pick, but I was impressed. I thought there was quality across the board and it made me want to put it in my regular sports-watching rotation.

I even decided the NOLA Gold would be my favorite team this year because, well, why not?

I won’t bore your with a rules breakdown; if you’re interested, you can fire up the ol’ Google Machine and find them for yourself. But my favorite sports are association football and American football, and it combines the best elements of both.

I like the fast-pace of the games and how rugby successfully balances brute physicality with great skill.

So why hasn’t pro rugby ever caught on here before?

Although the game itself has been around since the 19th century, it didn’t spawn professional leagues until the 1990s.

So to that end, it’s still in its infancy.

But while it enjoys a strong following throughout much of the rest of the world, it has seemingly been stuck in neutral in the U.S.

Before MLR, a league called PRO Rugby tried to gain a foothold back in 2016. However, that five-team organization lasted just one season.

MLR – which has a single entity structure – has placed flagship franchises in hotbeds of the sport, and is attempting to build on the strong amateur rugby infrastructure of its communities.

The Gold, for example, is spawned from the New Orleans Rugby Football Club, which was formed in 1973 and has won several amateur championships during its existence.

And while there are some international players dotting the rosters (each team is allowed five), there are many more who have come up through the ranks of elite American-based clubs.

The result is a league that is serious about making pro rugby in the United States stick, and I hope MLR has found a recipe for success.

It’s certainly off to ambitious start; landing a TV contract right out of the gate was no small feat.

I plan to watch the Glendale vs. Seattle match on CBSSN this Saturday. In fact, I’m going to try to watch as many contests as I can going forward, because it’s worth my time and interest.

You might discover it’s worth your time and interest, too, if you give it a shot.

It’s a great sport with great players, and perhaps one day it’ll have even more franchises scattered across North America.

In the meantime, Geaux Gold.

With the staggeringly low success rate of alternative pro sports leagues, it’s easy to dismiss any new venture.

The Alliance of American Football, however, is now a bit harder to ignore.

Less than a month after the fledgling spring league came out of nowhere, the AAF hinted that it was serious about going somewhere when it named Steve Spurrier its first head coach and Orlando its flagship franchise.

All new business ventures need publicity, and signing the Head Ball Coach to a deal generated plenty of it – even during a weekend when The Masters was the top story.

In a statement posted on the AAF website, Spurrier says co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian have created a league worthy of his time and effort. It didn’t take much convincing for him to agree to become the first coach in league history.

“What first captured my attention was Charlie and Bill’s commitment to putting top-flight, professional football on the field and creating a true alliance between fans, players and the game,” Spurrier said. “The Alliance offers a unique opportunity to get back into coaching, this time for a spring season, and work closely with hungry, talented athletes looking to begin, revive or extend their professional careers.

“The fact I can do this in Orlando makes it that much sweeter. I’m fired up and ready to go.”

Spurrier, of course, has a national championship and six SEC titles on his resume from his days at Florida; won an ACC crown at Duke; and even turned South Carolina into a top 10 program before things started going backward with the Gamecocks. After three consecutive 11-2 marks in Columbia, the team went 7-6 in 2014 and he resigned midway through the 2015 campaign with Carolina sitting at 2-4.

And while his two-year stint in the NFL was hardly memorable (12-20 with Washington), his last job in a pro spring football league certainly was.

Spurrier coached the United States Football League’s Tampa Bay Bandits during all three of its seasons (1983-85), creating the wide-open “Bandit Ball” attack and helping the team finish 35-21 overall with two playoff appearances.

The Bandits averaged 43,343 fans per game – second best in league history.

Now he’s back in Florida, and his name alone should be worth strong early ticket sales at Spectrum Stadium.

So why Orlando as AAF ground zero?

“When reviewing markets for the Alliance, we focused on cities who were looking for more football,” Ebersol said. “Orlando has already proven to be a passionate, loyal and engaged fan base that loves the game, yet they don’t have a professional football team to call their own.

“Well, we’re not just bringing professional football to town, we’re bringing the Head Ball Coach with us, a true Florida legend.”

Spurrier is a polarizing figure – I’m guessing the excitement level in Tallahassee and Miami is a bit more muted – but he’s still a big get and this is, after all, pro ball.

The AAF is planning on a territorial system for drafting and signing players, so expect most of the football-playing colleges in the Sunshine State to be represented on the 50-player roster.

And since the AAF can be considered an informal feeder league for the NFL, the best way to sell Double A (or optimistically, Triple A) football is to use players the fans already know.

Of course, it’ll all come down to whether or not people are willing to accept the fact that the AAF is a legitimate bridge between college and NFL ball.

To that end, Spurrier in Orlando is a good start, but what’s next?

The league will start play with eight franchises in 2019, so it’ll be interesting to see what other coaches and cities are matched up.

Based on Ebersol’s statement, you get the impression that maybe he wants to avoid NFL towns.

On the other hand – from a media and marketing standpoint – it never hurts to have a New York, Chicago or Los Angeles in the mix.

Whatever the case, I’m much more interested in the Alliance of American Football today than I was a week ago.

It’s still a longshot, but it’s off to heck of a start.