WFL forever

Had my dream come true, we’d be celebrating the start of the 50^th season of the World Football League on July 10.

All of the “Original 12” teams would be in Wednesday Night Football action – the Birmingham Americans, Chicago Fire, Detroit Wheels, Florida Blazers, the Hawaiians, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Sharks, Memphis Southmen, New York Stars, Philadelphia Bell, Portland Storm and Southern California Sun.

To commemorate World Bowl 1, the Americans and Blazers would be competing in the marquee game of the evening, playing before a packed house at Jack Gotta Memorial Stadium. George Mira, who was MVP in Birmingham’s 22-21 victory over Florida half a century earlier, would have the honors of the ceremonial coin flip.

And the 36-team circuit (it absorbed the Canadian Football League in 1993) would be well-represented across the globe by franchises such as the Tokyo Kaiju, London Fog, Mexico City Empire and Paris Towers.

Sure, things would’ve changed since 1974. Some of the clubs’ logos would be modernized; there would be no single-bar facemasks; and television coverage from networks such as NBC, the BBC and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, along with the WFL-Xtra streaming service, would be far superior to what was offered by TVS in Year One.

But the action point would remain – as well as seven-point touchdowns, one offensive back allowed in motion toward the line of scrimmage, the elimination of fair catches, a receiver needing only one foot in bounds for a reception, mustard-yellow game balls and colorful uniforms.

Ah, if only.

There are those who will never understand the fascination people like us have with the WFL. Shoot, I’m not even sure I understand it.

It lasted less than two years. And if you want to get technical about it, the 1974 WFL folded after a season and was replaced by New League Incorporated (doing business as the WFL), which collapsed before completing the 1975 campaign.

At the time, it was the sports financial disaster to end all sports financial disasters.

So why do we still talk about it – and love it?

Because it was new and it was different and it was fun.

For fans in NFL cities like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Houston and Philly, I’m sure it was mostly a novelty. They were major league cities that had an embarrassment of riches when it came to major league sports.

But for folks who lived in locales such as Birmingham, Orlando and Jacksonville, it brought us big-time football for the first time.

I mean, when I showed up at Legion Field to watch the Americans and Sun tangle in 90-degree weather, it wasn’t like I was cheering for (or against) guys I’d never heard of. The teams were a mixture of NFL veterans and college hotshots.

Running back Charlie Harraway had played the previous eight seasons in the NFL – and played well – before jumping to the Americans. And his counterpart with the Sun, Kermit Johnson, was fresh from a consensus All-American season at UCLA.

And before the league had even held a scrimmage, Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield and Jim Kiick had been convinced to leave the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins for a 1975 deal with the Southmen.

So yeah … the WFL was a pretty big deal.

I was fortunate enough to make a living writing sports, and it allowed me to cover everything from the NFL to the College Football Playoff. But you wanna hear something funny?

None of those games stick in my mind like random WFL contests.

Not a one.

Aside from being in the stadium for Birmingham’s 11-7 win over Southern Cal in the league lid-lifter, I distinctly remember July 11, 1974, and watching the Stars-Sharks game on TV with my dad.

Normally a Thursday night in the summer meant I’d be up the street at a friend’s house shooting hoops in his driveway or listening to music in his basement.

But that game – the inaugural telecast on TVS – was an event.

As a New York Jets fan, I cheered for the players who had traded in Shea Stadium for Downing Stadium and were now rocking the yellow and black of the Big Apple’s WFL Team.

And Jacksonville? Loved the black shark logo on the silver helmets.

There were nearly 60,000 fans in the Gator Bowl, and they got to witness the home team take a 14-7 victory.

I recall Memphis hosting Portland in Week 2, giving me a chance to scout the Southmen before they came to Birmingham on July 24.

And when the Stars traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Bell in the July 25 Game of the Week, QB King Corcoran was talking about how he thought the Philadelphia uniforms were “pretty” during a quick pregame interview.

It was must-see TV before the phrase was coined, and I thought I was seeing the start of something wonderful – and everlasting.

At this point I guess I’m supposed to go into all the depressing details about the World Football League’s demise. But I’m not going to, not on the 50^th anniversary of its launch.

In fact, I’m celebrating its legacy because the NFL owes a great debt to the WFL.

The new league sparked a major increase in player salaries, which of course have since reached astronomical numbers.

And the WFL moved goal posts to the back of the end zone, kicked the ball off from the 30, and made tweaks to incentivize more soring, prompting the NFL to adopt more offense-friendly rules.

In short, the World Football League mattered, even if its official lifespan lasted only from October 2, 1973, to October 22, 1975.

And because it mattered, there are people like me who’ll spend Wednesday wearing our finest WFL T-shirts, reminiscing about what was and what might have been.

And I’m not saying I’m gonna drive over to Legion Field on July 10 and make a toast to the league’s Golden Anniversary, but … well, actually, I am saying that.

In my heart, the WFL  lives on … forever.