USFL Looks to Fill NFL Void With Spring Pro Football Action in Birmingham (Review)

The NFL is the top sports league in the country based on attendance and TV ratings. But it also has the most extended offseason as there is a six-month gap between the Super Bowl and the first preseason game of the year. This is where the United States Football League (USFL) comes in, as it allows football fans to take in some action before the NFL season returns. The league, which features eight teams, began earlier this month and will end in July with a league championship game that will be played in Ohio.

PopCulture.com was in attendance for the game between the Pittsburgh Maulers and Philadelphia Stars, which took place at the new Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, where all the teams will play. The stadium, which is also home to the UAB Blazers football team, seats 45,000 fans and doesn't have a bad seat in the house. But the issue is only a small group of fans saw the two Pennsylvania teams take the field this past Saturday, and that has been a big problem for the UFSL in the early stages of the season. Some games will also be played at Legion Field in Birmingham, and the stadium holds over 71,000. 

The apparent reason for the lack of attendance is all the teams playing in one city. Birmingham, where the USFL headquarters is located, has its own team called the Stallions, and over 17,500 fans saw the Stallions play in their inaugural game. There are different ways the USFL can get more fans to attend their four games each week, including going to local schools and reaching out to local companies. But until then, the league hopes that more people will attend games as they learn about the league.

Another challenge that faces the USFL is the level of talent. The league features players who have either spent time in the NFL or those who are looking to make it to the big leagues for the first time. The level of play is not on par with the NFL, but it's still competitive football that features athletes who can make plays. The Maulers and Stars was a back-and-forth affair, with the Stars coming away with the 30-23 victory. Other than the New Orleans Breakers vs. Tampa Bay Bandits game that was played on Sunday night, all the games from Week 2 were decided by seven points or less, and that type of football has made the NFL compelling over the years. 

But the key to all of this is TV ratings. For Friday's game which features the Michigan Panthers and the New Jersey Generals, 363,000 fans watched the contest on the USA Network. The rest of the ratings for the Week 2 games were not it at the time of this writing, but this is coming off a Week 1 that saw over three million fans view the first game of the year, which is on par with the first game for the XFL in 2020 and the first Alliance of American Football (AAF) game in 2019. Ratings tend to go down after the second week, but it's now about maintaining an audience and keeping them engaged.

The USFL has the tools needed to be a quality pro spring football league for many years to come when it comes down to it. The important thing for them is to continue to promote the league and the teams to play competitive football each week. The low attendance numbers and ratings are not ideal for the league, which also features former NFL head coaches Jeff Fisher and Todd Haley and former college football coach Kevin Sumlin. But if the USFL produces future NFL stars like the USFL of the 1980s, there's a good chance both leagues could work closely together down the road.