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UFL Football Debut: United Football League Starts Tonight, Oct. 9
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by Jon Azpiri | October 8, 2009 at 02:17 pm
376 views | 0 Recommendations | 3 comments
We're living in a glorious time for fans of second-tier football leagues. A few weeks back, we learned that the Arena Football League is coming back. Tonight marks the debut of the UFL. The United Football League is a new football league that features team in four cities--Las Vegas, New York, Orlando, and San Francisco. The league will see the California Redwoods vs Las Vegas Locomotives in its first game Oct. 9 at 6pm ET on Versus TV.
The UFL is marketing itself as an affordable alternative to the NFL. The average ticket price for the UFL is just $20. Some former NFL players are playing in the UFL, including Simeon Rice, Michael Pittman, and J.P. Losman. Before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, there were rumors that Michael Vick was going to sign with the UFL.
So what is the difference between the two leagues? There are a few differences between the UFL and NFL:
-The UFL has no tuck rule
-Intentional grounding is legal
-Touchdown celebrations are allowed within reason
-Both teams are allowed to have a possession in overtime
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
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TKS (not verified)at 20:10 on October 8th, 2009
The money is not enough for these guys. These guys are going to blow through the money before they even earn it. There are a lot of former NFL guys in the UFL who could not hold onto their money when they made (minimum) $25,000 per week, so how can they possibly survive on $5,834 per week? Don't get me wrong, $5,834 per week is a lot of money to most people, but it only lasts for 6 weeks and then the salary goes down to $0 per week. If it ends up being the minor leagues for the NFL then that would be great. However, the quality I see in the game I am watching tonight between California and Las Vegas is really poor. The talent is under weight, the guys are out of shape, receivers can't catch, and their quickness (overall) rates way under the NFL product. There are too many former NFL vets who are over the hill. Instead, they need all the guys who were great in college last year or the year before to be in the league. I'll probably tune in for one more game, but it has to be better than tonight's game -- really sloppy tonight. Arena Football has a better product so far.
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AtlantaBill (not verified)at 22:24 on October 8th, 2009
I thought it was much better than I expected, much better. Sure the stands were sparsely populated but which took away some of the excitement but, all things considered, they put out a great product that will only get better and better. I think the quality of some of the NFL teams is pretty poor and thats after years of playing. I remember when the AFL started in a similar way and they had NO televised coverage. NBC came along, started broadcasting the games and the rest is history. I think the UFL is ahead of the old AFL at this stage. The above commentor (TKS) evidently was expecting a seasoned league that's been playing for over 50 years and has been throwing money at players faster than they can spend it. I think the NFL has turned into an arena where bullies and thugs deliberately try to injure other players. By mid-season, half the NFL players are injured, ruined, playing in casts and braces, suffering from concussions. It's become a big turn-off for me. I like the UFL rule about the QB grounding the ball anytime he's under durress---should protedt the QB more. The game evidently was good enough for TKS to watch all the way AND want more.....
at 12:32 on October 9th, 2009
Jon, you know what's interesting is how they are marketing this league image wise. It's all about the coaches, not the players. I saw a billboard with Jim Fassel's grill on it in L.A. just this morning.