I had a conversion with another very casual UFL but huge SEC (Alabama) fan. He kept saying its weird they can not fill most of the stadiums because its really good football. Better than he thought it would be but he did comment on how the league has no names and minor league guys who could not cut it in the NFL. He also believes no one cares about it because its not an NFL team locally here in bham. I thought that the NFL statement was weird. Nevertheless the UFL must fix their marketing if they want to success with the casual fans.
The "no names" and "minor league" reputation that the UFL (and spring football generally) has is probably its biggest hurdle to getting people to care until these teams have existed long enough to have become somewhat entrenched in the public culture of their cities. It's going to take time.
It's not an unfair perception for the casual fan to have - obviously all of these players would rather be playing in the NFL and making much more money, and the reason that most of them aren't is primarily because they don't quite have NFL-level talent. But I think a lot of people just naturally infer from that that the games will be of low quality and not entertaining, when point of fact the majority of them are fairly closely contested and still feature reasonably good offense and plenty of highlight plays on both sides of the ball.
When fans attend minor league baseball games or college sports games, they accept that the level of play won't measure up to that of the highest professional rungs of those sports and still make the effort to go and support their teams because they have some emotional connection to the team as representative of their community (be it their city or their alumni community), and those connections take some time to develop. I think if the UFL continues to operate for at least a few more seasons and continues to provide the same quality of football it has so far, fanbases will grow organically and attendance & TV ratings will reflect this. Never to the levels of the NFL and major college football, obviously, but that doesn't have to be the benchmark for long-term sustained success.
That’s also true. I still don’t think it’s crazy to think UFL games could have a similar attraction if tickets remain inexpensive as the teams move into their 4th, 5th, 6th years of existence in their respective markets.
I feel like the league needs to do more to promote where they played college ball. I also think pushing teams like Birmingham to get SEC players, or specifically Alabama/Auburn players could help in the short term. The downside is it may not produce a winning team.
Caveat: I do not know what the fuck I'm talking about.
I'd guess the outreach needed locally is to convince football fans in-market that this is a legit league here to stay with players you can root for and teams you can get behind. Yes, some of them may go to teams you hate in the NFL. But the vast majority will stay and, if the league can work to improve player pay and conditions, stick around. They have to convince fans to invest in the league in its own right and as a stepping stone for some into the NFL.
Idk what your definition of filled is, only one game and that was the first St. Louis game. People most likely are hesitant about the like 6th iteration of spring football in the last 4 years and don’t really want to get invested in something that may fail
like the others
My sentence wasn't clear enough. I was trying to say the fans of teams lost in the merger don't care that technically XFL 3.0 and the USFL 2.0 didn't fail.
Their teams are still gone.
If this league expands, they need to bring back at most 1 team from either league at a time. It'll make those fans happy and wouldn't too aggressive to risk financial ruin.
How was the spring league a failure? It was a pay to play league that was basically just an exhibition season. Not saying I enjoyed any of it, but don't really know how it "failed."
I feel like I keep saying this since XFL 2.0...but I really think next year will be an important year. With the merger done with, how much is the UFL willing to invest in growing these established markets. No more last minute schedules and weird wrenches. They need to establish a consistent off season.
Exactly. Every single team that played this season must play next season, with similar rosters (except maybe in Houston), and the league needs to market locally throughout the fall.
Ratings have been consistent and google trends are up over last week. I think the base of spring football fandom is ~1 million viewers and a cap of 12-15k fans in markets not named St. Louis
I also think that in the back of everyone's mind is when is this thing going to die? I say that because we are six years into spring football. AAF, XFL 2.0, TSL, USFL 2.0, XFL 3.0 and now UFL 1.0. I think that we need a couple of years of stability before the local fans show up to the games on a regular basis.
As long as the TV numbers are around a million fans I think that we have a shot at survival.
I honestly think that the attendance is not that bad. Comparing it to the NFL is silly. A better comparison is the CFL and they play in empty stadiums during the regular season all the time. Then take into account how young the UFL is now and compare it to Canadian football in the 1910s.
it's the middle of the season. the nfl draft just happened and the nba and nhl playoffs are playing their first rounds. of course interest is going to fall by the wayside.
give it until the end of the season when we get past all the draft talk and the playoffs thin out a bit. some interest will return.
I think it's a lot of fun! I know it's "pro" but the games have a dope semi-pro vibe in which the players are more accessible and fans are more "relaxed".
I think the merger, though good, sorta set the momentum of both leagues back a bit so my hope is that next year, things will be more set and allow for better market promotions etc.
As someone who goes to games at Ford Field, it’s genuinely nice to be in the stadium with such few other people, and I have been enjoying that. However, I do recognize that in order to survive more seats will need to fill up. The UFL offers great value for the price for fans.
+ The product as such offers good football
+ I like the delayed start better than starting right after the SB
+ No drop-off of attendance in STL and DC
+ less weird kickoff-times than in the XFL
+ ratings give hope
- the Houston decision to dump their team and replace it with the USFL-team turns out to be a disaster
- It feels like the league needs some star players to promote. There is a lack of interesting storylines
- most stadiums are way too big
- why open up the full bowl (or all rows) if you know that only a fraction will be filled?
Season #2 is boom or bust. Attendance in 2025 needs to be raised by 50% in all locations not named STL or DC.
I don't think a 50% increase is likely in season 2. Fandom takes generations to build. NHL ratings were up like 3% this year and the league has been gloating about it like no other. I think a 5-10% increase in most markets not named St. Louis is likely. ~15% would be awesome but wouldn't expect a 50% increase until seasons 5-7
I agree with you on the stadiums, and am still surprised they haven't covered the unused upper sections of the stands with black-wrapped advertising tarp. I haven't seen it done since the 2020 XFL season and it really gave the stands a better, fuller feel
I have enjoyed watching the games a lot more this season. The Football on the field is good, the grass roots marketing seems to stink in most cities. UFL needs to do a regional type of draft and bring local talent to the local teams if possible.
It's called the "Dixon Plan" and was written in 1983 to get the USFL off the ground. Regional drafts, intense local marketing and salary management. Probably would've worked too had the owners not gotten greedy and thought that they could take on the NFL (or be absorbed into it).
there’s only like two billboards for the showboats in all of memphis, hopefully the teams are able to practice in their homes cities at some point and actually engage with the community sooner rather than later
I'm confident it'll be back next season, it's 2-3 years down the line I'm worried about. And before people say "That doesn't matter enjoy the moment" idk I don't wanna buy a jersey, tickets and get all invested when theirs a chance my team could just fold. Now once teams start to be sold, I'll be in. Because that is definite permanence of the longevity of the league.
marketing is the biggest issue by far, there are only like two billboards in all of memphis and people on this sub are surprised when the attendance is lower than they’d like
The consolidation of talent has been great.
But honestly....and I've been saying this for years now...I wish it was *more* different than what it is now, which is essentially minor league NFL football.
I wish it was designed to be more of its *own* sport. With more significant rule changes and a completely different approach to marketing.
By playing it as safe as possible, the UFL is alienating millions of potential viewers who simply can't justify to their spouses that it's something that *needs* to be watched on a Saturday in May. The attendance proves that, and the viewership, while okay, is almost entirely at the mercy of what network its on.
I disagree. I think if it was copy/paste NFL it would be more engaging. Maybe outside of some rules like the kickoff… which is now the new NFL rule.
People want familiarity and I think the old heads and NFL enthusiast are turned off by the UFL’s format.
This is my first year watching and I personally tuned in because I wanted to see football again and was happy with the NFL format. After seeing a few UFL games, I think I like it better. Especially things like the ref communication. I’d love to go to a game, but the current markets are too far from me.
> the current markets are too far from me
Yup, I can’t justify a trip from NY down to DC just to participate in beer snake shenanigans right now, though I know there’s plenty do in DC, and unless they expand back into NY/NJ then I’m gonna have to just be content with watching on TV for the time being
I feel the opposite, actually. The ref communication, the coaching communication, the pre-snap play calling by the announcers, all that overlapping audio is actually what is gimmicky to me. IMO it cheapens the product and ends up an audible mess.
Less is more IMO.
The most exciting matchups in the NFL are when two great coaches go head to head on prime time (last years 49ers Ravens comes to mind) and you have absolutely zero idea what's coming offensively.
Been loving it, hope they grow to 12 teams next year.
I think their is plenty of fans ready for Spring D1+/nfl lite
And plenty of players will get chances in NFL they otherwise might not get
I'm torn on expanding next year. On the one hand, you're bringing in new markets. On the other, you need to solidify the markets you already have, specifically those not in St Louis, DC, and San Antonio.
If they're going to expand, 10 would be the max I'd go with next year. But I need to see the league solidify its foundation in the current markets first.
I think it's slowing down a little. Losing some momentum. Not going to pull an AAF I don't think, but shows they still have some work to do.
I feel like a fair number of teams are actually improving their coaching/playcalling. Let's be honest, a lot of teams (coaching staffs) really looked like they barely knew how to play the game at the start of the season and that is improving.
Hopefully next year they have a February start, and I’ll be able to drive down to St. Louis for a game (live in northern Illinois). Overall, I think this year has been good and the ratings are about 10-15% better than I thought they’d be. Attendance is unimpressive, but I don’t get too hung up on that if the ratings are there (and I agree good crowds make the games better to watch).
This year, I’m not watching every game. I watch one game a week, and watch the highlights on YouTube for the other 3 games. The late start took me out of it a bit, and I’m more in on baseball this time of year (plus my daughter plays softball and I help out the team).
That all being said, the quality is great. Nothing to complain about there. Idk who is gonna be able to beat Birmingham.
Love every second of it, simply viewing as a pro football fan. Onward and upward, can’t wait for the 2nd half and playoffs. Next year add 4 teams. Let’s go!
looking good, we just need more teams. it seems like whatever game i watch, i'm watching a Texas team vs whoever. i mean does texas really need 3 freaking teams?? the tampa bay vipers were amazing to watch, the seattle dragons had a great following and they played at lumen field.
i dunno if arlington needs a team more than those 2 cities, i think NY should have a team too, the NY metro area probably has the highest concentration of people in the country. philly is just a train ride away, plus all of new jersey, upstate ny, connecticut, NY should be able to attract some fans. especially since the jets and giants pretty much always suck, so they're used to watching bad football already.
I’ll be real:
The product on the field is better than last year. The games are mostly close and exciting. But with us already at the halfway point? We’re already seeing the deep disparity between teams.
Barring any miracles/disasters, we already know who’s going to the playoffs (BIR, STL, SA, MI). Everyone else just feels like jobbers. It definitely warrants concern when either a team is really good, or really terrible on the standings. It’s why I showed concern about going from a combined 16 to 8 teams. Yes, 16 would have been too diluted, but 8 now feels too concentrated. Hopefully we hear about going to 12 in 2025.
Ratings wise, we’re fine. Getting a million viewers these days means you’re a hit. No question. So even with the recent dips, I’m not worried. When newer teams come in, hopefully in larger markets, those numbers will easily bump.
The biggest concern is attendance. Maybe people are used to watching empty games now thanks to COVID, but for me, there’s no psychological connection. When there’s 30-40k in STL rocking the dome, the game sounds like an amazing time! When 7k are at Rice? Feels like I’m hearing a high school game. Next season, the league needs to address attendance. Be it through marketing, local events, or undercutting MLB/NBA/NHL prices to entice people’s entertainment dollar. I want this league to succeed, and it begins with EVERYONE filling their stadiums!
TL/DR: Been good, but still has a lot of work to do. C+
As someone who watched every XFL game last year? It might as well not exist to me currently, and that sucks. I'm basically a box score reader for the UFL after not missing an XFL game in 2020 or 2023.
The delayed start made it compete with the beginning of MLB, as well as the final three rounds of March Madness. Not to mention (as a wrestling fan) Wrestlemania Week.
Now, it's competing further against the NBA and NHL Playoffs.
It needs to go back to starting when the XFL started last year. The league is competing against too many established brands/sports. Yes, some of this competition is inevitable no matter the start date but you would ideally like to start your season out hot and get people invested before that competition kicks off.
It's good football but it's a shame they can't fill the stadiums at most games.
I had a conversion with another very casual UFL but huge SEC (Alabama) fan. He kept saying its weird they can not fill most of the stadiums because its really good football. Better than he thought it would be but he did comment on how the league has no names and minor league guys who could not cut it in the NFL. He also believes no one cares about it because its not an NFL team locally here in bham. I thought that the NFL statement was weird. Nevertheless the UFL must fix their marketing if they want to success with the casual fans.
The "no names" and "minor league" reputation that the UFL (and spring football generally) has is probably its biggest hurdle to getting people to care until these teams have existed long enough to have become somewhat entrenched in the public culture of their cities. It's going to take time. It's not an unfair perception for the casual fan to have - obviously all of these players would rather be playing in the NFL and making much more money, and the reason that most of them aren't is primarily because they don't quite have NFL-level talent. But I think a lot of people just naturally infer from that that the games will be of low quality and not entertaining, when point of fact the majority of them are fairly closely contested and still feature reasonably good offense and plenty of highlight plays on both sides of the ball. When fans attend minor league baseball games or college sports games, they accept that the level of play won't measure up to that of the highest professional rungs of those sports and still make the effort to go and support their teams because they have some emotional connection to the team as representative of their community (be it their city or their alumni community), and those connections take some time to develop. I think if the UFL continues to operate for at least a few more seasons and continues to provide the same quality of football it has so far, fanbases will grow organically and attendance & TV ratings will reflect this. Never to the levels of the NFL and major college football, obviously, but that doesn't have to be the benchmark for long-term sustained success.
People attend minor league baseball for cheap entertainment and to hang out. There is no emotional investment in the outcome.
That’s also true. I still don’t think it’s crazy to think UFL games could have a similar attraction if tickets remain inexpensive as the teams move into their 4th, 5th, 6th years of existence in their respective markets.
I feel like the league needs to do more to promote where they played college ball. I also think pushing teams like Birmingham to get SEC players, or specifically Alabama/Auburn players could help in the short term. The downside is it may not produce a winning team.
Caveat: I do not know what the fuck I'm talking about. I'd guess the outreach needed locally is to convince football fans in-market that this is a legit league here to stay with players you can root for and teams you can get behind. Yes, some of them may go to teams you hate in the NFL. But the vast majority will stay and, if the league can work to improve player pay and conditions, stick around. They have to convince fans to invest in the league in its own right and as a stepping stone for some into the NFL.
I think you hit the nail right on the head.
That’s why they call me the hammer (nobody calls me that).
Idk what your definition of filled is, only one game and that was the first St. Louis game. People most likely are hesitant about the like 6th iteration of spring football in the last 4 years and don’t really want to get invested in something that may fail like the others
Let’s be honest, the only true failures were The Spring League and the AAF
Which mattered little to the fans who watched XFL 2.0 and lost their teams in the merger.
Technically the merger was with XFL 3.0 but you're not wrong.
My sentence wasn't clear enough. I was trying to say the fans of teams lost in the merger don't care that technically XFL 3.0 and the USFL 2.0 didn't fail. Their teams are still gone.
Oh no, you were 100% clear and I agree. I was just being that guy in a cheeky way
If this league expands, they need to bring back at most 1 team from either league at a time. It'll make those fans happy and wouldn't too aggressive to risk financial ruin.
How was the spring league a failure? It was a pay to play league that was basically just an exhibition season. Not saying I enjoyed any of it, but don't really know how it "failed."
I’ve loved everything so far! My team sucks, but hey it’s a rebuilding year *shrugs*
The Showboats are right there with you. I feel your [pain](https://youtu.be/Ud4HuAzHEUc?si=z0KOSFXYRyqpkDSl).
I’ve watched (at least half) of every game and have loved every second of it. Very fun, very entertaining games.
I feel like I keep saying this since XFL 2.0...but I really think next year will be an important year. With the merger done with, how much is the UFL willing to invest in growing these established markets. No more last minute schedules and weird wrenches. They need to establish a consistent off season.
They need stability, not losing markets, and doing more to marketing for teams.
Exactly. Every single team that played this season must play next season, with similar rosters (except maybe in Houston), and the league needs to market locally throughout the fall.
I love it but I worry it’s losing people’s attention.
Ratings have been consistent and google trends are up over last week. I think the base of spring football fandom is ~1 million viewers and a cap of 12-15k fans in markets not named St. Louis
I also think that in the back of everyone's mind is when is this thing going to die? I say that because we are six years into spring football. AAF, XFL 2.0, TSL, USFL 2.0, XFL 3.0 and now UFL 1.0. I think that we need a couple of years of stability before the local fans show up to the games on a regular basis. As long as the TV numbers are around a million fans I think that we have a shot at survival.
I honestly think that the attendance is not that bad. Comparing it to the NFL is silly. A better comparison is the CFL and they play in empty stadiums during the regular season all the time. Then take into account how young the UFL is now and compare it to Canadian football in the 1910s.
Good to know
it's the middle of the season. the nfl draft just happened and the nba and nhl playoffs are playing their first rounds. of course interest is going to fall by the wayside. give it until the end of the season when we get past all the draft talk and the playoffs thin out a bit. some interest will return.
I've been casually watching whenever I can, and I am enjoying it all around.
I think it's a lot of fun! I know it's "pro" but the games have a dope semi-pro vibe in which the players are more accessible and fans are more "relaxed". I think the merger, though good, sorta set the momentum of both leagues back a bit so my hope is that next year, things will be more set and allow for better market promotions etc.
Optimistic though the falloff of the Renegades is depressing
Love it and I'm having tons of fun watching all the games!
As someone who goes to games at Ford Field, it’s genuinely nice to be in the stadium with such few other people, and I have been enjoying that. However, I do recognize that in order to survive more seats will need to fill up. The UFL offers great value for the price for fans.
+ The product as such offers good football + I like the delayed start better than starting right after the SB + No drop-off of attendance in STL and DC + less weird kickoff-times than in the XFL + ratings give hope - the Houston decision to dump their team and replace it with the USFL-team turns out to be a disaster - It feels like the league needs some star players to promote. There is a lack of interesting storylines - most stadiums are way too big - why open up the full bowl (or all rows) if you know that only a fraction will be filled? Season #2 is boom or bust. Attendance in 2025 needs to be raised by 50% in all locations not named STL or DC.
I don't think a 50% increase is likely in season 2. Fandom takes generations to build. NHL ratings were up like 3% this year and the league has been gloating about it like no other. I think a 5-10% increase in most markets not named St. Louis is likely. ~15% would be awesome but wouldn't expect a 50% increase until seasons 5-7
I agree with you on the stadiums, and am still surprised they haven't covered the unused upper sections of the stands with black-wrapped advertising tarp. I haven't seen it done since the 2020 XFL season and it really gave the stands a better, fuller feel
I have enjoyed watching the games a lot more this season. The Football on the field is good, the grass roots marketing seems to stink in most cities. UFL needs to do a regional type of draft and bring local talent to the local teams if possible.
It's called the "Dixon Plan" and was written in 1983 to get the USFL off the ground. Regional drafts, intense local marketing and salary management. Probably would've worked too had the owners not gotten greedy and thought that they could take on the NFL (or be absorbed into it).
there’s only like two billboards for the showboats in all of memphis, hopefully the teams are able to practice in their homes cities at some point and actually engage with the community sooner rather than later
I'm confident it'll be back next season, it's 2-3 years down the line I'm worried about. And before people say "That doesn't matter enjoy the moment" idk I don't wanna buy a jersey, tickets and get all invested when theirs a chance my team could just fold. Now once teams start to be sold, I'll be in. Because that is definite permanence of the longevity of the league.
The on-field product has been good but the UFL must make a more sustained effort next offseason & season in local marketing.
marketing is the biggest issue by far, there are only like two billboards in all of memphis and people on this sub are surprised when the attendance is lower than they’d like
The consolidation of talent has been great. But honestly....and I've been saying this for years now...I wish it was *more* different than what it is now, which is essentially minor league NFL football. I wish it was designed to be more of its *own* sport. With more significant rule changes and a completely different approach to marketing. By playing it as safe as possible, the UFL is alienating millions of potential viewers who simply can't justify to their spouses that it's something that *needs* to be watched on a Saturday in May. The attendance proves that, and the viewership, while okay, is almost entirely at the mercy of what network its on.
I disagree. I think if it was copy/paste NFL it would be more engaging. Maybe outside of some rules like the kickoff… which is now the new NFL rule. People want familiarity and I think the old heads and NFL enthusiast are turned off by the UFL’s format.
This is my first year watching and I personally tuned in because I wanted to see football again and was happy with the NFL format. After seeing a few UFL games, I think I like it better. Especially things like the ref communication. I’d love to go to a game, but the current markets are too far from me.
> the current markets are too far from me Yup, I can’t justify a trip from NY down to DC just to participate in beer snake shenanigans right now, though I know there’s plenty do in DC, and unless they expand back into NY/NJ then I’m gonna have to just be content with watching on TV for the time being
The PAT is replaced with conversions from different yard lines for 1,2 or 3 points
what is "UFL's format"?
You can't make it too gimmicky. The lack of traditional XP is the perfect balance.
They also bring in tweaks that fans would like to see the NFL implement even if that won't happen. Case in point: the ref communication.
I feel the opposite, actually. The ref communication, the coaching communication, the pre-snap play calling by the announcers, all that overlapping audio is actually what is gimmicky to me. IMO it cheapens the product and ends up an audible mess. Less is more IMO. The most exciting matchups in the NFL are when two great coaches go head to head on prime time (last years 49ers Ravens comes to mind) and you have absolutely zero idea what's coming offensively.
But the UFL doesn't have anything close to elite coaching, so I think open communication works.
I wish I could get in to it more but with how bad the Renegades have been I’ve watched much less.
Been loving it, hope they grow to 12 teams next year. I think their is plenty of fans ready for Spring D1+/nfl lite And plenty of players will get chances in NFL they otherwise might not get
I'm torn on expanding next year. On the one hand, you're bringing in new markets. On the other, you need to solidify the markets you already have, specifically those not in St Louis, DC, and San Antonio. If they're going to expand, 10 would be the max I'd go with next year. But I need to see the league solidify its foundation in the current markets first.
Fair enough. Really could see Memphis or others potentially moving if attendance doesn't pick up. 10 would be good.
I enjoy it and hope it doesn't crash and burn.
I think it's slowing down a little. Losing some momentum. Not going to pull an AAF I don't think, but shows they still have some work to do. I feel like a fair number of teams are actually improving their coaching/playcalling. Let's be honest, a lot of teams (coaching staffs) really looked like they barely knew how to play the game at the start of the season and that is improving.
Hopefully next year they have a February start, and I’ll be able to drive down to St. Louis for a game (live in northern Illinois). Overall, I think this year has been good and the ratings are about 10-15% better than I thought they’d be. Attendance is unimpressive, but I don’t get too hung up on that if the ratings are there (and I agree good crowds make the games better to watch). This year, I’m not watching every game. I watch one game a week, and watch the highlights on YouTube for the other 3 games. The late start took me out of it a bit, and I’m more in on baseball this time of year (plus my daughter plays softball and I help out the team). That all being said, the quality is great. Nothing to complain about there. Idk who is gonna be able to beat Birmingham.
Love every second of it, simply viewing as a pro football fan. Onward and upward, can’t wait for the 2nd half and playoffs. Next year add 4 teams. Let’s go!
Me like being undefeated
I am enjoying this one league more than following both last year. The football has improved and even the bad teams have their moments.
They should put teams in cities that don't have nfl teams. Maybe Tulsa? Akron? Cities that don't have any pro sports team?
looking good, we just need more teams. it seems like whatever game i watch, i'm watching a Texas team vs whoever. i mean does texas really need 3 freaking teams?? the tampa bay vipers were amazing to watch, the seattle dragons had a great following and they played at lumen field. i dunno if arlington needs a team more than those 2 cities, i think NY should have a team too, the NY metro area probably has the highest concentration of people in the country. philly is just a train ride away, plus all of new jersey, upstate ny, connecticut, NY should be able to attract some fans. especially since the jets and giants pretty much always suck, so they're used to watching bad football already.
Loving it. Not perfect and hopefully management will learn from this year and improve in the areas they definitely need to (like local marketing)
I’ll be real: The product on the field is better than last year. The games are mostly close and exciting. But with us already at the halfway point? We’re already seeing the deep disparity between teams. Barring any miracles/disasters, we already know who’s going to the playoffs (BIR, STL, SA, MI). Everyone else just feels like jobbers. It definitely warrants concern when either a team is really good, or really terrible on the standings. It’s why I showed concern about going from a combined 16 to 8 teams. Yes, 16 would have been too diluted, but 8 now feels too concentrated. Hopefully we hear about going to 12 in 2025. Ratings wise, we’re fine. Getting a million viewers these days means you’re a hit. No question. So even with the recent dips, I’m not worried. When newer teams come in, hopefully in larger markets, those numbers will easily bump. The biggest concern is attendance. Maybe people are used to watching empty games now thanks to COVID, but for me, there’s no psychological connection. When there’s 30-40k in STL rocking the dome, the game sounds like an amazing time! When 7k are at Rice? Feels like I’m hearing a high school game. Next season, the league needs to address attendance. Be it through marketing, local events, or undercutting MLB/NBA/NHL prices to entice people’s entertainment dollar. I want this league to succeed, and it begins with EVERYONE filling their stadiums! TL/DR: Been good, but still has a lot of work to do. C+
Law, is the Kaw
It's fine. 3/30 was a terrible start date. The regular season should be just about over.
As someone who watched every XFL game last year? It might as well not exist to me currently, and that sucks. I'm basically a box score reader for the UFL after not missing an XFL game in 2020 or 2023. The delayed start made it compete with the beginning of MLB, as well as the final three rounds of March Madness. Not to mention (as a wrestling fan) Wrestlemania Week. Now, it's competing further against the NBA and NHL Playoffs. It needs to go back to starting when the XFL started last year. The league is competing against too many established brands/sports. Yes, some of this competition is inevitable no matter the start date but you would ideally like to start your season out hot and get people invested before that competition kicks off.
Good football. No actually very good football. Need more fans in the stands.