Another USFL/XFL for 2008 - The Orange Mane

Stormontheplains · 05-30-2007, 05:17 PM

Cuban is such a hicky on a but wrinkle

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6...PHCP&GT1=10035

The NFL may be the most successful league in the country, but that doesn't mean it's without competition.

Bill Hambrecht, a Wall Street businessman, and Tim Armstrong, a senior executive at Google, have decided to start up a rival football league, the United Football League, according to a report on the New York Times web site Wednesday.
For those worried that the UFL will lack name recognition, Hambrecht and Armstrong already have one owner lined up: Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

And though the league is having a difficult time finding other owners, it appears Cuban is committed to the plan. The league intends to play its first preseason games in August of 2008.

And where will the league find the talent necessary to attract fans?

"(Former NFL coach) Bill Walsh used to tell me that the last 20 players cut from every team were almost interchangeable with the last 20 players to make the team," Hambrecht says.

So far, the UFL has decided to put teams in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Mexico City. Cuban, unsurprisingly, is considering buying the team in Vegas, according to the report.

Dr. Broncenstein · 05-30-2007, 05:22 PM

I can't wait to never watch it.

Stormontheplains · 05-30-2007, 05:24 PM

Maybe if Cuban goes off on the football field, somebody will finally beat him senseless.

scorpio · 05-30-2007, 05:25 PM

I think that if properly marketed it's a good idea, and that Walsh was right about the talent, but competing head-to-head with the NFL is suicide.

A league starting in like May or June would have a much better chance for success I think.

bronco militia · 05-30-2007, 05:27 PM

there's no league without a TV deal

Taco John · 05-30-2007, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Broncenstein

I can't wait to never watch it.

Clockwork Orange · 05-30-2007, 05:56 PM

Great, more referees for Cuban to b**** about.

Taco John · 05-30-2007, 05:59 PM

Even though the good Doc's comment is effectively the end of the thread for me, I just have to comment on the brilliance of this plan...

The whole "last 20 players are interchangable with the previous 20 players" bit is priceless, except for the fact that it's not the last 20 players of any roster that people are willing to spend their time (and of course, money) to see. It's the top 5 of any given NFL roster that make the NFL what it is.

That said, I have to believe that the idea they have is to become a farm system for the NFL. Why else would they admit that they're scraping the bottom of the NFL barrel.

BigPlayShay · 05-30-2007, 06:11 PM

now watch the NFL expand the roster to 65 players and the practice squad to 12 players. Now find your bottom 20 players.

Hotrod · 05-30-2007, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronco militia

there's no league without a TV deal

Yep end of story

Hogan11 · 05-30-2007, 06:21 PM

Well....at least it'll be better than the AFL.....not that that is any mean feat.

Hogan11 · 05-30-2007, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpio

I think that if properly marketed it's a good idea, and that Walsh was right about the talent, but competing head-to-head with the NFL is suicide.

A league starting in like May or June would have a much better chance for success I think.

A spring league would work I think once it was solidified...no one likes constant relocation of franchises or almost total overhauls of rosters. If it stayed away from the insane desire to compete head to head with the NFL..it would work.

Killericon · 05-30-2007, 06:30 PM

You know..There's been a spring football league for a long, long time.

In other news, this will fail.

crowebomber · 05-30-2007, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronco militia

there's no league without a TV deal

Bingo. Without it you can't grow a fan base especially if they plan on putting them in big cities where there are other entertainment options.

Vegas is a stupid idea in my opinion. They have talked about putting a major sports franchise in Vegas for a while and the knock is that there are way too many other entertainment options for it to survive. If you do put something in Vegas, it better be a MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL team to garner enough hype to gain a following and tear people away from the casinos, boxing, music, strip clubs, etc.

crowebomber · 05-30-2007, 06:49 PM

I just did some googling and they say that this league is working to be eligible to draft players past the second round. This would be a lot like the AFL and USFL. What a mess. Can you imagine any players wanting to get drafted by one of these teams?

The Lone Bolt · 05-30-2007, 07:34 PM

rubaiyat · 05-30-2007, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigPlayShay

now watch the NFL expand the roster to 65 players and the practice squad to 12 players. Now find your bottom 20 players.

Not so hard. They mention what prevents this from being a viable strategy. Namely the salary cap realistically prevents any large increase in those player's salaries.

If you are going to have to work just as hard why not make more money doing it?

I'm always for competition so even though it is Cuban, I'm all for it. The USFL brought some interesting ideas to pro football, hopefully this is well thought out (unlike XFL) and it does the same.

Los Broncos · 05-30-2007, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormontheplains

Maybe if Cuban goes off on the football field, somebody will finally beat him senseless.

Yeah really, he a loose cannon.

BroncsRule · 05-30-2007, 08:08 PM

A longer version of the article - goes into more detail about why they think it could work & why they don't care about a TV deal (at least to start):

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/sp...erland&emc=rss

Rugby7 · 05-30-2007, 08:18 PM

It seems to me that Cuban owns a network. It's called HDTV.

Jana® · 05-30-2007, 08:19 PM

Intriguing...

Not.

Rugby7 · 05-30-2007, 08:20 PM

Yeah, I actually posted something, woohoo. put that in your pipe and smoke it.

BABronco · 05-30-2007, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rugby7

Yeah, I actually posted something, woohoo. put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Congrats

...

dragondawg · 05-30-2007, 10:34 PM

XFL was a joke, i remember instead of the coin toss the players from 2 teams have to run to get the abll and one of them broke their arm or something

That One Guy · 05-30-2007, 10:41 PM

I could buy into it. Prices to go see a NFL game will only keep increasing. I started watching football as a family event - we'd sit around on Sundays and each of us had picked our teams and when those teams matched up, it was a great family event.
If they keep prices cheap, which wont take much work, and keep the players heads from swelling to hot air balloons then it could definitely become a family oriented thing. I hate to think of it as minor league but minor league baseball is a fun time to take your kids out to see a ball game and enjoy some time together. I personally think that between CFL, NFLE, NFL, and Arena Football there's plenty of players and not enough talent.

05-30-2007, 05:17 PM	#1
Stormontheplains Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bronco Nation Posts: 1,001 Adopt-a-Bronco: Andre Hall	Another USFL/XFL for 2008 Cuban is such a hicky on a but wrinkle http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6...PHCP&GT1=10035 The NFL may be the most successful league in the country, but that doesn't mean it's without competition. Bill Hambrecht, a Wall Street businessman, and Tim Armstrong, a senior executive at Google, have decided to start up a rival football league, the United Football League, according to a report on the New York Times web site Wednesday. For those worried that the UFL will lack name recognition, Hambrecht and Armstrong already have one owner lined up: Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks. And though the league is having a difficult time finding other owners, it appears Cuban is committed to the plan. The league intends to play its first preseason games in August of 2008. And where will the league find the talent necessary to attract fans? "(Former NFL coach) Bill Walsh used to tell me that the last 20 players cut from every team were almost interchangeable with the last 20 players to make the team," Hambrecht says. So far, the UFL has decided to put teams in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Mexico City. Cuban, unsurprisingly, is considering buying the team in Vegas, according to the report.

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05-30-2007, 05:22 PM	#2
Dr. Broncenstein Oldeskool Homeskool Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Sterile Fields Posts: 11,848 Adopt-a-Bronco: Wesley Woodyard	I can't wait to never watch it.

05-30-2007, 05:24 PM	#3
Stormontheplains Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bronco Nation Posts: 1,001 Adopt-a-Bronco: Andre Hall	Maybe if Cuban goes off on the football field, somebody will finally beat him senseless.

05-30-2007, 05:25 PM	#4
scorpio Cubicle Pimp Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,499	I think that if properly marketed it's a good idea, and that Walsh was right about the talent, but competing head-to-head with the NFL is suicide. A league starting in like May or June would have a much better chance for success I think.

05-30-2007, 05:27 PM	#5
bronco militia Ring of Famer THE GREATEST Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: colorado springs, co Posts: 22,703	there's no league without a TV deal

05-30-2007, 05:56 PM	#7
Clockwork Orange Persona Non Grata I seen him! Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 21,438	Great, more referees for Cuban to b**** about.

05-30-2007, 05:59 PM	#8
Taco John 24/7 Broncos In Elway I Trust Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 49,742 Adopt-a-Bronco: Peyton Manning	Even though the good Doc's comment is effectively the end of the thread for me, I just have to comment on the brilliance of this plan... The whole "last 20 players are interchangable with the previous 20 players" bit is priceless, except for the fact that it's not the last 20 players of any roster that people are willing to spend their time (and of course, money) to see. It's the top 5 of any given NFL roster that make the NFL what it is. That said, I have to believe that the idea they have is to become a farm system for the NFL. Why else would they admit that they're scraping the bottom of the NFL barrel.

05-30-2007, 06:11 PM	#9
BigPlayShay Ring of Famer Novaking Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 4,241 Adopt-a-Bronco: Got Cut	now watch the NFL expand the roster to 65 players and the practice squad to 12 players. Now find your bottom 20 players.

05-30-2007, 06:21 PM	#11
Hogan11 Rock-N-Roll Historian Let's take these SOB's out!!!!!! Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: W.NY.B.C. Posts: 21,300 Adopt-a-Bronco: Floyd Little	Well....at least it'll be better than the AFL.....not that that is any mean feat.

05-30-2007, 06:30 PM	#13
Killericon YES A DT!!!!!! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: From Calgary, in Halifax for School Posts: 7,730 Adopt-a-Bronco: watermock	You know..There's been a spring football league for a long, long time. In other news, this will fail.

05-30-2007, 06:49 PM	#15
crowebomber Ring of Famer Old School Sucka Fool Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: P-Town Posts: 1,519 Adopt-a-Bronco: Frank Tripucka	I just did some googling and they say that this league is working to be eligible to draft players past the second round. This would be a lot like the AFL and USFL. What a mess. Can you imagine any players wanting to get drafted by one of these teams?

05-30-2007, 07:34 PM	#16
The Lone Bolt Ring of Famer GO CHARGERS!!!! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: The Boredom Capital of the Universe (Everett, WA) Posts: 2,894

05-30-2007, 08:08 PM	#19
BroncsRule Perennial Pro-bowler New to the Forum Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 843 Adopt-a-Bronco: None	A longer version of the article - goes into more detail about why they think it could work & why they don't care about a TV deal (at least to start): http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/sp...erland&emc=rss

05-30-2007, 08:18 PM	#20
Rugby7 Solid Starter Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: SO CAL Posts: 122	It seems to me that Cuban owns a network. It's called HDTV.

05-30-2007, 08:19 PM	#21
Jana® World's cutest Bronco Fan Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Anywhere but here! Posts: 1,399 Adopt-a-Bronco: Ed McCaffrey ;)	Intriguing... Not.

05-30-2007, 08:20 PM	#22
Rugby7 Solid Starter Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: SO CAL Posts: 122	Yeah, I actually posted something, woohoo. put that in your pipe and smoke it.

05-30-2007, 10:34 PM	#24
dragondawg All Pro Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,009	XFL was a joke, i remember instead of the coin toss the players from 2 teams have to run to get the abll and one of them broke their arm or something

05-30-2007, 10:41 PM	#25
That One Guy Producer of Nonsense Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Sun and Beachville Posts: 14,042 Adopt-a-Bronco: None	I could buy into it. Prices to go see a NFL game will only keep increasing. I started watching football as a family event - we'd sit around on Sundays and each of us had picked our teams and when those teams matched up, it was a great family event. If they keep prices cheap, which wont take much work, and keep the players heads from swelling to hot air balloons then it could definitely become a family oriented thing. I hate to think of it as minor league but minor league baseball is a fun time to take your kids out to see a ball game and enjoy some time together. I personally think that between CFL, NFLE, NFL, and Arena Football there's plenty of players and not enough talent.