I have been following the United Football League for over two years (back when it appeared to be just a Wikipedia page with a logo and a list of 21 potential team markets).  Bill Hambrecht and Tim Armstrong are successful businessmen and well financed, so their investment in a new professional football league deserved some attention. And as the league gradually released more information over the months and announced established professionals with prior NFL experience (e.g., Michael Huyghue and Frank Vuono), I knew this league was attempting to build a foundation that was different from other start-up professional football leagues.

I occasionally scoured the internet for information, articles, and new UFL-themed websites.  I found a handful of sources, but only one arose that seemed to have frequent and reliable updates (UFL Access.com).  I became a regular poster there and after several discussions with UFL Access news director Nation Hahn, I later became an opinion editorial contributor and analyst for the site.  I have worked in the Health Care industry for nearly a decade, so all of this was fairly new to me, but I enjoyed the in-depth involvement and access to inside information.

It seemed like forever and a day for the 2009 “premiere” season to finally come, but when it did, the product did not disappoint.  Sure, there were some positives and negatives (and some fans will disagree on what some of those might be), but overall it was a genuine effort by some very good people associated with the league.  It was clear that the UFL was putting its best foot forward despite some self-imposed, but necessary, financial constraints for an inaugural season that was certain to confront a great deal of skepticism.

After both the Florida Tuskers (who dominated the UFL regular season) and the underdog Las Vegas Locomotives had birthed the Championship, fans on the message boards started drawing lines in the sand. Locomotives supporters branded the Tuskers with a derogatory nickname the “pigs.”  I had predicted the Locomotives would upset the Tuskers in the championship game, so in the spirit of this theme I coined a nickname for the championship game “Bay of Pigs” (after the failed American invasion of Cuba in 1961).  The Florida Tuskers were the heavily favored, undefeated UFL franchise that was coming to Las Vegas to beat the Locomotives on their own turf.  I maintained that the Las Vegas underdogs would manage an upset at home.  Some of the Las Vegas players this past season were familiar names that had been around the National Football League (like Marcel Shipp and JP Losman), but several other Las Vegas players were fairly young and had limited opportunities in the NFL.  Jim Fassel did a fantastic job mentoring these players, and the significant growth of the Locomotives team throughout the course of the UFL season was undeniable.

I had decided months prior to the start of the “premiere” season, that I would be attending the Championship game in Las Vegas.  I wanted to be a part of that history and enjoy first hand something in which I had invested so much of my time.  It seemed that just as soon as the league kicked-off, the Championship Game was upon us.  I was excited about making the trip.  My flight from Baltimore to Las Vegas touched down Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.  Later that evening I met Nation Hahn, his wife Jamie, and UFL Access contributor Fran Stuchbury at the Aurora lounge in the Luxor hotel on the strip.  They had recently returned from a UFL pre-game function, and it was clear that they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  I had missed the party since I arrived late, but there was much more to come.

After spending an eventful Thanksgiving day touring the strip in Las Vegas, we attended a VIP tailgate the following morning at Sam Boyd Stadium for the Championship.  Many of those who had made the UFL possible were in attendance: Locomotives owner and league founder Bill Hambrecht, Redwoods owners Paul Pelosi and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sentinels owner Bill Mayer, Commissioner Michael Huyghue, COO Frank Vuono, and Senior Director of marketing Ralph Vuono (among others).  The league was very gracious in allowing us to attend, and everyone associated with the league seemed very upbeat about what the UFL had accomplished thus far and optimistic about what it would accomplish in the future.

The game itself was similar to what I had expected.  It began as a defensive battle but had three lead changes in the fourth quarter that resulted in a regulation tie.  In all of the decades of the NFL’s Super Bowl there has never been a Super Bowl that went into overtime, but the very first UFL Championship game did just that.  A Brooks Bollinger interception thrown into the hands of Las Vegas cornerback Isaiah Trufant set up a game-winning field goal by Graham Gano in overtime.  Gano collapsed in relief after the kick split the uprights, and he was bombarded by punter Danny Baugher and many other Las Vegas players that flooded the field to celebrate the victory.  It was clear that this triumph meant as much to these players as any, and that the passion and dedication of head coach Jim Fassel had extended to all of them. DeDe Dorsey was appropriately awarded the MVP as he was clearly the player who made the biggest difference with two touchdowns and as many rushing yards as Michael Pittman and Tatum Bell combined.

I am looking forward to attending the 2010 championship game and UFL fans should rest assured that we will see a bigger and better UFL in season two.