Congratulations!

The wait is over. After two plus years of ups and downs, it is here. Despite dwindling hopes and an economy hanging by a thread, it is here. Today is the day the football will officially fly through the air and cleats will dig into the grass. The United Football League kickoff is here.

For some of us, this journey began in the early summer of 2007 with a blog post and a news article. Mark Cuban’s post about competing with the UFL and a New York Times article let the world know about the UFL, and ever since there have been people digging for more information. Communities like UFL Access formed and fell and formed again. Newswires and the patent office database were combed continuously and every rumor was dissected and rehashed. All for a league most of the world imagined would never kick off.

Mark Cuban was often discussed. First he was on board, an owner, then out, then a supporter, no a sponsor, no an owner, no a partner, and the motivations for the fluctuations were often debated. Maybe he was focusing on his bid to buy the Cubs, or was it due to an insider trading scandal involving one of the websites he invests in, or maybe the economy hit him harder than expected, or maybe he just plain lost interest. The speculation was fun, even if it was completely irrelevant.

We worried over how the UFL was handling things. First we had 8 teams in 2008, but then it was pushed back to 2009. We heard there was the possibility of more than 8 teams, but the bottom dropped out of the financial sector and we were told six with maybe 8, then 4. At least we learned of the Casa Grande project, and we spent quite a bit of time paying attention to the City Council of a small town in Arizona.

There was a plan to not bother branding the teams but going with references utilizing the cardinal directions. Instead, we were given team names at the last minute, but most people hated the names at first. And the uniforms, oh the uniforms. There was such a negative reaction to those that many of us had to spend way too much time explaining them. “It’s temporary, designed before the teams were named, and focused on building the league brand. Wait until next year when the teams are fully individually branded.” It was so common to explain it almost became funny, like a running gag. At least when the logos were released the general consensus was positive.

Big name players who could be signing on was a hot topic. None hotter than Michael Vick, who flirted with the UFL before being reinstated and signed in the NFL. But there wasn’t a shortage of name recognition players signing with the UFL. J.P. Losman was the first, but others like Simeon Rice, Michael Pittman, Marcel Shipp, Tim Rattay, and Dexter Jackson are just a handful of the players many people will recognize.

When the four inaugural coaches were announced, we were astonished. That a startup venture could get coaches the caliber of Dennis Green, Jim Fassell, Ted Cottrell, and Jim Haslett is an amazing accomplishment. Those hires brought immediate respectability to the league. This impressive feat was a huge step forward, and it was joyful to see how dedicated the coaches have been.

Changes to the standard set of NFL rules were regularly debated, both before and after the UFL announced their changes. Proposals went from slight tweaks to some rather crazy ideas that would completely change the game. Some wanted no rule changes, claiming any change would just be a gimmick, while others wanted to change just about every rule on the book. Whatever the suggestions, they were always rather lively discussions. The UFL changes were largely viewed as a positive, though there was some confusion of the changes to grounding.

Then came training camp, and the disappointment over the lack of exhaustive coverage of every happening in practice and scrimmage. Even with the disappointment, the excitement built. As opening day approached, the clamor rose to a crescendo, and the anticipation heightened among the faithful. We have been anxiously awaiting this day for a while, many of us for two years, hoping to see the birth of a successful alternate football league.

Today is the culmination of the anticipation. This glorious venture that we’ve watched rise and fall like breaking waves upon the sports landscape is finally coming to fruition. When we hear the thump of the foot hitting the ball for the first time that counts, we should all wear a smile on our face and be grateful that we have seen this birth, this evolution of a league and have been able to follow it so closely. This task has been monumental after the economic damage of the last year, and it is truly amazing that the UFL has finally truly arrived.

So congrats to Hambrecht and company for getting this venture off the ground. Congrats to Hambrecht, Paul Pelosi, William Meyer, and the Tampa Bay Rays for bringing the teams to life. Congrats to Rick Mueller for handling all the rosters. Congrats to Green, Fassel, Haslett, and Cottrell for building the playbooks and training the players. Congrats to the players of the UFL for getting paid to do something you love and don’t want to give up. Most of all, congrats to us, the football fans of the world, for gaining another league to enjoy and watch grow.