UFL 2025 Schedule Released, What You Need to Know Before Kickoff!!! - podcast episode cover

UFL 2025 Schedule Released, What You Need to Know Before Kickoff!!!

Jan 03, 20251 hr 33 min
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Episode description

Get ready for the biggest season yet! The UFL 2025 schedule is finally here and we're breaking it down for you! From the opening kickoff to the championship game, we've got you covered with all the dates, times, and matchups you need to know. Whether you're a die-hard UFL fan or just getting into the league, this video is your one-stop shop for all things UFL 2025. So, what are you waiting for?

0:00 Show Intro
12:40 UFL Week 1 Schedule
23:30 UFL Week 2 Schedule
29:58 UFL Week 3 Schedule
38:24 UFL Week 4 Schedule
41:45 UFL Week 5 Schedule
45:47 UFL Week 6 Schedule
52:20 UFL Week 7 Schedule
57:28 UFL Week 8 Schedule
1:02:28 UFL Week 9 Schedule
1:09:50 UFL Week 10 Schedule
1:12:32 UFL Playoffs Schedule
1:15:05 Show Outro

Full Schedule:
https://www.si.com/fannation/ufl/ufl-news/ufl-drops-2025-schedule

Transcript

Intro / Opening

Speaker 1

No, it wasn't. Hang on, it wasn't going on. Hang on. Oh we're on. I think we're on YouTube. All right, let's bring in John, John, we're on. I was trying to get it going live on YouTube. I had a whole thing here. Let me there, all right, we're live on Twitter. Let me play the engine. Well, there we go, John, we're here. Sorry, I get on here a stream yard. It's been the holidays, they've moved everything around. It wasn't going on Twitter. I think we're good now. Welcome everybody.

Apologize for that. That's why you know it's always hot microphone. John, You never wanted to say anything but welcome. We are here. We finally have the UFL twenty twenty five schedule January second. This was exciting had it you know, they teased it out.

That was nice. I appreciate at that because you know, in the years past, now, John, I did get up at five am today Pacific time, just in case because we never know right and now, but hey, maybe the UFL is learning now we have new media people in charge. Maybe they've decided aight am Easter and you know, a day after the holiday isn't the best time to do it, so here we go. It was like eleven Easter or eleven am Pacific. Today we got everything out. We'll go

through all that today. Welcome everyone, Please like and subscribe. Coming off our CFL coverage, this is the Marcust. John Lewis has his own YouTube channel. John Lewis Sports a little bit more bite size things, so like subscribe to both join the channel membership. I think we've even added some members. But getting ready for the UFL season. Here will go week by week everything through here, give you all the facts and figures, all that stuff. John, How

the heck are you? Last time we talked, we were potentially expanding in the UFL, but now we you know, I think we already have some hot takes on the schedule, so that should be good. But how are you doing?

Speaker 2

Yeah, I'm doing good.

Speaker 1

You know.

Speaker 2

Holidays great and uh yeah it's you can tell us like post holidays because my microphone's all buzzy. I thought I had a great setup going here. I hope everyone can hear me, but uh, you know, it's going great. It was exciting, you know, we we kept hearing we got all these releases that said the uh, the schedule is.

Speaker 1

In the coming weeks.

Speaker 2

Yeah, the coming weeks, well, the coming weeks, I think from October to now. That's been a few weeks. But it is exciting to have this now and I thought, this what a good time. I was really hoping it would happen New Year's Eve kind of since that's when I think the UFL, you know, dropped all that that we news we already knew but last year. But it's cool. I'm I'm looking forward to talking about this schedule. There's some there's some quirks in there that we can talk about and some surprises.

Speaker 1

I thought, yeah, so leave your gripes in here, because this is you know, if you're new to the channel, we tend to get a little bit gripier on here. I already see Marcus is complaining about Mother's Day kickoff. We have a complain about, you know, the battle Hawks playing too early. So leave your gripes and comments in here. We'll get to all that, some interesting stuff with the press release. We'll get through all of that and then yeah,

any questions comments. I just saw Keem Butler is signing back. I just got tagged in that from MLF football on here. Can I share that? Am I able to share that and said, you know, that's exciting here, so all sorts of breaking news. He's re signing with the BattleHawks. We have new quarterbacks. So if we want to do in the actual football stub, will do it at the end.

But this will get you ready for the UFL season, which is kicking off of March twenty eighth, right, which is a Friday, and then is concluding on is included on June fourteenth, So that should be excited. Yet March twenty eighth Friday, we'll get through all that and then going all the way through June fourteenth through twenty twenty five. I obviously we knew the kickoff date before. We are learning more about the home, the network that we'll be

hosting the championship game, and all of that stuff. So let's get into it here, John, earlier than last year, right, we got the UFL schedule. I think it was into February last year before we how all that? Do you feel good here? We've gotten through the holidays. I like them giving a couple of day heads up to try to kind of do this as opposed to dropping around in Pressley's how do you feel just about the roll out? Of this and then we'll get into the specifics.

Speaker 2

I would love to give the right person credit because I read something earlier and I sold the comment later. It's like, I love spring football because spring football as always in UFL, and all of them says, we're gonna we're announcing that we're gonna have an announcement. But I do they built something. They built something to this, and you know, we can't complain because how many times have we said, like they're not telling us anything or we don't know. But they really kind of teas this out.

It didn't come to fruition like we thought it would. You know, Mike Mitchell had said it was. It was a fluid situation. It was kind of a fluid plan that they would do like one one day in one the other. It didn't happen. But I thought this was fine, and I thought, you know too, it afternoon Eastern time,

eleven Pacific. I thought I thought it was fine, and I did like there was some hype and and if you noticed on a lot of those social media posts, I thought it had some good reaction, it got some engagement. So yeah, it's pretty cool.

Speaker 1

Yeah, so let's get into it here. One thing to keep in mind that we already have a question here. Why wait so long to release the schedule? You know, there's a lot of moving pieces here, and we've already had questions about schedule availability for the different stadiums. I've seen comments about that, you know, the Brahmas playing on the road for a while and the six games in Saint Louis. So we'll get through all that stuff. But you know, sometimes their hands are tied here and we're

kind of having to roll through. You know, you kind of got to take the leftovers that you have right Outy Field has availability issues with soccer, and I know the ALM Dome hosting at March Madness and all of that. So there's a lot of stuff to get into. But yeah, let's get you set up here. So this came out today. New Comms people in place Jeff Altstauder. It was with the UFL. He's now with the Arena Football one. Right, I'm getting press releases from that. I get him still

in the space. But like I said, I appreciate this press release coming out. I know Mike Mitchell had the scoop on this. Miller. They have their article up. I have it linked in the comments for you know, the whole breakdown of that as well. The anthety Mike did over at Sports Illustrated, you know, came out today Complete twenty five. Oh. I was gonna say. What I like too, is we got the broadcast partnerships.

Speaker 2

Yes.

Speaker 1

I'm sometimes like we've already knew the home and away and all that stuff, But I like knowing, Okay, Fox or ESPN all that because I was kind of afraid that we would just get maybe the dates and times and not the network. So we have everything. This is your complete broadcast window on here. They're going to complete forty you know, all forty three games ESPN, ESPN, two F this one, Fox and ABC. They're kicking off March

twenty eight. Is who said eight pm on Fox. It's gonna debut their Fox UFL Friday and Unite dedicated to the UFL action that is taking the place of college football and also SmackDown that's leaving Fox so looking to kind of keep their ratings momentum that that they've built. I'll be curious to see and I've even seen questions like are they all Friday games? No, but we'll get through all that. You know, a Friday game each week week and we have comments here from rest Brandon. That's

all it's excited to see. In addition to games will be on ESPN, Deportes the beyond, you know, the Fox Sports app, and the ones on ABC and ESPN will be on ESPN Plus. During the opening weekend, Fox will present a matchup between the Brahmas and the Renegades at four pm, so the whole weekends late and all that. I hear some breakdowns and then we'll go kind of week by week. I was kind of glancing through this earlier. Forty three games being on there, twenty two on ESPN.

Fox will have twenty one. The UFL will feature ten weeks for regular season, ten live regular season matchups on Friday, eight teams. There'll be five double headers. We had mixed feelings about that last year. ABC, ESPN and Fox will broadcast those. The top two conferences with the two best records. The excuse me with the you know, the top two and then the record holders. There was confusion last year with the playoffs, and you know, Anthony backed about all

that stuff. Seventy four of all UFL games air on either ABC or Fox, not regularly relegating a lot of those to FS one and all of that, and then obviously you can get group tickets. We'll do all the week by week here, but just the general thoughts on the facts and figures here, John, what do you make of all that?

Speaker 2

Well, what I really liked was you could see that right there on Fox. There's only one game on FS one, and I think it might be like a Sunday night. I don't We'll look at it and see. I did like that, And there's only one game on ESPN two, So they're really hitting it hard on you know, the main outlets, ABC, Fox and ESPN. I think that is a very very good sign. And I love that they're

making the Fox ufl Friday a thing. I think this can be a thing, and it can be kind of a you know, we're all living in a niche, but I think this is pretty cool that on a Friday night, you know, in the spring that this could that this really could be a thing, especially if Fox puts a lot of promotion behind it.

Speaker 1

Ethan, you want to post that comment, You want to post that in the your link in the comment, we can pull that up if I can get all that. Uh. Yeah, I think it's good to have, you know, not have them on the you know, the the f S onees, f S two's of the world. Remember back with the USFL being on the Peacock and all that. The Friday

thing is interesting. We've talked about that because you know, it was really built into a destination for Fox and SmackDown and their viewership there for a lot of that with the WW and I'll be curious because that's that's not something that that's not just a destination time slot, you know, just because right that's because WW and Fox really built that into a lot of their marketing and promotions over there. I think they were on a five year deal with them. But that's not like people are

just going to show up on Fridays. You know, you really have to promote that and work that. But if they're already trying to brand it as that, I think that could be really cool and you know, maybe gets you out of some of the other competition windows you would normally face otherwise there, And I think you get a different demo at home on a Friday versus midday on the Saturday or Sunday.

Speaker 2

Yeah, that's a good point. I mean, your your younger demo might not see a lot of those Friday games, Sol Eyes, We'll probably see We'll see all those Friday games. You're right, but I think it does kind of it spreads the wealth a little bit. And you know, but you also look at Fox, did you know sink money into SmackDown on Friday nights and it was I think the ratings were really good on there. I think they

took the money and went somewhere else. But if they put the kind of promotion that they put to me that they put for SmackDown into the UFL on a Friday night, I think he can be a thing.

Speaker 1

I would love. And obviously this is you know, pipe dream down the way, and Fox has so much invested in this anyway now to kind of keep this lie.

But seeing what the WWE is doing with Netflix I think is really cool and seeing kind of the promotions they have and just the added reach of that ride just talking the worldwide audience of like we're instantly available to over two hundred and sixty million, I think is that you it's a Netflix subscriber account right now right two hundred and sixty, two hundred and eighty million, whatever, Like even just having the possibility of that and they're

promoting that on the front page when people signed up. Is pretty cool that, you know, we saw, I was joking, we saw Bankerchif Football kind of leverage that with Twitch years ago, like hey, we're going to put this on the front page, you know, so a we can count our impressions more, but hey, maybe we're getting people on. I just think that would be cool. Obviously Fox is locked into the linear programming right now and that's where

we're focused on. But I always saw the spring football on the streaming platform that really got behind it would be really cool.

Speaker 2

Yeah, and you know the AAF tried that somewhat, but it you know, those deals were different though though that was pretty much paid time I think. You know, and you try to find the Bleacher Report app and in twenty nineteen that wasn't really a thing that was easy to find, and it was certainly I think I downloaded it somehow on my smart TV to watch some of those games. But you know, it's a different world now, just you know, six years later. So yeah, I think

that's spring football can find an audience. I think you get the casuals. We talk about that a lot on Network, but you know, a lot of US hardcore fans, and I think there's there's more now than there might have ever been. We can find those streaming apps. I've watched a lot through streaming. I mean, I'm old, I watched a lot through streaming. I was able to find those pretty easily.

Speaker 1

One last thing on this, because the isra all hypothetical, is just because Lighting says, you know, locking games into

streaming is no good the UFL. I agree, right, obviously we want to hit that white Just the idea in this this is someone that lives with the CFL right now in America with no real easy way to stay like, okay, some of the games are on the website and some of the games are in here, and something is just being able to tell, like if you watch a WWE, you know, in twenty twenty five, like everything's on Netflix, you're on Netflix. I just think that has Obviously UFL

UFL Week 1 Schedule

has a long way to go to get to that brand recognition, but I just think that that being able to simplify it that way is very you know, is very helpful for that. So let's get into here the UFL schedule. I know, the teams put out whatever. We'll just kind of go through their pressure release here, John said he saw some kind of weirdness opening game. This is so we already have comments about this right week one,

Saint Louis going into Houston again. A lot of the the matchups for UFL decisions right the venues might not always be. But what do you think of opening with the BattleHawks at Roughnecks. I mean, if there was anyone in the world the at BattleHawks EO Stallion's in there or some sort of betther SEXI your master, what do you make of that?

Speaker 2

That one was a weird one right off the bat. The first the first thing I saw was because I wondered, like, I wonder, what, you know what this first Friday night game is going to look like? What's it gonna be? This is gonna be the launching point for this fox UFL Friday or whatever they're calling it. And it was Saint Louis at Houston enough it was the other way around. I would kind of get that, because you know it would I mean, can you imagine what if.

Speaker 1

You can get in You can put anything in Saint Louis except the championship game that the Vallahawks.

Speaker 2

Rn N and they'll draw, and you know, and what was surprising was I looked, you know, was the dome taken? And I started I try. I researched it this afternoon, trying to find, you know, why maybe they didn't play in Saint Louis. I did not see anything schedule for the dome. Now, people out there that in Saint Louis

and may know, I didn't see anything. I was just kind of perplexed on I know the Roughnecks are pretty excited to be back, you know, at TDECU Stadium, but I mean the general audience on a Friday night, I don't know that they care that much. I just hope that the turnout is a lot better. I know, you know, playing at Rice, Houston fans didn't like that very much. But I mean, were they really packing td e c U. I don't know. I hope they do Friday.

Speaker 1

Night comment here, I'm not really were at Sincia. Max dug In, the former TCU go quarterback coming back to Texas against Houston. I can promise you that was not and that like that's a wonderful happenstance. I will promise you that that is not. They did not flex that into Week one because of that I think that that's cool and that's a great storyline, and the UFL needs more storylines like that and not oh my god, the league is going bankrupt or the league is going the way.

So I think that that's awesome. That's that. That's a great poll there. But I guarantee they did not go, oh, we got to flex that in here now because of that.

Speaker 2

Right, I mean, how many people showed up in Birmingham, Uh, you know when AJ returned. I mean it wasn't that many. I mean they had a good crowd, but it was not So I get it. You know, you're right. I think that might be a that's a good ad and it might work. It might work out that way. I can tell you this. It would st it's it's if they want to promote it. That's one way to promote it. I think that is a good idea.

Speaker 1

Just right. Matt comments here. The other comment on here Mike has and I think someone else had this. Well, but you know, Friday nights having the games on at the bar, I think that that's cool. I remember the first season when we did the you know, we did the whole Sea Dragons kickoff and all that kind of stuff. But then I think it was week two. We were down to Portland, CE and I think it was a

wrestling show. We were seeing something Michael and I and yeah, having the games on, like at the bar, you know that we were out of Prosted venue. Oh what is that? What's going on? Or you know if we're watching and the way their waitress like, what is that? Like? Football? Are like? Oh yeah, you know? Yeah, So I like that being on more And obviously a lot of these games on you know that's on Fox. Fox has to kick off. Are you surprised with anything of that?

Speaker 2

Uh? No, not really. I think it felt like Fox is kind of running this thing. To me, that's the way I I've failed anyway, So uh that does not a surprise. But I like Mike's comment that that's one way to get the thirty in undercrowd to watch the UFL on a Friday night. I never thought about that.

I think that could get some interest of anybody who's sitting there, and you're right, they look up there, and you know, any sports bar, you would think it might turn on Fox and say, you know, here's this game. So that's that's great.

Speaker 1

The only thing my question is, and I maintain you know, we've talked about this before. I don't think you know, timeslots matter far more any timeslots and dates matter far more than you know the matchups, right, And I think this is cool to kind of go through this. And I'm just more curious to timing and networks and all that stuff. I mean, this one, of course, because you're marketing, is the first game. But I don't like the casual

audience isn't going to care. My question is like, are the rough Necks going to be any good to be in this game? Like would you want? And not that you can guarantee this far out like a better or worse team, right, And we see the NFL try that all the time. But you're surprised, like the Roughnecks, Yeah, have had issues through the rebrand and all that other stuff.

Speaker 2

They've had a lot of issues. You're right read, Yeah, that one was just surprising. It's like, we don't know what Saint Louis is going to be this year. You just mentioned, you know, King Butler re signing that that's huge quarterback situation is going to be interesting to watch. I mean, I think think for us in this niche, it would be interesting if you know aj was the was the Houston Roughnecks quarterback. But but yeah, I just

don't know how competitive this one would be. There were just a lot of question marks when I saw that. When I saw that that this is going to be the Friday night. Hey, here we are, We're on Friday night and it's Saint Louis at Houston. That was just a little bit perplexing to me. What and we didn't get to see you know, the us the USFL Conference versus the XFL Conference champions play each other. I thought that might have been cool as as maybe a promotional point,

uh for everyone else. But you know, we'll see what it is. I I was just kind of scratched my head at this one.

Speaker 1

Yeah, you know, and I mean it's technically USFL here right, a conference with the with the Roughnecks. But yeah, we've gotten the gutten through all that stuff. Yeah, I agree, I think, you know, championship rematch any other stuff. So we got to hear Bramas renegades back on Fox Saturday four. You know, one o'clock Eastern, that tends to do pretty well right that early afternoon, that kind of the prime time. If you want to look at it that way and

then yeah, we go Sunday here. But you know, Bramas Renegades as I do anything for you and back of Choctaw Fox and everything else.

Speaker 2

I mean that that's fine. Yeah, I mean the Bramas, I just feel so bad for them. Was it week five? I think we'll look and see. I think that might be their first uh yeah, their first home game. Uh yeah, I mean that that it could be a good matchup. I mean, you know, we see what san Antonio is going to bring in. Uh, Louis Perez. Is he going to be the starting quarterback? Those are some questions I think that we that'll get answered. But I mean yeah,

to me, that's it's an interesting matchup. Could be an interesting matchup, you know for the four o'clock Fox audience.

Speaker 1

I will see, yeah, Pat and a couple of people have said Pres announced he's returning. Is that I don't know if that's a new thing today or I asked for a link, but apparently Pres will be back playing, you know, playing with the Renegades.

Speaker 2

That's I will when the When the Renegades on Instagram posted their schedule, they had Louis Perez that was it was the picture so that I cut. So I assume, yeah, that was going to be the thing.

Speaker 1

Yeah, uh yeah. The other thing to point out, Yeah, a lot of questions about the Brahmas playing on the road here. I believe it's the first four or five weeks. Uh, March Madness and everything they're dealing with. You not only are we now competing with March Madness in the ratiings, but now or commuting with March Madness, you know, in the physical locations of the building. I you know, I

I love the San Antonio market. I love the outmodme, but like it's I don't know, I don't know if it's And that's been tough and troublesome here to try to get that fan base going. And I don't think that this is gonna help.

Speaker 2

Right, it's you know, how excited are they gonna be after five or six weeks? You know, maybe they will, maybe the anticipation is building up. There's gonna be gonna be a lot to do in San Antonio, but uh yeah, uh, that's just that's just really tough for them, and you know, and not even get a full allotment of home games that everyone else is get.

Speaker 1

That's that's rough. Well, and like imagine you're one and four and you play, then you come home for the first time or whether like you know, then you're trying to get these stands behind. And I'm spoiler alert we're living through this right now with the Washington Commanders, like you can you know, nothing puts in Sea. It's like winning, right, and there's been all this oh in the name and all this kind of stuff like team wins, it's packed, right,

it's the easiest way. And getting some of these market's going, like the memphiss of the World and whatever, like if the team stinks, look at the Edmonton Elks, like, it's really hard to get fans in there if your team is garbage. Speaking of a Memphis hosting Sunday.

Speaker 2

There, I'm assuming you don't mean that that team is garbage.

Speaker 1

Come on, Panthers going in there, ESPN hosting their first game and then the double header there leading into the Stallions ad defenders. I think that should be a really cool week one you kind of and the week on that, you know, the Stallion's going in. We'll see Zach Potter Wright moving on to Sacramento State doing scouting for them. I saw so he blocks me on Twitter. So I don't think I've ever interacted with the gentleman in my life,

but cheers on that. But that's a cool double header ESPN Sunday Week one and like I said, a big primetime match for their Sunday night. I feel really good about that week one Sunday. Do you agree?

Speaker 2

I think that's a great double header to start it, no question, I'm really interested to see what Memphis is gonna look like. Uh with you know, hopefully the home crowd gets there. There's a lot of construction apparently happening. I don't know that it's all finished yet, so uh, I'm so hopefully that you know, it's gonna look good anyway.

And you know, with I think you know Memphis in this rebuild, uh with wizen Hunt that that's gonna be interesting for you know, the people who follow the storylines. And then with Birmingham and d C, those two, to me, I think those two teams could again be like maybe the cream of the crop this year. D C, I know, hit a road bump last year and we don't know

exactly what the personnel is going to look like. But uh, I do I think that is a great Sunday doubleheader, and there's also something and we can talk about it too. It's like there's some weird Sunday game times. Uh it was I thought those are that was kind of odd.

Speaker 1

Yeah, it's a three Eastern. I mean Dan miraclus Is said yeah to me, and even with the with the falloff last year, d C still carries that, like that sexy vibe kind of a team. Does that make sense. We're like, sorry, the showboats don't yet obviously, like you said, they're going to go through a rebuild and figure all that out. We got Jamanos in there as the GM.

You know, we'll work through that. But you know, yeah, to me, that still speaks prestige right now that you can kind of count on that being again, I think that's exciting. That Sunday night game signs of dependents? Anything else week one here?

Speaker 2

John h No, I mean I again, interesting Friday night matchup, you know, Saturday could be good and then yeah Sunday.

UFL Week 2 Schedule

I like how they're wrapping this up, you know, a noon and a three easter or I think that's pretty cool.

Speaker 1

We'll see. I'm gonna try to time code all these we can go week by week. We'll see if that works as supposed to putting out eighteen videos doing all the week by week. We'll see if we can do that, because you could do that, you could crazily like make a whole video and then have ones for each week. But we'll see if that all the worktime goes. Week two here, Friday night going into forward Field, you know, back there, I think there was it wasn't there some

debate like were they still going to be back? I mean, we've resolved this all. I think that was one of the offseason storylines going with I'm trying to remember this like fog dream that is the holiday weeks here right now and kind of everything blowing together. Uh, Fox again Friday night, you know, five pacific, eight eastern rolling in.

You know we're doing that with the Fox. I think that's pretty set right that eight eastern for that ANBC hosting Memphis at d C. So they're getting back to back home games Saturday, five eastern and then the doubleheader Sunday ESPN and then FS one Roughnecks at Renegades on the ESPN. Because boy boy, then you put the Brahmas at the BattleHawks there, you certainly maybe like to flip those I don't know, maybe just fever dreams of last

year with the Roughnecks and Renegades on that. But twelve at nine am East Pacific there in Arlington, you know, for me here watching on ESPN, and then the six thirty at Saint Louis they get their first home game, because last year, right it was like week three till they got to the Ballahawks got their first home game. So that's it's certainly encouraging.

Speaker 2

I mean, that's really rolling the dice on your your spotlight Fox UFL game. And we know the Michigan Panthers attendance has been absolutely brutal. I was surprised, you know, I don't know all, you know, I don't know all the behind the scenes stuff about what happened with for Field and why that contract got signed or even re signed. But man, if you're gonna be on a Friday, you know they're making these it feels like this is this These are the Friday night spotlight games are making it

a thing. And you got the Stallions in there, you know, playing the Panthers, and if it's gonna be six thousand people, I just think that is going to be a really bad look and I'm put obviously, and you know, I wore my Michigan Panther shirt because I know everybody who's gonna say I was gonna hate on them. We can talk about attendance again, but I mean, it's it's just

the fact it's the optics of it. And we talked about optics a lot, no matter if it's a Saturday afternoon game or a Sunday afternoon game or whatever it is. But when this is the Friday night game on a national network, I hope the miss Chigan fans don't find more excuses to not come to these games, because you know, it's Week two. That was a really good team last year, and I just I hope that this one looks good for Fox and for the whole national audience.

Speaker 1

In Week two, well, and that's what I was looking at. I have a separate one, so I cannot distract the

audience by scrolling here. But because you know rough next hosting Week one, Panthers Week two, that's two questionable fan base sizes leading out the gate, and you know I track a lot of just tangentially, however, I say that word that you know, the WWE versus AW stuff, and like the TV ratings and deependance and all that, and like AW is still being competitive with WWE in the ratings, but then you look at their stands, there's no one there.

At least with wrestling, you can film the wrestling show, so you can kind of minimize or hide a lot of that lack of attendance where there's I mean, we've learned there's just no way. And Fox has no interest in trying to do any sort of shots to minimize any of that at all. So you know, it's just, yeah, it'll be interesting. You got these two prime time if we want to call these the spotlight uh time slots here fill in the I mean, you know, and then like do they move some of these games later if

they're not performing? Like, I'm gonna be curious how long this this experiment goes on because Fox has put a lot of time into building this uh you know rundown here on their time slots the last few years.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it's it's it'll be interesting to see and I hope again that there's enough you know, juice with uh you know, with Michigan and with this being a Fox game, that the fans do turn out. I mean, it's again you're really rolling the dice on this to me?

Speaker 1

So the week two Sunday, April sixth, uh, that that will be a spotlight right with Batlehawk's first home game on there? We have that on FS one, I don't know, and obviously ESPN and all that, but like, could we have could we have flip flopped those and could we have had the first Ballahawks game on the ESPN window? That would have been my vote? Any other thoughts on uh? This here says twenty five thousand and four a Field

Friday night. All right, you bookmark this. I'll send you one hundred dollars on vemo if there are twenty five thousand at ford Field on Friday April for it, So god, I.

Speaker 2

Mean, I'll double it up. I'll double if there's twenty five thousand, two hundred coming his way.

Speaker 1

There you go. Anyway, I thought it's anything else from the week two slate there, because I would flip that. I would try to get the BattleHawks into the into the better time slot there at least the network window.

Speaker 2

Oh one hundred percent. And also the same the Battlehawk's home opener being on FS one. That's that's the one. It's like that's the one f S one game you're gonna put on. And I mean, I just I didn't understand it.

Speaker 1

And it's and I'll say this again, if we have new you know again, please subscribe like and all that stuff, and we have new people checking this out. We've done more interviews with TV analysts over the last few years talking about all this stuff. At the end of the day, it's time slot and you know, the time of day and the network it's on. I mean, we can picky choose all of this and what matchups and venues and

attendance like, that's what drives the radians. And yeah, being on FS one, you're always going to hit a fraction of you know, kind of what you're going to get otherwise.

Speaker 2

Yeah, and it even you know, you compare the FS one game maybe to what there'll be at least one regional split. I still think that the regional splits might might get a higher rating than an FS one game on a Sunday night.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Yeah, Van, here, did you realize where I guess the sins now de Trenton. I didn't. I don't randomly track the right the people that I interacted with four years ago. Anything else weak to you here here I should be you know, I pick and choosy things on here, but I don't know. I'll get behind this Friday thing if they can get it going. I like having the consistency of that that, you know, like, Okay, this is what we're doing every Friday. I think that that is

incredibly important. I like the Monday experiments we tried before. I like all that, but it needs to be consistent. No one's going to go out of their way to find a random Thursday or Monday game. You I mean, obviously, even with like Amazon and everything with the NFL, it's to try to get people to convert over to that, let alone the UFL and Fox agreed.

UFL Week 3 Schedule

Speaker 2

I like the it's Friday at eight every week, you know, and we'll see, like we've already got, you know, these weird Sunday games five o'clock six thirty. The next week it's just to me, is weird. But I'm with you on that. I'm kind of all in on this Friday night football.

Speaker 1

Yeah, all right, Week three here we got so now Stallions hosting right first game here Protective Stadium Friday A. We have Memphis hosting Saturday to thirty and then the double So we like this seemingly kind of double header on Sunday at least that's bar Brahmas at Panthers Back and Forward Field on ABC and then the battle Hawks hosting on ABC after that. I like the Sunday night prime of that giving giving kind of a spotlight to

the battle Hawks here. Presumably that's gonna be one of your best attended with that Stallions, right, we get to see Protective on a Friday, you know, I mean we hear a lot of that kind of stuff and attendance, We've gone through all that, but you like to think they kind of show up there on a Friday. I think that's kind of a cool college atmosphere. Feel there thoughts on this, And I'm trying to check his WrestleMania weekend is the week of the nineteenth, so that would

be the next week. We'll talk about that, Okay, go ahead.

Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, I like you know again, Fox rolls and rolls the dice a little bit because you know, Birmingham I mean had okay crowds, uh, but not what I felt like they should have had for the team that they've had. I think I don't know that anyone would disagree with that, you know, and be serious about it, But I do like that because you're right. I think, on a Friday night in April and Birmingham, what a perfect time for people to come out, and how good

that would look at Protective Stadium, which is awesome. I mean, that's like to me, the perfect UFL venue.

Speaker 1

Uh.

Speaker 2

I think that that that's uh, that's really cool. And then and then yeah, and then you got just the single game Saturday and the Sunday doubleheader. I mean, to me, this might be one of the best weeks. I know it's early on and only three weeks in, but it's only ten weeks. But it's still three weeks in. This could be like one of the premier weekends to me.

Speaker 1

Something to kind of talk about here. And I'm just reading through the comments. I'm starring guys if I see and like fill up and Mike left questions, I'll star all the questions, make sure we get to them here at the end. I just want to make sure we kind of keep the week by week things a little bit clean, but we'll get we have good questions about the pre UFL pre show. We're talking about attendance and

viewership and all that. If, like if Detroit, right the best team in the NFL right now, one of the best teams in the NFL goes wins the Super Bowl, deep run whatever. I just think that's another storyline to track. I think the Michigan market was far better suited for the UFL a couple of seasons ago before Detroit's kind of gone on this meteoric rise. But I don't I don't live in Michigan or Detroit or anywhere around there, Like,

I don't see. I think it's a hard sell to go from my jer Goff and this like superstar team that they put together to like let's go to you know, Ford Field on the on the Sunday. And that's just me I kind of thoughts on that because it's you know, it's a thing I think we got to look into.

Speaker 2

There is that and and maybe there's a contingent of fans who said, well, we can't get Lions tickets, but we'd love to go to Ford Fields. So this is probably be a little better opportunity or a little a better chance for us, I mean taking a trying to take a positive out of that, you know that would you know, to me, could be something. But but you're right, and when you're seeing your team play at such a high level, you know, your NFL team, are you going

to buy in to your your UFL team? You know, I'd love to see it, but the numbers have not really didn't really bear out in the last couple of years.

Speaker 1

Uh, you turn the negative to do a positive. That's a pitbull does.

Speaker 2

Mister Worldwide real? Why?

Speaker 1

But no? And I will say, and that's a great point though, like if you are priced out of the Lions, if you're priced out, like I know with the Seahawks, that was a lot of the questions we you know now questions, a lot of conversations we had with former you know, Sea Dragons fans or Pagans fans or kind

of whatever. It was, Man, I can bring my whole family here and do all this stuff, you know, and it would cost you know, eight times this to be going to bring my family and kids and everything to that. We went to the Kraken on Monday, and it was like a weird game where it was an earlier start and everyone's off for the holidays, So there was like you could tell so many people that had like never been to a hockey game or never gone to a

cracking game. You're like, Okay, let's get out of the way, let's move on, like let's let but it is, you know, they have some of those games, and it gives that opportunity. And so that is a great point. I shouldn't poo poo that, like if I yeah, if I'm living in Detroit and I've got three kids, and like, well, I could never bring them to a Lion scams. So that is a good point. That is a good point.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I mean I have won every once in a while, but yeah, I think that's uh yeah, I mean I can imagine that Lion's tickets, especially right now, are just out of control. I mean, Chris is right. I you know, I tried. I was looking at some uh when not too long ago, when the Seahawks were at the Bengals, you know, which Cincinnati is pretty close here to Louisville, and I mean the upper corner of the stadium. Those

are like one hundred and fifty dollars tickets. It's like, I you know, you just hear about the game when you're that far up.

Speaker 1

Uh.

Speaker 2

But that's been to me the great thing about UFL tickets, even though there's been a bit of a price hike. Is you get a lot for your money as far as where when you pay a little extra. I mean, the the couple of times that I've been to Saint Louis. You know, my wife and I we get like tickets and you're on the few rows up from the twenty. It's I mean, it's a good price point for what you get, and.

Speaker 1

If you're lucky, you even get like a Marquette King halftime show or post scams. You know you have contents of that.

Speaker 2

You've seen it.

Speaker 1

Now, this is a good This is just said, well, we'll move on from week three after this, but it Mike brings out, this is a good point. You know what f Lions fans know Jake Bates and say, hey came from the UFL's go check it out. It's a great point. I just I I've always this is not just a Jake Bates or Brandon Aubrey thing or anything.

I've never thought the entire you know, which it's clearly the league disagrees with, like building our entire identity are round these three special teams players or five special teams. Like I think that that is one element of that and that I think is successful. But like this, I mean, God bless the people that run in the Panther social media right now, but like it's like the official Jake Bates Stan Love account and everything. Okay, I get it.

It's a little much, but I get it. I mean, I'm also probably not in the age demo that they're trying to kind of hit with that probably aging out of that thoughts on that John, I mean, because Jake Mats is really doing good this year.

Speaker 2

Oh there's no question. And I think that Mike might be onto something too that a lot of people who are paying attention to who might be like really hardcore NFL fans are starting to see that there are some UFL players who might not be the Jake Bates and getting that kind of notoriety. But there are guys who are in the league right now who came from the UFL. Now, they might be linemen that are you know, that aren't as popular, but if you're a football fan, you know

who they are. And so I think there's something to that. It's a lot like I don't want and I'm reluctant to always reluctant to call the UFL a minor League. Some people might want to do that, and that's fine, but it's almost to me like going to a minor league baseball game. The diehards like to go. A lot of them like to go because they want to see some guys who they think are going to play up

a level. And I think there's something to that. So yeah, I mean, will it be the majority of fans, Probably not, but I think it could be, especially as you know pointed out there in Michigan. People know who Jake Bates is, so maybe they say, well, let's go check this out. I mean, anything to get a few butts in the seats, especially in Detroit, there's nothing wrong with that.

Speaker 1

We had six more people in counterass and when no, it is. But I will say, though, just and we'll move on after this because now we're just rambling. But like having kind of this, you know that the football world's kind of sectioning now. Obviously it's really cool for fans like us right of all these leagues and you know, the Spring leagues and CFL and Europe and ELF and Arena. But like, it was so cool. We were over at my brother in law's on it was either Thanksgiving or

his his kids birthday. We have them kind of a week apart, and we were watching the game and I go, hey, you know that kickoff, like I know the guy that invented that? Really, I go, oh yeah, Like I just

UFL Week 4 Schedule

you know, I just I didn't throw Sam at text where he's like, wow, that's red. So I just said that was just kind of cool to be like, hey, you know this thing. Everyone's been talking about anything else with that, anything else with Threek three.

Speaker 2

No, I like it. I think this could be one of the best of the season.

Speaker 1

I agree. Abdul also says, yeah, season tickets have doubled in like the last two years for the Lions, So yeah, I mean that's success, right, you do all that all right? Week four here, so the Friday night again the Panthers. We love the Panthers, right, but like because probably for Ford Fields probably empty on a lot of you know, I mean in theory trying to get these standium of veils. We like these early Saturday games at chalk time, no out on ABC. That's kind of similar to the kickoffs

we have before in previous years. Stallions at rough next year on Fox Saturday Night and then the San Antonio a standalone game Sunday at Ford Field on Fox. One other thing to keep in mind is, yeah, this is WrestleMania weekend, so that'll be going through Friday Saturday. I mean, this could be could be a rough weekend viewership wise for that because they'll have the Friday Night SmackDown opposite that, and then WrestleMania now goes Saturday and Sunday, so it'll

be all the way through and then through Monday. But it could be interesting that because I think there's a very similar cross section even though the Vince and all that isn't still involved. I think the demo you're trying to get any thoughts on week four here, John.

Speaker 2

This is not my favorite. I don't like that noon start and then the other ones at seven o'clock. I mean, I just don't think you're gonna get a lot of people who are, you know, other than us, you know, freaks and people who are diseased that are gonna probably watch every game that are gonna watch both of these games on Saturday, especially in April, that's when you know, the weather starts to get a little nicer in a

lot of the areas. So yeah, I don't I'm not crazy about that one, and again, you know, good for the Michigan Panthers number one. That's like three straight home games that they get. So there again no excuse for the Panthers fans not to show up, but you know, God bless Fox for rolling the dice here on another one and hoping that you know that it's a good turnout on on their what I feel like as their spotlight game.

Speaker 1

Yeah, we have the I'm Panthers on the road week one, yeah, and then week two, three, four all at home, so yeah, I mean you and we hear this a lot in San Antonio as well, with the terrible scheduling and all that. It is a lot to ask, you know, to go to multiple and we saw this in Birmingham with even with the Stallions, with the non US down with the other USFL teams a year one, they're like, it's a

lot to go, like even cracking and playing tonight. They played Monday and they're like, hey, do you want to go? I'm like, I think I'll just watch it home tonight, Like I was just there Monday. Like it's you know, and even hockey is more expensive, but you know, like even if you're saving cash, you sold you know, it's still your evening going down, you know, Defenders here again Sunday night there. Getting the Fox window there at five,

that's seven Eastern always does feel late to me. But I mean I'm not a I'm not an East Coast person, right, but I've always feels like, uh, I don't know, you're starting to get into the later hours there. But I guess that's not yea late.

Speaker 2

No, I mean seven o'clock is not bad when these games go pretty quickly. I just think that you're you're gonna have a split audience today. I mean, you're not going to how many people are going to watch the noon game and then they're gonna watch the seven o'clock game. I just don't outside of the people watching this video that's that's made it this far, they probably at forty one minutes in, they're probably gonna be the ones, including

UFL Week 5 Schedule

me if my wife will let me.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I'm curious what's going on in between there between the noon and seven what's on that? What's well, I guess it's the ABC and then the Fox. You wish that there was, Yeah, and then you're switching networks, channels all that stuff. Yeah, all right, we four are we good.

Speaker 2

With that looks good to me, I mean as good as it can look.

Speaker 1

As good as they can look here. All right, So back to Birmingham again Friday night, showing out that way, we have the Ballahawks on ESPN Saturday at seven, so nothing the early Saturday window Sunday noon and then three, so you kind of get a little double header that way on ESPN. I like that, like when you can get these nuggets kind of going, that's great, it's just

get Could we get that every Sunday? And I understand at this point not possible, but I think that would be cool because you just roll one to the other Almo Dome. Right. So that's the first promise home game this week five, so they're finally at home and hopefully they're not not in the It was oh and four a hole at that point.

Speaker 2

Right now, this one I love the time of all these. On week five, you've got your eight o'clock game, it's at and it's at Birmingham, so hopefully you know, people show out again and then you've got that I like it, the seven pm game at Saint Louis. So if you only had one game on that Saturday, uh, you know, Saint Louis is pretty good for a prime time Saturday game and then the noon and the three. Uh to me, I mean, if I had my drothers, this would be

the schedule. This would be the like every week if you could do it.

Speaker 1

Now.

Speaker 2

I know it's again we've talked about it. It's hard to do that with when you're talking venues and you're talking slots for networks and everything. But I I love how this is laid out, and I think these could all be really good games. Uh, you know, assuming that we that you're right, you know, San Antonio might might just be worn out there, you know, playing away from the fan base.

Speaker 1

Yeah, and well, I guess I'll have to look at the end kind of the mouth because the Saint Louis is getting out of there. So did that happen already? Right? Where is the other Saint Louis at because they're they're doubling that, right, it's like both so the week two Bramas game and then there's another game, but like those both count as you know, it's a Bramas are home even though they're away. Mike here has a great comment.

Week five is the NFL Draft weekends already game on ESPN will follow the end of the NFL draft.

Speaker 2

Car that's good call THATWM there you go, well, I mean, how how great? That wouldn't that be nice? I mean, wouldn't that be what a great lead in? You got people sticking around and then you will say, like, oh what is this if they don't know? Uh yeah, I'm glad he pointed that out because I think that's uh, that'd be That's what a great uh Saturday that could be? That So that makes sense why that's the one game and it's at seven o'clock at night.

Speaker 1

Yes, And so you're gonna have You're gonna have a red hot Michigan Panthers. He just like it's surging. They're surging Detroit, Detroit. You know, fandom is just at a frenzy where they have the you know, the Lions are doing well and maybe maybe the Tigers has started out really hot the first week and a half of the MBA season. And you're gonna have the red hot Michigan Panthers coming in and playing the battle Hawks. But that is cool. I like that.

Speaker 2

So thank you.

Speaker 1

If anyone else has anything, I back because I just do the deep dive while this. But that's great. I think that that's awesome. At the Saturday there seven o'clock and again, you know we're getting off of these are all ESPN and Fox, ABC, you know, like you pointed out before, kind of you know, few fs one whatever, but really kind of this is this is the leverage

that they got from doing this merger. Was we can you know, proposition kind of the best time slots we have on our various network stand to get this going. Anything else out of this one.

Speaker 2

No, But I think you bring up a good point when you have uh, you know, Fox and ABC slash ESPN together on these and they're not not trying to compete against each other, you know, they're they're trying to make this league success. And I think that that that is nothing but positive for all of this.

Speaker 1

You know how often I'm not anymore, but I used to think often like just a different world we would have had if they Fox had just waited in the USFL with well, you know, if they had just kind

UFL Week 6 Schedule

of all and this is when it should have been, and we kind of farted around for a couple of years, and I just.

Speaker 2

Think about that one.

Speaker 1

You know, if a Fox had just been like we're going ahead right now, Like, I mean, we would have missed out on the the lawsuits and the USFL and the Steve you know, Steve Earhart's of the World and kind of all that stuff really would have been different moving to week six here, you know, so now still

Friday night battle Hawks, Now this could be cool. Yeah, see what the Rene games look like, but battle Hawks hosting Fridays, Like, I know it's the availability, but if you could do anything to get some of these hot, because you know, even wrestling does like that, you know,

the cold open riderer. I think they do the the industry term where they show the crowd like the last commercial break right before like if you go to the rescue rides, they're like, hey, we're going to be live here in thirty seconds, and everyone cheers and then they start, you know, and then they start to show and like if you're watching whatever it's not before, it's so cool because you're like, God, I gotta I gotta be a part of this, right

because look at this hot crowd and what's coming up next. You would like them to be able to maybe do something like that where you would have a ravenous kind of battle Hawks fan base and go, hey man, look, we got thirty thousand people standing by for this game, like stay tuned next. I think that's hot. I would like that, and I wish that you could get some more of those on there. Roughnecks hosting that Saturday at noon and then the double header at noon and four

on ESPN two. We have the Panthers on that early Sunday that will not be good ratings vies that will hurt that, and then the Stallions on Fox Sunday May fourth.

Speaker 2

I like it. You're right about that. You know, if the Renegades are good, and let you know, let if the King of Spring, Luis Perez is playing at his level, Saint Louis is hopefully you know, good at that time. And the good thing is, remember that's seven o'clock Central time on a Friday night, so you know, and we all know call is indeed the laws. So uh that that could be like that's the kind of spotlight game that we that I think we're looking for, h you

know from Fox. Uh yet uh the DC Defenders in Michigan Panthers on ESPN two. There will only be rumors of that game because no one's probably gonna watch that outside of the people watching here. And then uh yeah, you know the Roughnecks a Saturday noon game you know in May there. I hope that that is one of those where if the Roughnecks fans are serious about wanting to come back, you know, to TDECU Stadium, that that would be one of the games that they really show

out for. And then uh yeah Braminson Stallions at four o'clock at Protective Stadium. Hopefully those are you know, they're both performing at the level that we think they'll perform at. So yeah, I mean that that this could be a really good week.

Speaker 1

Well you're probably gonna get and we need to get Brett or someone to give us kind of the weather forecast of temperature index for all of these the Birmingham games, because we started to get here now where it's like the guys, it's a little hot here. It's a little hot. But you know, that's a night game. I mean four o'clock isn't necessarily a night game, but you know, I mean that's that's the latest game in that. But you you know, you start looking at that like are we

do we have noon kick austin Birmingham or whatever. You know, you start getting some of these markets now where you can't be Yeah, they're the eight o'clock I'm on Friday of the week before. Yeah, I'm just trying to kind of sco back through here. Yeah. Anyway, you got to keep the Birmingham fans cool. I don't want the weather to be kind of kind of behold of that.

Speaker 2

I can tell you that first year of the USFL where they you know, went everything was in Birmingham. I went down there for a Saturday and Sunday and it was I want to say, like late May or June, and I can tell you that, uh my, my sunburn. I'm almost over the sunburn that from three plus years ago because there were what it there was no rain, it was sunny, and it was about one thousand percent humidity.

So people still showed up for the Birmingham game. I will say that I was one of about fifty for the rest of the game.

Speaker 1

It's hard like we you know, when we got we got a lot of Mariner games and I very much like pick my tickets on where uh you know, like where the sun is going to be or where this is trying to be like, because I do I'm like

if it's if it's a Sunday day game. Okay, we got to sit on this side of the field because and we went to the Coliseum for the last Mariners game there we you know, we did the night game and they were like, all right, we gotta sit like right behind you know, not right behind home play, but we're gonna sit right there for the last game. Oh, I'm this is the worst thing in the world. Like this isn't even like you're just dripping, Like this isn't even enjoyable, Like I'm just sitting in the bottle of

funk here. But yeah, I think that's interesting. Ron here, Mark Cass and Bleacher Brothers got a beer snake draft to fulfill when we do I don't know what that is, let me know, I'll do it. I'll do a beer I'll do a beer draft. And then we had a question. This is when Chris Chris is Time was saying we're selling out for a field here. This will be Yeah, the red hot Panthers hosting. No one will be watching the game because they will all be in attendance. Riggs.

Speaker 2

That's that's why the ratings will be so low. It's going to be on ESPN and all the Panthers fans who exist will be a four field.

Speaker 1

Yeah, Ron's asking me to get beers. Now, this might be an off air conversation.

Speaker 2

Ron.

Speaker 1

Chris and I got two free beer snake tickets for you to give away. Can't can't do you ticket giveaways anymore. Chris got a Chris can Facilita to take about. I'm not even allowed in the beer snake section, so I got on. Even if I can give tickets a way into the beers next section, I can't even attend the beers next section. But yeah, anyway, Chris is got you know,

we'll start pumping up. Remember like a subscribe. We get to four thousand, Dustin with Royal Retro's is going to do a couple of free jerseys, custom jerseys wherever you want, like I have a C Dragons one or I know it was a Dragons like away one from twenty twenty. He'll do all sorts of cool stuff. He's got all the USFL and CFL and all of that, so make sure. But yeah, get us up to four thousand subscribers like it, subscribe so we can kind of get that gone.

Speaker 2

Royal Retros does some awesome stuff. I mean it, it is incredible I mean, and it's not just like, oh it's you know twenty twenty XFL, which they did just put a bunch of new stuff on there, but I mean it goes back. They've got I mean, they literally have teams that don't that never existed, and they have jerseys and many helmets for them. So it's pretty cool.

Speaker 1

They side note the I popped on this, John, this is a real thing. But it came. I got a zach Ertz commander's practice jersey right coming from from it. I think it was from last year because it's the before. I think they kind of rebranded this stuff right with the well, no, maybe he's in the NHL. Anyways, zach Aritz practice one got a super deal, I mean nothing. And then who caught the game when he touched down on Sunday when I was wearing a jersey.

Speaker 2

John, listen, you broke a lot of hearts with that win.

UFL Week 7 Schedule

By the way, Hawks kill You killed Atlanta's chances there. I mean it was, yeah, that was tough, but good. You know what, good for you guys? You need to not watch that and wear it every Sunday.

Speaker 1

There you go. I gotta hanging right here anyway. Week six, anything else with us down as we've talked through all that. All right, Week seven, here we go, we get the albums. I'm hosting the Friday night one. Could be interesting here the DC Defenders going in Renigates. They love this mid afternoon in chalk Taw like they love nothing more than

noon one. Nothing is going on at chalk Taw. Now you start need to you need to start talking to the Rangers people about cross promoting that, like, hey, come see the neon Arlington or the one o'clock Arlington Retigade's game and then go across the street. We're gonna be playing baseball at five or whatever. Like to me, that's a no brainer. And I don't understand whether there's not

more synergy there. Stallions hostings. Now this is when we get in tricky church Sunday noon hot could be, could be whatever on ABC and then the Showboats hosting the prime time here three Easter n the ESPN.

Speaker 2

Yeah that and that's eleven o'clock in Birmingham, so yeah, that's Sunday school time, the preachers hitting the pulpit at that time. But yeah, you know, I think I've used the term roll the dice a few times here on these Friday games. Yeah yeah, I mean you gotta wonder if if san Antonio is, you know, having a tough time, that could I don't know about that, but you know, it's it's good to see that they finally you don't

get to play at home on a Friday night. Uh yeah, these are these these could be some interesting matchups that Hawks show boats game feels like one that I might try to actually be there for. I'm trying. I'm wanting to go to Memphis this year, so that might be the one. Uh yeah, these are some interesting matchups. Uh and again those Friday games. I'm I can't wait to

see what these look like. And I really hope they they blow it out like uh, you know the open of Last Boy Scout when it was a Friday night's a good night for football and it was like explosions and helmets blowing up and stuff. I think I hope that they do something to that effect.

Speaker 1

John, if you go to Memphis, I want you to record the video of you walking in Memphis and playing that song that I want if you are going to be in Memphis. I went to Nashville and then I I was like, I could live in Nashville. I could be a Preds fan. I could be a Titans fan like I kind of like that, and I could we live in Smashville and all that. But you know, yeah Memphis and yeah play that song with that one quick thing.

Chris became a new member I think came back. But just remember ninety nine said a month you know, just support the channel. It's like it just makes me feel good to be like I got a new member here. Like anyway, it's little. It's that eight seventy five of passive income a month, John, that's really going to sink I retire my hits.

Speaker 2

It'll buy something eight seventy five. That's a that's almost a beer at a Krakens game. Probably not about half of one.

Speaker 1

Maybe yeah we get uh yeah, it's about twenty dollars for a triple cheek other Uh. Anyway, this was gonna be my this is my bold hot take here. So this is Mines August, uh the Brahmas on Friday Night here. If the if Fox is to flex the UFL games, like we are canceling this, uh, this experiment early this year, Like it's either going to be for this game or because of this game. That they're like, yeah, so like we gotta get because they'll have the battle Hawks a

week before, right week six, Okay, we got it. We'll keep it through that. We got to get through the battle Hawks and then but this will either be like we gotta flex this or afterward like okay, we can't do that again because it we week seven. I guess the dolls of the season here. That's my hot take. No, I don't think that's that hot of a take at all.

Speaker 2

I think there's there could be a point where, yeah, Fox is like, nobody's gonna show up for this game, like what are our better options? And you you know, maybe give them some time to Readjust yeah, I know, I don't think that's a hot take at all. I think that's probably that might be a good idea because you know, we always always talk about optics. You want good optics for spotlight games could happen.

Speaker 1

I'm just saying right now, I would go to this game if anyone wants to go. I was just because Chris is talking here trying to figure out you trying to figure out logistics for travel, like San Antonio is San Antonio, DC are two of the best places to see games. Just because of the proximity of the stadium to what's going on. Birmingham only has a couple of those bars there, right, chalk Tok's really good you have Texas live there, but you really kind of got to

stay out in Arlington to really benefit all that. San Antonio is one of the best you can stay on the river walk. I have a million suggestions of anything. If anyone ever wants to do the San Antonio stuff, I would go. This would be fun on the Friday.

You know, you could fly in even that day and then just head to the Alamodome and then fly You know, that's a very doable trip for Reid here in early May if I don't have a wedding, but I would do anything in the world to if I would recommend that and the DC for that for a home team and hopefully the Brahmas aren't aren't around this year at

UFL Week 8 Schedule

week seven, right.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I mean that's again, that's the gamble you take on that.

Speaker 1

Yeah, rolling the dice, John, rolling the dice.

Speaker 2

I think it's called rolling the dice.

Speaker 1

Do we have we gone to any of our our double headers yet or another double headers? Are I Simon?

Speaker 2

I don't think so I think that I think week eight. I think it's week eight.

Speaker 1

All right, so here let's get to week eight here partly, yeah, here we go. I just always, yeah, I see that we have the askers. I was like, it's hard sometimes trying to process all this. So we got uh, but we have Brahmas hosting again back to back. Yeah, this is definitely gonna be this now because spoiler alert, I hadn't really looked at it. I like doing my I like being fresh on here. I like John and I

like kind of coming in with a little whatever. But this is absolutely my hot take going back at week seven and week eight or both home and now they're gonna be like, we we saw what this looks like a week seven, Like we can't go back and do this again, like we've already seen that. And then the simulcast on Fox, so that will be region locked. I wouldn't put the battle Hawks in the region locked game, but there you go.

Speaker 2

Especially against Birmingham. That's why that one that would surprise me. I will say I might take it back because my Saturday May seventeenth is uh, my anniversary, and my wife said we can go to the BattleHawks game. But I better get a good dinner that night. And I was like, well, we can make that happen, so it might be going to that one. But yeah, I agree to me, and good the BrahMos, who I think get this finish the season with four straight home games or something like that,

and one of being Friday night. Maybe I was surprised to see this or being a regional split with the Birmingham Stallions being in a regional split with Saint Louis. I didn't, you know. And then you've got Panthers and Roughnecks with that. That's fine, but to me, that should have been like maybe the Sunday noon game would have been Saint Louis or the Friday night game that week.

Speaker 1

Sorry my cameras, I'll out of control. I keep talking with my hands and then things that I want to like, have it track me. See that was like, I gotta turn that off, let me get back over here, and then I'll re sell it DC again with another Sunday night game. I mean, this is a lot. This is the thing. Sunday's light. It's not Sunday night but noon, but like the Sundays at Aldi. But I like that, and obviously that's probably working through their their soccer schedule

and all of that. You know, however, all of that goes but Back says a funny comment here we'll get to you, but Sundays at Aldi is awesome, Like I just think that that is having done the twenty twenty kickoff, we did the Sea Dragon's playoff game there against the Defenders, Like it's just a really cool atmosphere for that. So

I'm a big fan. Max says a. Fox likes the regional splits so they don't have to give away as many spots you see, like you're protecting to go because and I will say, and I said, but this is I honestly a good point. I got to turn off this track in there we go. Maybe that won't follow me.

Now when they break about how many games are on Fox, four of the games really are two, so it is it does that's true numbers where they go, oh we have you know, we have whatever it was I read in the faction figures like, oh we have eighteen games on Fox, Like well it's it's really you know, sixteen games and they're they're counting too. Is you know that you wouldn't normally get But I don't know I don't

love the simulcast thing. I get why they do it because of Max pointing that what do you what do you make of that?

Speaker 2

Yeah? Max is a phrase it's gonna be too many PSAs and these because they can't sell the spots. I don't. Yeah, I again, you know I They're doing it one week and I'm sure there's probably a reason for that. I don't know what it is, but I the Birmingham Stallions in Saint Louis BattleHawks being one of the regional games. I didn't. I didn't get that one.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I didn't like that. It was funny. We were talking Chris is talking about the Rock and the comments like it was an article. Rock came out with something like for New Year's where it's you know, don't do you don't have to do anything, you get to do it. So I go into, you know, approach the New Year like I get to do. I go, do you think he has to talk about the UFL? And do you think he gets to talk about the UFL at this point? Well, do you think the Rocks welfare check is season three? Here?

Of the XFL and his involvement, I don't know, you know, he read.

Speaker 2

One he's got that going on.

Speaker 1

Hey, if anyone hasn't seen Red One, have a couple of beers, have a Jay whatever. It's a really, it's totally fine. I watched that and I watched that carry On movie.

Speaker 2

With Jason Datem watched that one the other night. Yeah, that was It's.

Speaker 1

They're like, these movies are getting such great reviews. Like it's like, it's just a knockoff Diehard. It's just interesting to see Jason Bateman. It's like a bad guy. That's really.

Speaker 2

That was the hook on that movie.

Speaker 1

There's no question that Eric Egertanner whatever has no charisma. I never underst he's in these movies. I don't under he was good and Rocketman, but yeah, oh that was him, Yeah he was. He was all his acting in that. And then he said Norman's checking in here. Norman is

UFL Week 9 Schedule

so excited. I haven't seen Norman comment like and subscribe, become a member, and then sends them up They like and subscribe us up to four thousand subscribers. He's open for an Ohio team in the expansion.

Speaker 2

Expansion, let's go.

Speaker 1

Anyway, anything else with this week A We've talked to region lock and all that stuff.

Speaker 2

Looks good to me.

Speaker 1

Week nine, Oh my gosh, so we're back. We're we're hosting again on Friday. Oh my god.

Speaker 2

I knew they had those home games, but I did I realized they were Friday.

Speaker 1

No, I didn't really say, yeah, this is this is gonna kill the Thank god Jay Well, I wish day was still with the Brahma of social media, but this would kill the Bramas, might single handedly kill the Friday night on Fox experiment here with. I cannot believe that this is why I like going through this real time, because otherwise I would have been yelling about that at the beginning.

Speaker 2

Well, I you know, I looked and I had, like, you know, one of my notes was like, you know, the Bramas kind of you know, got hosed this year, but at least they finish like with four straight home games. But I didn't realize. Also, now I'm just now saying that these are Friday night games. There's got to be a flex option, don't you think.

Speaker 1

I don't. I don't know if you can because it will a so you already have that issue with the NFL right where we can you can swap within day, right or you can't or it's got to be so far in advance because people are buying tickets. I mean, it is true. A number one, obviously the players have to be safe in the amount of time between games.

But like, yeah, if I'm a fan and I'm flying into Santa or not, it's in the NFL, I'm fine, fine to Detroit to go watch the game, and then you flex it to Monday night football or you flex it to You're like, well, now I pissed because I paid so I I don't know what that And then with the team logistics would travel. I mean it's just a you know, you got all these dual planes, and you know, you got AJ mccarren yelling and like.

Speaker 2

Got a ride with A. I got it.

Speaker 1

They're on the same play with what is this going on with this? But yeah, that is that is brutal with it. I don't know what they do and that that would be a question. I would put a poll out after this, like do they flex the Bramas out of it? Is there any way we can play? That's insane to me.

Speaker 2

You put this Wait a second though, this says at the Dome at America Center.

Speaker 1

Oh so it's this is the reverse one this is the reverse.

Speaker 2

Okay, Okay, so maybe so yeah, because I just saw I saw versus San Antonio, but then I just saw this. It said don't so maybe they don't finish with four straight home games.

Speaker 1

So yeah, so this is a home game, and thank god, thank god John FARREDI no one in the comments corrected me at all with any of this, like this is the home game in Saint Louis, which.

Speaker 2

Why, I mean why, Like this is this is a Houston Roughnecks, Houston Gamblers kind of thing.

Speaker 1

Like, well, but you got it. Obviously the album are Yeah, obviously the album that was busy, so they had to do it this way, and they yeah, you can't have the promise not play the same number of home games.

Speaker 2

I mean, I get it, but like it's still not a home game, Like are the San Antonio fans gonna fly in there? But I do? Okay, So again, this could be a good Friday night spotlight game because it is going to be at the Dome on a Friday night seven seven pm Central. Uh, you know, well lubricated fans. If the BattleHawks are still going strong, that's another question

that we've never seen. What the fan base is going to be like if the BattleHawks were mediocre or bad, because they've always been you know, in contention, they've been good. They've been fun to watch. I'm not wishing that on anybody because that when the BattleHawks to me are kind of like the New York Yankees to Major League Baseball. Yeah, when they're good, the league is good and everyone benefits from it. So but yeah, this is like, this is good, this is at Saint Louis on that front end.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, No, as as a BattleHawks go, so does the UFL. Thanks yes, And I'm so glad we pointed this out because I was about to have a connection with that. But it is. But it is an interesting point because you talk about, you know, the fervent fan base there and the work that they've done, and they've always been like good, too great, right, They've always been

on the upper echelon. It still kills me. And we talked with Dave Naylor about it, who's a big CFL reporter for people if you have, you know, following we're doing our Great Cup show, and he is just adamant that the CFL could put a team in Saint Louis and they would just adopt them like they have the Ballahawks like they've been working to build Saint Louis since

twenty eighteen now, like through Vince All like it. To me, that is a hearty laugh that you think that you could just like supplant another team in there and have them support that. But you know, maybe I'm wrong, but I think that. Yeah, Saint Louis is very happy. Uh and when they're healthy, so we'll see what they look like here hosting the problems again.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I don't know about about a CFL team trying to now if if you know, the battle Hawks moved to l A in the middle of the night, which that really can't happen. I would think with the UFL they would relocate. They wouldn't do that to to Saint Louis.

I mean maybe, but no, I can't see that this This is an interesting interesting week though, with the Brahmas home game in Saint Louis and then what could be a good one, you know that Saturday with the Panthers and Stallions if they're both playing up to par.

Speaker 1

Yeah, so that's on ABC, A couple of ABC doublehead there the noon three, the Memphis and noon game, and then.

Speaker 2

At d C.

Speaker 1

Still they d C like is always that Sunday team. It seems like that they're already they have a lot of their right Week eight Sunday. I mean, now I go back through their Week six Sunday, I mean they're you know, and that affects things too when you're traveling up their Week five Sunday. I mean, DC is is a Sunday favorite team there, and that is odd because

obviously that's not depending on AUDI at that point. But with the rough next there, I'll just speak curious because, like you said, there was so much with Rice Stadium and everything and the Roughnecks and we don't want to support this in the name brand like you're two now, but if the team still garbage, like I don't know, Yeah, Chris says, they only played Sunday last year, so obviously that part of that is the AUDI field thing.

Speaker 2

That makes sense.

Speaker 1

Yeah, And I don't know what the Rough Necks are going to be this year, so it's hard for me to kind of prognosticate what those games are going to look like. But they need to get some fan base up in there because people hollered for them to get back to the other stadium.

Speaker 2

Yeah, they've got to be a better team. I was surprised they didn't make some wholesale changes in Houston this year. I read I remember you and I talking before the season on here before last season, We're like which coaches are going to stay in, which which ones are going to go? And like Houston to me was a no brainer.

So but but I mean, I hope it works out, and I hope that they are improved because uh that just that really really makes me think that that they feel like they have something there that they can build on, although I don't know that a lot of us could see it from last year.

Speaker 1

Yeah, you know, and you always wonder for them to show in a couple of comments like just you know, like there might just not be better options for a lot of these teams. And we talked on the expansion episode about you Okay. Now they're they're wanting cities to like court the UFL for okay, well please come here, and we want all that. Like I think if you could be anywhere then Houston, you'd be there already, or if you could be anywhere from some of these you'd

be there already. So to me, I don't know, like it's like dating somewhere one and you're like, well, like this best, Like like I don't know if I'm going to be able to do any other here or whatever. I don't know, Like, but I think some of these you know, and we've talked in Greg Parks and I LENGTHD with ufl board and everything else about, like you

UFL Week 10 Schedule

would never put any of these teams in these markets, like you know, if you went back and rebuilt this map from the beginning. But obviously this is where we're at now.

Speaker 2

Yeah. No, I think that's a good point. If you started, if you started from zero again, is this what it would look like? I don't think it would.

Speaker 1

No, No, I hope not.

Speaker 2

I hope not.

Speaker 1

Week ten here rounded it out. I see now Chris is already saying d C Friday night, that's gonna be popping here at Ballahawks going in. You know, if those teams are really in contention, that could be really atmosphere of the season. It seems wait until week ten for that, and then Panthers hosting against Saturday and then the doubleheader Sunday noon three, so there's only the one simulcast game, So that's good. Fox on Friday, ESPN Saturday and then the ABC Fox is split on Sunday.

Speaker 2

Yeah, this is yeah, I think Friday is obviously kind of the spot that that's going to be the one, as you said, if they're both in contention and what we think they might be this year. I mean, and you know that could that could be with something on the line. Uh, so that that would that could be an interesting game and the resk you got to think like will Memphis be playing for you know, will there be something there for them to play for? And then

they're playing to Birmingham Stallions. Uh, you know saying Renegades and Bramas you know, who knows. There are a lot of question marks here. So you wonder how you know in this week ten what's going to be on the line? Uh? And to me just you know, trying to prognosticate here in January on what's gonna happen May thirtieth, it feels like that BattleHawks defenders you know very well could be like something on the line.

Speaker 1

So you mean, because we need to have our Poot Bowl this year? So what is what is the Poot Bowl game of where they play for where they play for the what is it? You know, where they play for the number one pick or whatever.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, I don't know if it's in week ten unless the Renegades are just you know, and I know they struggled last year, but the Bramas were good. But we don't know what you know, they're not. We don't know what they're going to look like this year, hope. Well, I wouldn't think it would be the rough necks in Panthers because of what we saw last year out of the Panthers. Uh, that's that's a good question. Well, what maybe that's gonna happen in week nine?

Speaker 1

Let me interesting, So I'll be curious to check that out. But Chris here saying to come out, I'll get you give us tickets there. Week ten, we tend out of the I don't even know. Is that amoralthy weekend? That might be a tough kind of flex anyway. Oh yeah, it could be its Memorial Day. I got a wedding show that Sunday. That's a tough that's a tough ass for but anyway, and then ending in Memphis, I don't know,

UFL Playoffs Schedule

that could be I mean the Stallions. Yes, you're hoping that Memphis has something to play for at that point, but that that is you know, the week ten kind of rides like this in the wave sorry ending and if that makes sense.

Speaker 2

Right, No, no, it does that that could be that might be the one that might be the Friday night game. Too bad it's week ten.

Speaker 1

But yeah, uh so then let's go here just a couple of playstar of things and if anyone has any comments here, we can get to all that stuff. So we know, you know, we know the player dates a double header on Sunday, June eighth, three pm and then six pm, So that would be cool. One on ABC, one on Fox and then ABC holding the championship game on Saturday, June fourteenth at eight pm on ABC. Fox hosted last year, right, they bounced back and forth in the kickoff is on ABC. Right, so we'll flip out

of round. Do you like the the Sunday conference championships and then leading into the Saturday playoff game or excuse me, championship game. Would you prefer a Sunday championship game? Would you prefer any difference if we had any options of changing any of this.

Speaker 2

If you're going to play at eight o'clock, I think it's better to do that on a Saturday night rather than a Sunday the championship game. No, I'm fine with these and I like that. You know, you get you get, you get a double you get a double header of Although it might be good to start a little earlier, I'm not going to nitpick this. I mean three and six Eastern to me is fine. Yeah, I mean I like this postseason and set up very much.

Speaker 1

Yeah, and there you go, Saturday, June fourteenth. I got that marked down. We'll see how it goes. I know I have a wedding on June seventh, I believe, so I can't do it that day. You know, I wouldn't travel for the conference games most likely, but a good chance there on the fourteenth, and we'll see where that's going to be. We haven't announced, you know, right, they don't have an official right we're are we assuming Saint Louis.

I've heard protective in there, but they haven't officially announced anything from where it's going to be, right because they likely be neutral to site.

Speaker 2

Yeah, you know, there were there was some talk that it something one of the what was was it Audi that was out? Something? Something was I want to know this out?

Speaker 1

Yeah?

Speaker 2

Yeah, so yeah, I mean could be Saint Louis could be, but I'd also heard too. I mean, these are all rumors, like Birmingham might be in the mix for it be interesting.

Speaker 1

It'd be you know. I I like that Birmingham setup with those bars in the hotel there. It's just hard like it's it's an expensive weekend. Like I paid a lot to stay there because we were doing the show and we used all that. But like I was going as a fan, I would never pay the stay, right, it's just too you know, it's too expensive for kind

Show Outro

of what it is. But it could be cool. I mean they could, they could pack it. It was packed that kickoff game. I mean it hasn't hasn't reached those heights again, but I think with enough marketing behind it. Yeah, Mike says Audi was the rumor. But FIFA World has a game that weekend that was at Okay, so we're all with that stuff. So let's let's do some questions here. I have some star we'll probably you get for fifteen minutes and we'll get out of here at the bottom

of the hour. I got some star questions here. Does that work for you John?

Speaker 2

That works for me?

Speaker 1

All right? So, and if you guys have any questions about the games, any questions about you know, anything, UFL will get to all that on here. Abdul says. Over under one point five expansion teams announced for the twenty twenty six season during the twenty twenty five championship.

Speaker 2

That's a lot. I think that's probably too much to ask for, because the expansion process has just really been announced and I don't know how much it's really started, and I think there's going to be so many moving pieces. But if they do announce it, I mean there's going to be so much work going on behind the scenes while the season is going on for that to happen in the next you know, in June. So but I think when the expansion is announced, I think it will be two teams.

Speaker 1

I think, yeah, so it has to be two teams. I'll be really curious how this, how this looks or goes, because you know, the UFL and they were the people that put this out right, and we kind of talk that, Okay, we want to do this to kind of get some free promotion here we're getting ready to build all this.

But it's kind of like and obviously I'm happily Mary, but it's kind of like being like, hey, I'm open to Dayton Sidney Sweeney, like I'm open, like I'm here, you know, like where it's you know, you could say we're we're ready to do anything and we're looking. But you know, if they don't get any reciprocation there, does

that is an egg on their face? If they announced this and no one comes forward, do we try to fit something work because we've put this out do we just kind of ignore it if we don't get in that bit? Like I'm just curious how this goes, because now you've actually put this out in the ether at something that you know, people can like Google and the UFL expansion. This like it puts it in the ether more than just us talking about it for you know, forever online.

Speaker 2

And and I'll say that, you know, there was some talk this might be breaking news here on your on your show read so maybe I might need to get the uh should I like go with the red lights back? But there was some talk about Louisville being in the mix here. I talked to the Louisville Sports Commission. This was back in mid December, when you know, a little bit after all this had been announced. They say that

they've not had any talks with the UFL. Uh And then a couple of weeks later, I talked to the executive director of the Mayor's Cabinet for Economic Development here in Louisville. He says they've not been contacted by the uf for a possible expansion team, but they're going to continue to work with Louisville Sports Commission. So, and I'd asked the Louislle Sports Commission, did you guys like give an RFP to maybe try to get this team. They

have not done that. So, I mean, I'm not losing hope here on a in my adopted hometown that will get a UFL team. But uh so if the expansions are, if they're moving, they're moving elsewhere other than Louisville.

Speaker 1

It's yeah, I mean we talked about this before. I think it's a hard sell. I think it's hard to get the city's involved and Okay, what is the cost of benefit? And you know, like if you're looking in San Antonio now and you're like, okay, we're doing and God bless all these people, and you know, got the horns for a podcast like all these you know, like San Antonio has a good like hardcore, damn base right that that shows up online and and god bless that.

But yeah, you got four home games. You know they don't come to halfway through the season. One of your home games is not even in in San Antonio. So like if I you know, like if I'm a San Antonio sick of like rep, how do you even sell that? Like here, get involved in the four games and then we can give you an option if you want to

go to Saint Louis. Like to me, it's just it's it's really hard to sell any of these teams as five standalone home games anyway that you want these people to get invested at, like oh yeah, then they'll be back, you know, ten months from now, like you can you know, come and come back and see him again later, like no off season push really hard to track anything and the out Like I just it's really hard. I don't envy the people and I see them post all the time,

these people trying to sell tickets. I don't envy that at all because I just think any of it to get people in, you get the cities involved. I think it's really hard. It's very it's easy to throw out any of these random cities, but to actually get them involved, I think it's pretty hard.

Speaker 2

Right and you know you've said this before, uh read that you're selling a product and it's like so but you know this is and this kind of spoke to like the whole franchising thing, like if you really wanted to franchise this, what what would people? What are people buying right now? And I think that the UFL has an opportunity to put that on the stage for franchising this year. But as far as like for cities, like what do the cities think that you know, what are

they going to buy? Like what what what are they going to? Where are they in for? How is this gonna help improve their community? How is this going to help put them on a on a bigger stage.

Speaker 1

Like and we don't do a lot of like advertising their sponsorships on here this because this isn't like in any way my you know, primary anything. But like, uh, at a time when Paul and I were involved, and we were very okay, like how did we like reach

out to people like what do we do? And you know, we kind of put together a little deck, right like Okay, this is kind of you know, this is kind of our demo and how many people and where they live and we get all this, you know, and I have to do that anyway when I like apply to you the CFL for credentials and like, okay, this is our platforms,

I don't know, like what is this? Like what is the deck of a UFL team When they're like here Louisville, Like you know, I just I know we've talked about this before kind of like regards to like I just don't know what that sell is. I don't know what you bring and what you print out and bring to that median of like here come invest in the UFL team.

Like we just watched that uh and that Step Brothers where they're showing you know where were doing the boats and hosts and they just showed the boat and they're like but Dad, like are you going to invest in? Like I feel like that's that's kind of like like what does that meeting look like when like rusting them go in like here right here is our presentation like corporate synergy. I don't know.

Speaker 2

Uh yeah, I think I think it might be more appealing to cities like Louisville who want a little bit of a bigger name. But if the UFL. You know, and I think there's room here. I mean I've said it before. I and I even made a video like this is why I think. You know, here are five reasons I think you the UFL should come to Louisville.

But you know, I think it's a harder sell for uh, you know, some some larger cities, especially when they're we've you know, heard that they could be cities that you know already have an NFL presence and and the UFL has that already. Uh So you're right, you know, we like the UFL. We enjoy it, but when you start looking at it from a level of I'm a city official, I'm a mayor, I'm a governor. What am I? How is this going to help my state? How's this going

to help my community? Yeah? I don't know. I hope they've got I hope that there's an opportunity here.

Speaker 1

Uh.

Speaker 2

I think there is an opportunity for expansion. But you're right, like I would love to know what the seal is for this. You know, we enjoyed its entertainment, but how does this really improve communities?

Speaker 1

Yeah, it's when they when they originally announced the USFL, like Hub and all of that, And I think it was roy S. Johnson with the al dot Com but like really detailed like kind of the year long process of getting that, and it was right with Eric Shanks and I think they were in a truck for a different doing some other sports thing and then they're like, well what about like we put them all and what about Birmingham Like they kind of you know, and they

were working with the b JCC like their convention whatever there they're complex there in the community. Like, but it was like months and then like, okay, we got to sell them on this, so we're gonna have all the teams.

Like to me, it's almost easier to sell that of hey, we're gonna have eight teams play forty games here, like like to me, the USFL year one was an easier sell than like, well here and now you're gonna do all the same work for us to be in your city and it's five home games or four and like now we got to do all this stuff with the stadiums, like we have a question to hear about just marketing before we get out. But I just think it's a name of the harder sell now of like when now

you're like you're trying to sell a fraction. The CFL gets this a lot where they all the games used to be on ESPN and now they have half the games locked up with CBS Sports Networks, and then they just stream the rest of them for free because there's no market for that other half of the games, Like CBS Sports pays for what they want, and then all the other ones are like, we don't care, like just

stream them. Like I think it was almost an easier sell to sell all the teams and you know, dates and everything versus like, well here, here's just a handful. Can you can You got to be a part of this web.

Speaker 2

And I think that was probably I think at the USFL was thinking that and Fox was thinking, this is a proof of concept. Now let's now the next step is to franchise these teams out and to actually play in the cities that they're named after. But but I think, you know, this year, as we said, I mean, I think there's an opportunity for the UFL to show what it's about and maybe make that sell where they look, they're watching TV and they see these big crowds on

a Friday night. Hopefully we'll see that. So you know, it's something for the community to do, but it could be a harder sell for some larger cities, and maybe a little easier sell in places like Louisville, which is, you know, a top fifty market, but does it you know, doesn't have a pro football team.

Speaker 1

The other thing here, I had one, Oh, Mike, let's see here, just I just had a couple more. I wanted to see, Oh, Darren, are they doing boosts like Houston, Detroit, DC, any on the ground promotions. I know they're hiring for you know, they were always hiring for this, and I even saw that they were looking for like a new comms person to help kind of facilitate that. I just it's such a hard it's a hard sell for any of this. Like it's okay, I'm going to be a

seasonal employee, like I'm going to come work. Yeah, they need to have you need to have two three people on full staff and all these you know we were talking Ryan Gusts in earlier. Seattle is a great example of that and really being and doing community events and giveaways and being prevalent like I don't I haven't seen a lot of that. I know they're trying to hire that and it's when you lay off everyone you gotta hire, it's hard to get people to come back on. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Speaker 2

Uh? Yeah, I mean, as you said, how many people want to be seasonal employees. Uh, you know, if you're looking for a full time job, or you have the opportunity or you're going to be a seasonal employee for you know you have, you're gonna have to obviously be in the Arlington area. I just think that the talent pool for what they're looking for or what they're maybe hoping for that job, talent pool might not be what they It won't it won't be available or at the

scale that it should be. To me, if that makes sense, I just think you're right. You need people year round who are out in the community, who are like you know, like Darren saying here, you know, do booths be a public presence, get your name out. We were seeing that wasn't even happening in Birmingham, and you know, Birmingham is the heart of spring football, so you need that year round and to be a brand.

Speaker 1

Anything else here. I know. I have one more thing. Oh Mike was talking, he had this question about them doing the pregame shows, doing that trying to roll in on Fridays. I assume that's going to be more of an internet thing, right the UFL, can you. I don't think Fox has the programming space to give it away ahead of that, but I do know that Mike had some talks about that. I think it was online stuff.

Speaker 2

You know, if they are you know, they did show on the schedule. I'll say this, like the Friday night games on Fox are at eight o'clock. But I do wonder usually, you know, seven thirty Eastern time is going to be you know, that's gonna be local time. That's gonna be your local programming stuff, that's your you know, family feuds and Judge Dudy's and things like that where

the local stations make the money. So if they do have a pregame show, I can't imagine, you know, if it's a Fox pregame show, I can't imagine it would be more than maybe fifteen minutes and the kickoff would actually be eight to fifteen, which you know, we see this a lot. If anytime you notice a time, like for instance, you know it's gonna be Friday at eight o'clock. Well, the kickoff might.

Speaker 1

Actually be younger than that for a ten. Yeah, you could do.

Speaker 2

That, and sometimes even later with like college football, then you know something, Oh it kicks off is at eight. Well, we've got a twenty seven minute pregame show, so maybe there's something like that I would like to see. Rather than just go cold into the game, let's you know, have a little bit of a pregame.

Speaker 1

Yeah. It's like when we go to the crack and if it's a local game, they usually puck drop. Yeah, if it's at seven, they might puck drop at seven of five, But if it's on the t N TN T or ESPN broadcast, it's always like seven to twenty five eight, And then we never know. And then you know, I'm not looking at what channel the game's are. In the game, I'm going to right, You're like, oh, shoot, this game is the whatever. Well, there we go. I think we did good. You know, we'll come back in.

I know, as Zach was asking more regular programming, I mean, it's a holidays, there's not a lot to talk about. Obviously we touched on the Zach News here, leaving the Stallions and the Key Butler and all that, but like I think we do our best right now. I think we pop on when it is and you know, we've been waiting for this. We have all the broadcast windows. Like I said, I really thought we were going to

get just the schedule, so we have. This is kind of the full drop of this now through and they're kind of hope that this I guess carries some interest going in here. But they got a lot of to me, they got a lot of work between now and in March twenty eighth to kind of get this interest peaked.

Speaker 2

And let's think about it. It's not that far away. I mean, it's really not. And yeah, let's go XFL project. You're right, I'm with you. I can't wait for the season. People think we get on here and we're too negative, and we say it all the time. It's like, well, we want to succeed and we're excited about it. Yeah. I it that. That's a good point. There's a lot of promotion opportunity out there and it's you get you.

But here's the thing. You have to have people in on the ground right there to do all the things in these markets to say oh, yeah, by the way, you know we're gonna we're starting up here, and the good thing is that the super Bowl is on Fox, So I think that there's a really good opportunity for a lot of promotion right there.

Speaker 1

One quick thing, I I hate these ufl commercials right now, these ones right I'm like the wild Roughneck runs through that thing. I don't I yeah, I don't like it. I I thought the ones they did last year, and I would have preferred. I preferred the Hollywood football or whatever that they called. You know, real folk like I prefer that over this because to me, it's like it almost takes too long to figure out what's going on,

and then it's like spring football returns. You have like tiny little UFL ago you like these, am I in the minority. The everyone of those life is It's.

Speaker 2

Okay to be wrong. Read there's nothing wrong with it. No, I really like, I thought they were creative and and their eye catching. I mean it's not you know, it's not fireworks and you know, car explosions or anything. But I thought they were creative and it got my attention.

I mean I was you know a lot of times you're watching a game and you know, su as the commercial comes on, you know, there's about three or four other things you're gonna do during that commercial and it's like but then I see it, Like the first time I saw one, I'm like, what is this? Like, Oh, it's a spring football commercial?

Speaker 1

Well they had yeah this one. Yeah, so Mike and and Abdullah bro the Jake Bates one was fine. Yeah, where it is I'm talking to the wild wild Stallion runs it sounds like David Attenborough and like and like one of them is it turnover and then the other. I don't like that. I don't like seeing the turnover and because like he knocks it out of the fumble or something. I don't. I'm the same thing when I'm watching football. I'm on my phone, you know, I'm on a million

different things, but I don't. I don't. Yeah, I just think they're really weird.

Speaker 2

Read noted ufl hater got it.

Speaker 1

Well, I have a Phillips asking me how he how he can join guys? Yeah, click join, right, isn't that what it says there? John? Click joins and subscribe to the you know, don't subscribe, click join the channel join and then the last thing here? Oh Chris Chris said, Yeah, I couldn't get through one episode of having a complaint. So there you go, I have to complain about them whatever. So anything else, I think we're.

Speaker 2

Good, John, I'm sorry, sorry read Yeah, I think it's exciting. As someone said, happy schedule release day, I mean it got here. I think the UFL did it right. They built a little anticipation and then they released the schedule. I think the destroying appearance might have gotten canceled today because you know, all the Sugar Bowl stuff that was going on. But but I but I do like that. I like where it's going. I like I'm optimistic even more this year than I was this time last year

because we we didn't know what was gonna happen. We've got a second season of the UFL, We've got what a fourth or fifth straight season now of spring football. I mean these are good times right now.

Speaker 1

Yeah, And like I said, we'll do our bet. This is kind of the investment that I'm into this, Like I'll pop in, we'll do I appreciate. But like, yeah, I think we're I think we're doing good. I appreciate. I said, like subscribe, Phillip, click you know, click join. It's it's ninety nine cents a month. You wouldn't even think of it coming out, and thanks everyone for dealing with that weird like start where it didn't it didn't like, it didn't trigger on Twitter, and so like, I don't

think I'm live. I'm like, oh, I am live.

Speaker 2

I just I saw the stream live up. I'm like, what is that?

Speaker 1

Yeah? So uh here Phillips, Phillips really working through that. Well, I can't, I can't. I was gonna screen share Philip. Well, well, I'll hit you up in the DMS. We'll see everyone next time. Thanks everyone, and then we'll check you out at NAS

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