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The first go round of the UFL went largely as expected. The product was watchable but not particularly memorable. TV ratings were solid. It did enough things right to earn a shot at a second season. But let’s not pretend the league should be run it back as is.

Attendance outside of St. Louis was seen as disappointing. I’d argue the numbers in San Antonio and Washington D.C. were good, or at least good enough, and have the potential to grow moving forward. It is hard to get a read on what’s happening in Birmingham. Weather seems to be a big factor in whether or not folks show up to the game.

That’s half the league or four out of eight teams who can pull their weight when it comes to getting fans in the stands. That’s a huge problem.

Seriously, UFL games at Houston, Memphis, and Detroit lack energy. It’s like watching a really well-organized scrimmage. And who wants to watch that?
But before we delve into that, let’s address a smaller issue that may, in part, be responsible for that bigger problem. The UFL doesn't have an identity. The worst part of the merger between the XFL and USFL is that no real clear vision was laid out.

I always go back to the original UFL and a lesson the new UFL should pay attention to. Don’t be afraid of new markets. The Sacramento Mountain Lions and Omaha Nighthawks, despite playing un underwhelming stadiums, posted strong numbers for alternative football, routinely drawing 15,000+. Even the Hartford Colonials had solid attendance numbers.

Look, the UFL 1.0 had all kinds of issues. But fan support wasn’t one of them. In fact, if that version of the UFL had the current incarnation TV support, well, it would be successful. Remember, they had to pay Versus and HDNet to carry UFL games in 2009 and 2010 and then lost all national TV exposure in 2011.

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