It's the fate of spring football to inevitably end tragically. It's almost inappropriate that the Stallions do not go out as champions, but instead went out no longer on top, but a sad remnant, a failed dynasty, a decaying empire that could not withstand a new regime.
Birmingham ruled the United States Football League, won the first year of the UFL, won a division title the next year, and then floated away. A determined band, a dedicated core, was not enough to sustain them. The city simply never produced large enough numbers to appreciate the dynasty.
In fact, the numbers were never enough. Even when they were in the middle of the pack, it felt lackluster. Not enough came out to praise the conquering heroes of spring football.
The three-time title winners, the Kansas City Chiefs of modern spring football. We can say that perhaps it's unfair that Birmingham was on the chopping block. That other teams like Dallas have a pittance in its stands, yet its location as UFL headquarters shields the franchise from the executioner's axe.
But we must remember Birmingham, not as they went out, but as they once were. The galloping horses who owned the UFL, who owned the spring football prairie.
The UFL under Mike Repole has taken a new direction. A direction of smaller, intimate stadiums. Protective Stadium and her 47,000 seats do not fit that new viewpoint.
One can say perhaps marketing could have been better, and there's some truth to that. It could have been. It certainly lacked pizzazz for a sport that is a niche.
An audience of true football-dedicated diehards who love the game and vehemently know the names of folks like Alex McGough and J’Mar Smith without irony or hipster happiness. Unfortunately, those fans, like Birmingham's, are small in overall number. And perhaps we see that's why spring football rarely lasts.
Because how could it? It is the domain of those who see more than what and see beyond the NFL and college football's borders. Yet we could say that either way, spring football has had a strong stay in Birmingham. The Stallions have left their mark.
And maybe if it is just a brief couple of pages in the chapter of football's history, it's still a story that those won't remember. Of when Skip Holtz reigned supreme. Is it fair to say? It's hard to tell.
Fairness is not a goddess found much in spring football. She tends not to bestow her favors. Instead, she often is a vapor.
The Stallions won their first title when Case Cook found his leg broken in the 2022 United States Football League Championship game. Perhaps we can but say it comes around. But regardless of what happens with the Stallions, they did play.
They did win. And those are titles that can never be erased, even if their name passes into history.
No comments:
Post a Comment