Philadelphia to welcome a new football franchise?
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Philadelphia to welcome a new football franchise?
Michael Kaskey-Blomain, Assistant Sports Producer
Philadelphia may be getting a new football franchise.
No, the city isn’t going to house two NFL teams a la New York, but rather it may be reintroducing a USFL franchise.
The original United States Football League, a direct NFL competitor, lasted only three seasons despite housing some serious talent and receiving decent fanfare.
A quarter of a century later, the league is looking to make a comeback, but billing itself as a sort of minor league to the NFL’s major, rather than a competitor.
Although originally reported to be looking to set up teams in non-NFL cities, a recent tweet from NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt reveals that Philadelphia will be one of the new USFL’s inaugural teams.
Brandt lists New Jersey, San Antonio, and Oakland as other inaugural cities in the tweet.
While details regarding the developing league are few and far between, a press release from the official USFL site states that the league is looking to kick off its inaugural season in the spring of 2014.
"We're going to play in the spring when fans are dying for football,” explained the new USFL’s original CEO, Jaime Cuadra.
“Rather than compete for players, we're going to take players who didn't quite make it to the NFL and develop them and give them unfettered access to the NFL,” Cuadra continued, detailing why the new league will fare better than the original.
"The NFL can come to practices; if they want one of our players, we aren't going to stop them.”
Cuadra feels that the league can thrive as a proving ground for NFL prospects, rather than a separate top tier professional league.
Philadelphia’s original USFL team, the Stars, were one of the short-lived league’s most successful squads, and their return would be sure to excite some.
Although the return of the Stars is not set in stone, as very little about the league seems to be at this point, come next spring Philadelphia may be home to a new football franchise.
Some of the inaugural teams will be in Oakland, NJ, Philadelphia, and San Antonio.
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) March 15, 2013
I loved the USFL. Curse that $@#$@ Donald Trump for killing a great thing. Lots of fun, and the Stars were winners. It would be nice to have an alternative to that buttoned-down corporate monolith that is the NoFunLeague.- Yes Trump ruined that league. He ruins many companies and people's lives
and get's away with it. Time and time again.— coachF - I've always supported the idea of an NFL minor league. To pair it with a revived USFL would be golden. Play in the soccer stadium in Chester, and maybe work with the Eagles to make it a real minor league team (i.e., run their plays, formations, etc.). I'd support it 100%— Augs
- Stupid trump, if he gave that league a few more years in the spring we'd be having a nfl vs. usfl bowl for a title.— Joe M
- They will win a championship before the Birds— MWW-54
- They already did. If my memory serves me correctly, the Stars won 2 of the 3 USFL Championships. — out-of-here
- How about a minor league lingerie league?— Boru
- You mean minor lingerie league, of course!!! — LRVA1
- Stars won a title. I'll never forget the title game at Franklin Field. Beating the Arizona Wranglers 23-2 in the title game at Franklin Field was a great momemt for Philadelphia football fans. I'll never forget storming the field with my friends after winning the title. ESPN was new and they were there. A lot of great memories from the days of Chuck Fusina, Scott Fitzkee, Kelvin Bryant, Irv Eatman and Sam Mills— juiceman
- It's football If I'm breathing and it isn't horrible I'll probably watch— hillbillybirdsfan
- I was a huge Stars fan as well. I remember the conference championship against the Birmingham Stallions with Joe Cribbs. Spring football was and will again be awesome— gonegator
- Is today April 1? This has to be some kind of joke.— littlejoe
- I loved that league too. I used to keep notebooks with the weekly standings. Haha.. oh the days before the internet.— Elbarad
- Good, NFL needs competition.. look at all the awful rule changes— Nezhy
