The United Football League returned this weekend with another slate of spring matchups, marking the latest round of pro action from the merger of the XFL and USFL. All eight franchises came together across four different games, shaking up the league’s early-season standings and writing some new storylines for the 2024 campaign.
What did you miss in Week 2? Here are some immediate takeaways from around the UFL:
Battlehawks are the face of spring football
St. Louis has yet to hoist the ultimate trophy since its 2020 return to pro ball as part of the XFL, but the Battlehawks are quickly confirming themselves as the contemporary face of the spring gridiron. A year after easily boasting the best attendance marks of the revived XFL, the Anthony Becht-led squad drew more than 40,000 at Saturday’s home opener against the Arlington Renegades, a 27-24 thriller capped by a game-winning field goal.
It doesn’t seem like a coincidence their crowd — the biggest documented in modern pro spring football — showed up at The Dome at America’s Center, who housed the NFL’s Rams from 1995-2015, before the franchise infamously bolted for Los Angeles. In other words, the Battlehawks are something of a perfect storm: must-see material in the UFL for their gutsy performances — they are now 8-4 since the start of 2023, including their XFL mark — but also their prime location.
Showboats struggling with Memphis market
UFL executive Daryl Johnston admitted while attending the Showboats’ Saturday home opener that Memphis is drawing fewer fans than other teams: “It’s not what we want it to be,” he told the Commercial Appeal, citing a “low” turnout for Week 2 and revealing that UFL leaders are “already working on 2025” plans to build interest in the club.
“We definitely need to take a long hard look at what’s going on here in Memphis,” Johnston said. “We feel that it’s a good product and — where’s the disconnect?…
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