UFL Draws Small Crowd In Las Vegas For Inaugural Game

The Las Vegas Locomotives defeated the California Redwoods 30-17 Thursday before a "small but enthusiastic crowd" at Sam Boyd Stadium for the UFL's inaugural game, according to Steve Carp of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. UFL officials were "hoping for a crowd of 15,000, but the actual draw wasn't even a third of that -- though the attendance was announced as 14,209." UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue said, "We're very pleased. It was good, hard-nosed football, the level of which we expected it to be." Locomotives QB J.P. Losman said the game was "definitely different from what I'm used to." Losman: "The atmosphere. The size of the crowd. The speed of the game. But as the game went on, I got more comfortable with the receivers and the general speed of the game" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/9). In Las Vegas, Case Keefer writes the UFL with the game "didn't pass with flying colors," as there "appeared to be far more empty seats" than the announced attendance. Locomotives coach Jim Fassel: "We're going to put a good product on the field and let people see it. I don't know how many were here, but I bet at least all the people who were sitting near or behind us are going to tell their friends, 'That was a hell of a football game'" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 10/9).

FUZZY MATH: In Las Vegas, Ed Graney writes either the UFL or "those entrusted to gather attendance figures needs to hire someone who can count," as there "weren't 5,000 in the stadium, and that's giving the UFL every benefit of the doubt." Graney: "Inflating numbers when announcing crowds at sporting events is common, but there is fudging numbers and there is being disingenuous about it." The fact that "one out of every six seats was occupied shouldn't come as a big revelation," as that is "what happens when your league creates little to no buzz in its premier city leading up to an opener." Graney notes the "only marketing of significance didn't occur until the last week or so." But Huyghue said, "The measuring stick for us right now isn't necessarily attendance. ... There is a niche following here for us. Our plan was always to work on the product first. When you do that, fans will come." Meanwhile, Graney notes some fans "complained of being stopped by security for trying to improve their seat location," and what the UFL "should have done is invited all 4,500 who showed up to sit in the lower sections, so Versus could have televised crowd shows without being fearful of all the empty seats" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/9). The GLOBE & MAIL's David Naylor, who posted a running blog of his UFL watching experience, wrote, "Where's the crowd? There's nobody there! Even the CFL drew 12,000 fans for their Vegas opener [in '94]." Naylor: "This does not bode well for the UFL" (GLOBESPORTS.com, 10/8).

LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD: Huyghue said during the game the league will "add two teams next year." Huyghue: "L.A. seems like the most likely of one of those teams and … we're just going to keep building it the right way economically where we can afford it." He said one of his biggest challenges getting the league started was it was "hard to convince people that in this economy we can do it, and to tell football players that there'd be a reason for them to do it. I think there's a lot of guys at home now thinking, 'I want to be in a UFL jersey next year.'" Huyghue: "This is going to create a real segueway for players back to the NFL" ("Redwoods-Locomotives," Versus, 10/8). ESPN's Michael Wilbon said, "Maybe they'll develop some players and some guys can move up in the NFL. … If that's what they're aiming to do, then it has a good chance (of succeeding)." But ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said, "This is not starting slow, this is starting backwards. There's only four teams. It makes no sense. It's also debuting against the baseball playoffs and college football. I mean, come on" ("PTI," ESPN, 10/8). FanHouse.com's Jay Mariotti: "Why would I think this would work in the fall when they're competing against the NFL directly and college football on Thursday nights? Plus they have four teams. Aren't we going to get sick of the matchups?" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 10/8).

FINDING THE DIFFERENCES: The SUN's Keefer notes the game "exposed a number of breaks from tradition." Keefer: "Some of the colors were changed. Yardage sticks and markers were lime green. The challenge flag was blue. Referees wore red shirts without any stripes." Meanwhile, the "most apparent difference" from a rules standpoint is that the league "has no penalty for intentional grounding" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 10/9). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio writes, "To call the uniforms 'dreadful' would be a compliment to whoever designed them, and watching the game conjured the same feelings I've previously experienced when taking in the Arena Football, the CFL, the USFL, the World League of American Football/the World League/NFL Europe/NFL Europa, the XFL and anything that wasn't and isn't college football or the NFL" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 10/9).