Before you ask, the answer is no. I have no inside information on the long-term future of professional spring football. I hope it lasts forever, because as long as it does, a team will work here in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, where diehard football fans deserve all the good things after they were robbed of the NFL by a soulless owner and a crooked league.
But if we’ve learned anything about NFL alternatives, it’s that you better enjoy them while they last, because the future is an uncertain place full of promising plans that tend to get altered and sometimes abandoned altogether. If you have checked the numbers, you know in-person attendance for the UFL, this new merger between the XFL and the USFL, is not wowing anywhere but here. It’s a concern, sure. Even for a TV-focused league.
There’s not much point in worrying about the things you can’t control. ºüÀêÊÓƵ is more than doing its part. It can and will passionately support a team; that doesn’t necessarily continue to carry a league, though. We’ll see.
So, Battlehawks, here’s my advice. Go win the whole dang thing. Seize the chance to become part of ºüÀêÊÓƵ sports lore. Do it for the fans who deserve it. This season. Now’s the time.
One, because next time is not guaranteed. Two, because the league championship on June 16 is going to be held right here in ºüÀêÊÓƵ no matter what. And three, because this team legitimately looks good enough to do it. It’s getting better by the week.
Saturday’s 32-17 romp over the Memphis Showboats made it three wins in a row for the 3-1 B-Hawks. Had the Michigan Panthers not stunned them with a game-winning 64-yard field goal in week one, they would be undefeated right now. The wake-up call may have been even better.
“We didn’t deserve to win that game,†coach Anthony Becht said. “Listen, there were a lot of other scenarios in that game we fell short on. And the fact we gave them that opportunity, that wasn’t us. We are a different team than we were in week one.â€
The Battlehawks have the right coach in Becht. He constructed a talented roster, and he gets great buy-in from players who are determined to use this league to launch to or back into the NFL. It’s not as easy as Becht makes it look. His big personality and willingness to engage with fans gets the attention. But the guy can motivate and coach. He brought back key pieces and added new ones. The talent level on this team is greater than its predecessor’s.
The Battlehawks have the right quarterback in A.J. McCarron. Again. The former Alabama star asked the Cincinnati Bengals to cut him from his down-ballot spot on their depth chart because he had so much fun starring in the XFL last season, and because he and his returning teammates felt they had business left unfinished after missing last season’s XFL playoffs. He’s a man on a mission. He has company.
The Battlehawks have multiple running backs and receivers who can break a game. They have a return man in Darrius Shepherd who is a threat to score every time he catches the ball. They have a strong-legged kicker in Andre Szmyt who doesn’t flinch. They have an opportunistic defense that held Memphis to zero second-half points Saturday despite playing without key pass rusher Pita Taumoepenu. They have, quietly, the only offensive line in the league that brought back all of its starters from a season ago.
“These are my brothers and I love them to death,†offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith said. “I know none of us would rather be playing anywhere else right now. To have everybody back, it makes it easier. We have that chemistry. We picked up right where we left off.â€
The front five on Saturday paved the way for 355 total yards of offense.
Here’s another thing the Battlehawks have — the second-best odds of winning the UFL championship. That’s not betting advice. It’s just proof the idea isn’t crazy.
Saturday’s Dome crowd was 31,757. Loud, too. Becht encouraged each of those fans to bring a friend to the next home game. Three of the remaining six regular-season games will happen here. Give these fans a postseason after that, and they may buy up every seat. That remains the biggest what-if of last year’s playoff bummer, where the Battlehawks left themselves a victim to convoluted XFL tie-breaker rules and missed the bracket because of it. Like leaving yourself open to being beat on a 64-yard field goal, it’s best to avoid the possibility altogether. Keep winning and it takes care of itself.
“We gotta go,†Jones-Smith said. “We gotta go. We gotta go. We gotta go. First thing that went through my mind was, we gotta go. I want my mom to come. I want my family to come. We gotta go.â€
Day-to-day isn’t just an injury designation in professional spring football. It’s the only logical mindset. The present is all that’s guaranteed. Best then to make the most out of it.
If you think these Battlehawks games are a spectacle, imagine how much fun a blue-feathered, booze-fueled football championship parade would be. Do that, and the legacy of the Battlehawks will stand forever, no matter what happens to the UFL. ºüÀêÊÓƵ would make sure of it.
It's that time of year when ºüÀêÊÓƵ flexes its sports muscle. Here are some other events that would make great additions to the calendar.Â
Battlehawks defensive back Kameron Kelly high-fives fan Dalton Dineen, 9, before a game against the Memphis Showboats on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at The Dome at America’s Center. The Battlehawks defeated the Showboats 32-17.