USFL Week 1 Online Betting
On Saturday, April 15, the United States Football League explodes out of the gate with a Saturday doubleheader on FOX. The new Memphis Showboats, another name from the original USFL, will host the Philadelphia Stars at 3:30 p.m. ET. Following that is a phenomenal primetime showdown with the defending USFL champion Birmingham Stallions hosting the New Jersey Generals at 6:30 p.m. ET. Last year the Stallions and Generals met in an epic and historic prime time game to launch the new USFL.
Birmingham won that opener in the final moments. Both teams went on to win their respective divisions, and nobody would be surprised if they did so again.
For the third time in four years, professional football and gamblers saw the launch of a new spring league in 2022. In 2019 the Alliance of American Football was launched with great hype and on national prime time television. After great ratings in the early stages, the Alliance quickly faded and was out of money and business before the first regular season was completed.
In 2020 the second iteration of the XFL was launched. Because of the connection to wrestling tycoon Vince McMahon, the XFL was touted as a league that would have staying power. However, the entire world was blindsided by COVID-19, and the pandemic was too powerful for the new startup league to withstand. Once again, a spring league failed to make it to its own playoff.
But then came the United States Football League. It is the one spring league in history that survived to play three seasons (1983-85). The USFL ended because of its failed ambition to move to the fall to challenge the NFL. But the USFL developed a strong national following in its three years of existence. Much was based on signing big-name players such as Heisman Trophy-winning running back Herschel Walker and other college and NFL stars. There was a quality level to that USFL that gave it credibility with the public.
This year, On April 15, 2023, the USFL will kick off as the one spring league that has proven it can make it. Of course, it helps that the USFL is backed by FOX Sports, which means there is plenty of money to sustain its growth. Additionally, FOX has sports gambling interests. And if there is anything the public can’t seem to get enough of, it is sports gambling, especially football.
The look of the USFL will be quite familiar to fans that followed the first edition of the circuit. The same team names with similar logos and uniforms will add to the nostalgic look.
However, one major difference exists between the 2022 USFL and the old version of the 1980s. The current version is a strictly developmental league with its roster and salary caps. There is no comparison between the new and old USFL regarding player quality. The question is if viewers and gamblers will notice or even care. Or are football betting and televised games with a slick look enough to maintain interest over the 10-week regular season? The answer in 2022 was a resounding YES!
As much as television contracts are discussed, gambling may prove to be just as if not more important. Now that there is legalized sports gambling in the United States, more sports fans are looking for games to bet on. In the spring, these aspiring bettors have their choices of the NBA and NHL Playoffs, the start of the Major League Baseball regular season, Triple Crown horse racing, soccer, golf, Formula One, NASCAR, tennis, boxing, UFC, and some other sports. All of those will draw betting action. The problem is that none of those sports is football.
Fox Sports is making a major bet of its own with the USFL. FOX believes that if they can sustain a spring football league over time, it will be a driving engine of sports gambling for that time of year.
2023 USFL Schedule
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