CANTON, Ohio – Birmingham Stallions wide receiver Victor Boldin Jr. walked into the USFL post-game press conference Sunday night like he was born to be there. He sat down at the table, took a swig of blue Gatorade, adjusted his championship hat and looked out expectantly at the media.
“That was fun,” he said simply, with a smile.
An uncomplicated statement that perfectly summed up not only Birmingham’s 33-30 win over the Philadelphia Stars in the championship game that night, but really the league as a whole in its successful first season.
Because the past 12 weeks of USFL football have been fun.
The fans clearly thought so as the championship game peaked at more than 1.8 million viewers that night. “USFL” trended throughout the game and finished at No. 1 in the United States. In fact, the championship was the most-watched and most streamed USFL game since the league’s opening weekend back in April. Clearly, fans wanted to finish what they started.
The broadcast efforts were a big part of what made this first season so successful and Stallions head coach Skip Holtz acknowledged that.
“Thank you to Fox, thank you to NBC, thank you to Brian Woods, to Moose, to Jim Pop, to everybody in the USFL that has made this work and for the commitment they made to say ‘spring football can work,’” said Holtz after the game. “And what a commitment that they made. Thank you to this team – we talk about this journey is going to end tomorrow night, we’re going to hoist this trophy but these relationships will go on for our lifetimes. That’s what a big part of what this journey was about – these guys.”
Exactly, these guys. The players. Another reason the league has done so well.
And not just because of their talent on the field, but also their accessibility. Fans felt closer to players, more connected than any other football league to date. Players could be heard on the sidelines during games, in the middle of a play on the field and their personalities shone through on social media and personal branding.
We saw the emergence of Shark Dog Mafia, New Jersey Generals head coach Mike Riley’s face on a t-shirt and a weekly loop of Maurice Alexander’s highlight reel-worthy punt returns.
But Birmingham clearly cornered the market on “those dudes.”
“Every team in this league has talent,” admitted Holtz. “But the team that comes together the quickest is the team that’s going to hoist the trophy. The team that can come together, give up their individualism, not make it about ‘I gotta get mine,’ but make it about ‘we gotta get ours.’ And that’s what these guys did.”
Linebacker Scooby Wright was one of those guys, finishing the game with three tackles and a crucial pick six that sealed the Stallions fate. He’s also the guy who rolled into the post-game press conference shades on, shirt off with a still-lit cigar tucked behind his ear.
“I can’t say enough about Scooby, the attitude that he brings, just the mindset that he brings to this football team,” praised Holtz. “I think he’s a leader and I couldn’t be more proud of him and I’m glad that he’s on our team. And I think he was a big part of why we were able to have the success that we did.”
Wright, a man of few words had a chance to thank his fans, particularly the ones down in Mexico.
“I appreciate the love,” responded Wright.
As for the former Oregon State wide receiver – his six catches for 64 yards plus the go-ahead 8-yard touchdown with 3:09 left to play earned him game MVP honors.
“This is the biggest award I’ve gotten – it means the world to me,” said Bolden. “And to do it in a moment like this with the group of guys that we have and this bond that we’ve built is amazing. It’s a blessing.”
Not bad for a couple of Pac-12 kids.
“It was honestly super cool, right after the game Cam Hunt, he came up to me and he goes ‘Scooby, I love you but I hated you when we played against Arizona,’” laughed Wright. “So it was cool to win a championship with him and all these Pac-12 guys that I played against. It was just awesome.”
Written by Emily Van Buskirk
