Strike 3: That’s it. No more NBA playoffs. The NHL ended around here a few weeks ago, and the Broncos don’t start real training camp action for more than two months. And yes, the team has plans to have fans in attendance at practice again this year. Hooray.
But until then…
There’s a sports viewing vacuum around here. You could go watch some nice quality soccer at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park if you’re so inclined, or you can wait to catch your favorite MLB team when they come to town to play the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, aka Denver’s best sports bar.
That’s about it between now and early August.
With the Rockies struggling and the Nuggets and Avs ousted from the playoffs, you’re already wishing it was football season already. Strange thing is, it IS football season, in other places. Places where the United Football League has teams.
It’s football season in Washington DC, San Antonio, Dallas, Birmingham, Memphis, St. Louis, Detroit and Houston. There’s a couple weeks left in a competitive regular season, and the playoffs are coming up. Imagine if we had that to look forward to?
Why don’t we have a UFL franchise in Denver? Back in the day, the Denver Gold of the first version of the United States Football League did pretty well.
There are currently eight teams in the UFL. One is in college football crazy Alabama, and three are in football mad Texas (San Antonio, Houston and Dallas) which makes perfect sense. But are DC, Memphis, St. Louis and Detroit all better football markets than Denver?
Remember, Denver is one of the few big cities with four major pro sports franchises. That’s a lot. Toss in soccer and indoor lacrosse and we’ve got a pretty full plate.
But DC has the same four, so does Dallas and Detroit. The only thing Houston doesn’t have is hockey.
Given our passion for pigskin, it stands to reason that Denver would support a new version of the old Denver Gold of yesteryear
It isn’t a slam dunk of course. Even in the football crazed locales, spring football games don’t fill up NFL venues. In DC they play in a soccer stadium. And attendance league-wide is down this year, so maybe the asking price for membership is too high? Maybe the folks who run the UFL think the Rockies are too much competition at the box office, as compared to the Nationals, Rangers, Cardinals, Tigers and Astros? Maybe no one from Denver ever asked?
You’d think it would have at least been explored, right?
What if we did have a team here? Could they share space at Dick’s Sporting Good Park? Folsom Field maybe?
If the UFL really wanted to make a big time splash in the spring, they’d find a way to not only put a team in Denver, but also cut a deal to get their teams affiliated with the NFL in the same manner the NBA does with its developmental “G- League.” Get some big name college guys playing in what would become a very extended pre-season and who knows, maybe it would catch on in a more meaningful way? It’s at least worth exploring, especially when our other late spring and summer viewing options are proving to be less than desirable.
