When I was a little lad growing up in the burbs of Chicago, the first go around of the USFL was around in the early 1980’s. Back then Chicago had a pony in the race.

The Chicago Blitz played their games at Soldier Field. Former Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy was the team’s head coach for at least one season. I liked watching sports along with playing them. Extra football even with the great Bears team, meant it was still fun to watch a league with young stars and has beens of the NFL. From Jim Kelly, Reggie White, & Doug Flutie who was drafted by the Bears. The league had Hershal Walker, Steve Young, and Doug Williams. Plenty of other names that should be listed. I’ve been watching these leagues come and go from World Football League to the original XFL. Then the AAF, followed by the reboots of the USFL and XFL. I finally found a weekend to venture out and went to Michigan’s Ford Field to see the Panthers play. The Panthers, a USFL original, were playing the Memphis Showboats, another team from the 1980’s. Both Panthers and Showboats play in the USFL conference which gives me that walk down memory lane of the original USFL as now the merger calls this league the UFL.

The two teams closest to me in a weekend driving trip are the Michigan Panthers or the St.Louis BattleHawks. I went with Michigan just because they were originally an USFL team over St. Louis. Since the reboot of the USFL, I have adopted the Pittsburgh Maulers as my team to root for. Maulers did not make the merger cut with the XFL and USFL so the Panthers are my spring team for at least this season. Ford Field right next to the Detroit Tigers stadium home of the Lions, a dome, was a very nice venue to watch a spring football game. I like how the Panthers made Ford Field feel like it was their dome over the Lions with the blow up Panther walking in.

The Panthers logo was plastered all around the field in their color scheme as well. The fans of the Panthers were not filling Ford Field like the BattleHawks, but for a Spring football game they did get a nice crowd. On television you will see empty seats that paint a picture that these teams do not draw fans. The Michigan fans love their Panthers & many people were decked out in the Panthers merchandise. Sure they had fans with their Lions gear on. Let’s not forget the University of Michigan gear people wore. Then my favorite fans, the people that take their game to the Halloween level.

The one Memphis Showboats fan stole the show. The fan wore his yacht captain hat or perhaps a sovereign from the old 80’s show called The Love Boat. He had his chest painted in Showboats colors. Memphis may be the place to fan watch next season. We sat on right behind the Showboats sideline.

I noticed some fans wearing number 41 with the name Reaves on the back of it. Greg Reaves is the starting linebacker for Memphis who wears 41. Has to be his family.

After the game, the Reaves family walked down the stairs of the main concourse to the first row seating to say hello to Greg. Watching him play football still and in a professional league has to be exciting. As the game went on, the music plays during the stoppages of the game on the jumbo tron and they show fans all over the stadium. One guy had a sign that basically said last time I was at a Panthers game was back in 1983. Those Panthers won the first ever championship led by Bobby Herbert who went to play many great years at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints.

The Panthers fans were into the game from start to finish. When the Minnesota Vikings get a first down, you hear that Viking horn go off. Every stadium has their thing. The Panthers had a growl of their jungle cat after each first down the offense got throughout the game.

The Panthers and Showboats both play in the USFL conference as I notice UFL was not written on the Michigan merchandise. I first wondered if this was some stuff leftover from last season. They play in the USFL conference so it was hand stitched on the two shirts I purchased. I did not mind because my bucket sports list has a USFL game. On the field, the Showboats are one of the worst teams in the league while the Panthers clinched a playoff game in this match up as they won a close one. The Panthers I would say dominated the first half as they used duel quarterbacks. A former Michigan State star quarterback threw a touchdown strike to Cole Hikutini as the Panthers drew first blood with 6 points. This was a very good football game, not sloppy, but both teams failed for points after the touchdown throughout the game. The UFL rules are no extra points by the kicker. The league has a 1 point try or 2 point try and final three point try being the furthest. You have to run a play to convert one of the three options. The first quarter was action packed as Memphis quickly tied the game with Case Cookus to his wide receiver, Daewood Davis, on a 65 yard touchdown hook up. The Panther found the end zone again with Matt Colburn in a 1 yard roll in the end zone for a rushing touchdown to take the lead.

It was 18-6 at halftime. In the second half, Memphis made this a game and eventually tied the ball with another Daewood Davis touchdown, his second of the game. The Showboats had journeyman Josh Love in the game at that time. In the 4th quarter, the Panthers running back Reggie Colburn iced the game with his second touchdown of the game. Panthers win and they even made the playoffs. It was the Panthers last home game of the season and they will meet up with the Birmingham Stallions in the playoffs in Alabama. The remaining two games for Michigan don’t really mean anything as they can rest players and practice to get better. The Stallions will not be easy task. The Panthers have made the playoffs back to back years. It was the Maulers that beat them last year in the USFL. Maulers then would lose to the Stallions who are a powerhouse of spring football the last three seasons.

My final thoughts on my first game ever going to one of these spring flings were positive. These games are not the NFL. These games are not arena football or something out of Canada. First, I like the play on the field. Many of these guys have now been facing each other over the last few years in these leagues so you’re getting rivals established. Many of the players have had a cup of coffee in the NFL. Then you have guys like AJ McCarron of the BattleHawks who has NFL experience and a few others like him. It felt like professional football. Then the league finds gems out of young players that did not cut the mustard with the NFL. Because they get playing time. The league reminds me of college football guys that love to play the game. It was not like an arena football game or minor league baseball game that sometimes seems centered around kids. Believe me, they had kids there and they were loving watching football. Michigan has a solid fan base and I can see it getting bigger by the year. I thought it was the perfect amount of people just for beers, food, and bathrooms. I would love to see the masses of BattleHawks fans in St. Louis, which could be next year’s trip. Ford Field was easy in and out of that stadium. Some said if the Tigers were playing around the same time, it may have been difficult for the easiness. I enjoyed a good Founders tall boy can of beer. Watched a great game in AC on a hot day. Charlie Sheen used to say winning…