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If you are truly a passionate football fan and you embrace everything from the NFL to colleges to high schools to 5-year-olds playing flag football, then you probably know the United Football League will begin play tonight.
Or maybe you don’t.The UFL enters into the crowded fall football season with expectations that are extraordinarily modest, although the league has managed to get Denzel Washington to attend the league opener tonight in Las Vegas.And if you like something different, how about this: The league will feature the first female official in professional football — Terri Valenti, who has refereed small college games in California.If you are a dedicated football fan and you plan on watching games, don’t wait too long. The four teams will play a total of 12 games this season, and the season will last a mere 51 days from tonight to the championship game in Las Vegas on Nov. 27.The UFL has made it clear that unlike past failed leagues, it is not challenging the NFL. Many of its executives have NFL experience, including in the league office in New York and their goal is to have a league that complements the NFL with reasonably priced seats for as little as $10.UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue worked for the NFL and also as an executive for the Lions and Jaguars. His goal is to provide professional football in areas not currently served by the NFL, although two of the first four teams are in New York and San Francisco."For us the first year is about exposure and about branding our product so people can understand the niche that we fit," UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue said. "We want to show them it’s good quality football."Huyghue said that 60 percent of the players have NFL experience. The most familiar one is Las Vegas quarterback J.P. Losman, the former first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills.One area where the league clearly has NFL quality is the head-coaching position. Three of the first four — Jim Fassel in Las Vegas, Dennis Green in San Francisco and Jim Haslet in Orlando — are former NFL head coaches. New York’s Ted Cottrell was a highly respected defensive coordinator for the Chargers and Jets.Haslett’s most recent job was last year in St. Louis and he has stated publicly that his team in Orlando could beat the Rams, although that is not necessarily impressive, considering the Rams are 0-4 this season and have been outscored 108-24.The UFL enters the first year with television contracts with Versus and Mark Cuban’s HDNet. Doug Flutie and Kordell Stewart will be part of the crew on Versus and veteran Paul McGuire will do analysis on HDNet.The California-Las Vegas league opener will be televised tonight at 8 p.m. on Versus.The four UFL teams will play home games in seven stadiums this year with only Las Vegas (Sam Boyd Stadium) and California (AT&T Park in San Francisco) playing each of their three home games in the same place. The New York team will play games at Giants Stadium, Citi Field (home of the Mets), and in Hartford, Ct. The Orlando team will play two games at the Citrus Bowl and one at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
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