Football fans not sold on UFL after poor attendance in 2024 season: "This league is done," "USFL ruined the XFL"

Is the UFL doomed?

When Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced it was being formed from a merger between his XFL and the competing USFL, many were excited at the spring league's prospects. After all, he had promised:

"I think it's going to work out, we've got a real shot with this."

But three weeks in, some damning numbers may have just proven its folly.

Mike Mitchell, Sports Illustrated's UFL insider, revealed that attendance for the weekend's games was shockingly low:

And immediately, predictions of a quick demise set in:

One of them even claimed two XFL holdovers were carrying the league, but it was clearly not enough:

"That’s terrible. DC and St. Louis carries," that fan said.

"That is Not good. Less then last year," another lamented.

"Spring football just doesn't have enough drawing power," a third skeptic said.

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Stallions head coach had been optimistic about UFL before low attendance figures emerged

Overall, it has been a gradual fall for the UFL after a good amount of hype and promise. Here is a weeky rundown of the attendance figures for the first two weeks.

Week 1

Birmingham Stallions at Arlington Renegades: 14,153

St. Louis Battlehawks at Michigan Panthers: 9,444

DC Defenders at San Antonio Brahmas: 13,164

Memphis Showboats at Houston Roughnecks: 9,157

Week 2

Renegades at Battlehawks: 40,317

Defenders at Roughnecks: 15,052

Stallions at Panthers: 7,475

Brahmas at Showboats: 8,791

From these numbers, it can be gleaned that the Panthers have had it the worst, seeing declining attendance weekly. The Stallions and Brahmas also had drops between Weeks 1 and 3, but not as drastic as the Renegades who fell well below 10,000. It remains to be seen if the Battlehawks and Defenders can maintain five-figure crowds in their next home games (week 4 and 5, respectively)

One person who might have been dismayed at such poor figures is Stallions head coach Skip Holtz. Speaking before the game against the Showboats, he said:

“My dream and goal is to watch when Birmingham has 40,000 people because (St. Louis is) now setting the standard in the way that community is supporting the spring-football league. And I think when you look at it, the product is better, the players are better, I think the results are better.

"I think it’s a great product, it’s a great league and I think continually you’re going to see the support continue to grow in every market, not just in St. Louis, but I think you’re going to see every market continue to grow."

Week 4 begins on Saturday at 12:30 pm with the Showboats visiting the Battlehawks on ABC.