Las Vegas Locos win second UFL championship

The Las Vegas Locos have done it once again. They have beaten the Florida Tuskers, by three points, much as they did last year to win their second consecutive UFL championship. The Locos remain the only championship team in the young league’s history. The Tuskers and the Locos have played each other six times now, with each team now having won three of those contests.

It looked like the Tuskers were in control of this game as they led three times and when the Locos failed to kick a field goal at the end of the first half that would have put them up by seven points. The Locos mismanaged the clock and missed an opportunity to put more points on the board. On the final regular play of the game the referees also did not call an obvious pass interference penalty that likely would have given the game to the Tuskers. In the end the Locos blocked a 45 yard field goal attempt to secure their second championship.

While the games and the product on the field is important, and for the most part is pretty good. It is the way this league markets itself that will ultimately decide its fate. Let us not forget that the two best teams in this league (Florida and Las Vegas) also draw the worst at their home stadiums and only drew a crowd of 15k for the championship duel in Omaha. That number does not reflect the large percentage increase of attendance at most UFL contests this year, as the 2009 Championship game drew some 14k fans in Las Vegas.

With that being said the UFL went out of its way to make this game marketable. It was broadcast live via the league website and on You Tube to potentially millions of UFL fans. I do not know of way to measure the ratings for that, but it makes this league very fan friendly as the you tube feed offered fans multiple camera angles to choose from.