UFL Unfazed With World Series Conflict in New York

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey -- When the UFL debuted earlier this month, commissioner Michael Huyghue told FanHouse the league and its executives would do it their way.

The league proved stubborn Thursday, when the New York Sentinels played their first home game of the season under the worst of circumstances -- at least, from an exposure standpoint.

Despite its first appearance in New York City's metropolitan area, the country's undisputed media hub, the UFL may as well have played in Fargo, considering the magnitude of Game 2 of the World Series, which was being played just a few miles away at Yankee Stadium.

On the field, it wasn't much better for the Sentinels, who lost their third straight game to start the season, a 20-13 setback at the hands of the California Redwoods.

It may have been news to many in the tri-state area who were tuned in to watch Pedro Martinez's return to the Bronx with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The UFL, in an attempt to adapt, moved the Sentinels' home game on Nov. 4 from Citi Field to Hofstra's James M. Shuart Stadium to accommodate for tepid interest. But due to logistical reasons, it could not shift Thursday's contest from massive Giants Stadium, where almost 70,000 empty seats made the announced crowd of 10,318 seem even smaller.

The UFL game at Hofstra would be played during Game 6 of the Fall Classic, also at Yankee Stadium if necessary.

"We just felt that Hofstra was a more intimate setting, but it was too close to do the same for tonight's game at Giants Stadium," a league source told FanHouse. "It just wasn't possible."

In fairness, though, the UFL has yet to completely cater to perception or deviate from its plan, which is to build a competent professional football league from the ground up. Obstacles, in the UFL's eyes, are non-existent. The league knew coming in that it would have to compete with all the major sports during one of the busiest times on the sporting calendar.

"It's tough to plan for a World Series game," Rick Mueller, general manager of all four UFL teams, told FanHouse during the first half of Thursday's game. "You're in New York, and there could be a World Series game. That's what you get.

"But we're happy with the play on the field, and we hope our television ratings are good."

For those who do tune in this season, the UFL promises to be more than you expect because, according to the league source, the viewers' expectations have been set purposefully low.

"We aim to under-promise and over-deliver," the source said, referring to a lack of hype for the UFL, a departure from the excessive marketing and promotions of other alternative leagues. "We've put the majority of the money into the on-field product to bolster the quality."

In fact, the play on the field is the least of the UFL's worries. Mueller -- a former NFL front office man -- said he is in contact with 10-15 NFL personnel evaluators on a weekly basis. The general manager also admitted that he believes the UFL maximized its talent base.

It was an arduous process, according to Mueller, as 1,100 players were on the four-team league's radar in May. That group was narrowed down to a few hundred one month later in preparation for final cuts during training camp.

Now, four weeks into the UFL's inaugural campaign, the players chosen to represent each club have been put on display long enough to prove themselves worthy of professional football's stage.

And if they fail to keep that up the rest of the season, there is a countless number waiting in the wings to grab the spots.

"We have an endless supply of players," Redwoods coach Dennis Green said after his team improved to 2-2 on the season. "We get phone calls daily from players who want to play so there is a high demand.

"... I can't think of a better thing to do on a Wednesday or Thursday than watch a UFL game."

Unfortunately for the league on this Thursday night, the majority of New Yorkers had a big reason to look elsewhere.