SPRING FOOTBALL HAS SPRUNG: A Conversation with Host Eugene Obah

Recently, we caught up with Common Sense Entertainment VP and SPRING FOOTBALL HAS SPRUNG Host Eugene Obah to discuss the creation of the show, his thoughts on the spring football landscape, and what viewers can expect when the show launches March 26 and 27th on the Common Sense Entertainment YouTube channel (YouTube.com/TheCSEChannel).

In our conversation, he provided his takes on the past few years of spring football, where he sees spring football in the greater media ecosystem and why the public should care, and what to expect on the show.

Why this show?

Simply put, we’ve contemplated doing the show for a few years, but the landscape of spring football over the past six years—and really, many decades—have had fits and starts. But remarkably, these past three years have shown some stability. One thing that is not mentioned enough is that the UFL is the first domestic non-NFL alternative football league of its type since the original USFL to head to a third consecutive season, and if you count the XFL’s full season in 2023 before the merger, this will be the fourth consecutive season. So the stability was enough for us, combined with Mike Repole as a newly minted owner, to pull the trigger on launching this.

Plus, I believe there is a gap in the market for this type of show, and it will be the standard upon which other shows will be judged in the UFL space, and quite frankly, throughout the greater sports media ecosystem. Of course, there aren’t a whole lot of spring football shows out there—at least, not quite like the one we’re going to be putting out.

Wait—didn’t the second iteration of the USFL, which merged with the XFL, begin the year before the third iteration of the XFL (2001, 2020, 2023)?

Yes. But I put an asterisk on the second iteration of the USFL because frankly, with the exception of gameplay, it was poorly executed in every meaningful aspect that counts, especially in bringing casual fans to the mix. The hub system and empty stadiums for the vast majority of their games I was not fond of, the energy was lower than a Jeb Bush rally, the ratings, especially the cable side of it, were middling to awful—reruns of Married…with Children and ALF could get better numbers, not to mention their last championship couldn’t even beat reruns of America’s Funniest Home Videos—and much of the fanbase on social media were as delusional as some of the (Dallas) Cowboys contingent. So it never appealed to me. It also clearly didn’t appeal to NBC who were unhappy with the numbers and couldn’t get out of their 3 year deal fast enough.

The XFL and the AAF, even though the latter ran out of money, were way better in their execution and had way more energy, and I think had it not been for COVID in the former’s case, we’d be having a very different conversation.

How so?

We’d be talking about the 6th year—seventh season—of the XFL. Say what you will about (former XFL Founder and Owner) Vince McMahon, but the guy knows how to promote, a thing that has been, until these past few months, lost on leadership. I mean, there are still folks to this day wearing “He Hate Me” jerseys; that commitment 25 years later has to be respected. I don’t believe the modern USFL (2022-2023) when that was a thing will be remembered in 25 years—if it is, it will be for the wrong reasons, like cutting someone for having the temerity to want pizza as opposed to a salad. Then watch back the 2020 XFL games on YouTube—there was a juice there; an energy that, in the years since, with a few exceptions, hasn’t quite been replicated, though this year has changed that in so many ways. I lay much of the lack of juice at the feet of (former VP of Football Operations) Daryl Johnston, who mercifully is out of the league, and is far too much of a traditionalist for my tastes. Being a traditionalist, as he was, may work in some instances, but looking at the sports landscape over the last few years, particularly in the college game with NIL, does not work now, and it never has worked for upstart/disruptor leagues.

Would you, if you were running the league, have kept the XFL name in the merger?

Without question. Way more cachet and brand ID than the UFL, though, let me add, again, I think the tide is turning with Repole now at the helm. I think the name change in the merger was one thing, besides the use of the traditional kickoff in 2024, that was done to largely throw a bone to the USFL contingent; the stans, if you will, which I wouldn’t have done. That league was the D student of the group project, bringing everybody down, yet taking themselves way too seriously; an NFL-lite mixed with something that somnologists should have offered to their patients. Now, thanks to Repole’s moves, there will be a much needed corrective.

For anyone who has never watched a down of spring football, what’s the point? What’s the appeal?

I think there is a lot to be said about being a football fan, no matter what level it is. One thing we have to remember is that the NFL and the college game have well over a century of built-in support. Then the whole thing with civic pride and so forth. The UFL as a whole doesn’t have that yet, though in some markets, they have that built in support, namely DC and St. Louis. The other markets are either new or need varying degrees of work. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Part of the appeal to the 2020 XFL was that it is football, but without much of the pain points. The game moves briskly. I think college football’s pacing at times is plodding—the NCAA has got to work on that. They also should adopt the kickoff; certainly, if I am an agent, especially in this era, I’d be beating down the NCAA’s door to do so as you’ve got to protect the players. You hear the play calls. You hear the players. The officiating in spring football is way, way more transparent than the NFL. You hear the refs. You have a Sky Judge (Dean Blandino or Mike Pereira), which started with the AAF. The NFL needed to have done so, like yesterday. We’re starting to see the ACC adopt some of the things the spring leagues have been using; I think once the B1G or SEC follows suit—and they should—the tide will turn.

I also think discovery is part of the appeal too—look at Jake Bates, Brandon Aubrey, KaVontae Turpin—all those guys and others came from spring football. Let’s be real; while I’m sure there are a few folks who just wish to play the game they love and get a little bit of money to do so, the vast majority of the players want to get into the NFL or get back into it, so I do find that many of ‘em are just happy for the opportunity and play with more heart. We have seen some in the NFL where, once they get “the bag,” they play like crap. The access you have to the players and coaches—at the championship celebration in DC, I don’t know of any NFL team that will let you that close to the players and coaches. It’s fan friendly—think of it, for the price of one NFL ticket during the season, I can go to 5 games. That’s your value proposition. If I’m a college student, for instance—which I think is a key demo the league has got to build up, that 20-something crowd—I think as an entertainment product, it is a lot of fun; a great social activity.

This past NFL season was a prime example of where I think the UFL can fill gaps in player and quarterback development—I mean, the sheer number of injuries alone were something else. Then the petri dish of rules that have come from spring football. Look at what the NFL has now. The kickoff? That was from the XFL. Virtual measurement? (Modern) USFL. The 2-point play? ‘80s USFL. Skycam? Original XFL. I think it is a matter of time when the NFL adopts the 4th and 12 (or 15) from the UFL and eliminates the onside kick. Spring football has given a lot to the game at the highest level.

OK. Getting back to the show—how will it work?

It is, for all intents and purposes, a sports talk show. It is not a journalistic enterprise. This will be fast paced. We will have guests as subject matter warrants, we may play a few games, have a few branded segments, and we’ll have a damn good time with it. But the core of the show will be my takes on the week’s developments and what’s to come. We’re going to advance the ball. It’s going to be more of a 10,000 foot level show, not so much granular where we’ll be in the weeds of stats and stuff—that’s not to say there won’t be stats, but that will not be our primary focus.

Again, this is not a sports news program; it’s a sports talk program. I am not bound by the conventions of, say, SportsCenter. That’s not to say it’s going to be all hot-takey like First Take. But my role is to put on an entertaining program, actually be entertaining, and to make this relatable for the casual football fan, which describes most NFL fans, because that is where the growth of the show and the league will come from. Yes, spring football fans will love it—I hope—but part of the challenge will be to grow the tent, and I think this show will be the opening salvo. So we will break the rules and push the envelope on what a sports talk show can be…within reason.

How can people engage with the show?

For starters, they can subscribe to the Common Sense Entertainment YouTube channel so they are the first to see the shows. We’re rolling them out a little differently, which we announced a month ago. Then we’ve got social media on Instagram (@springfootballhassprung) and X (@SFHasSprung), where select highlights will be posted. Every post we have on social media will have the #SFHS hashtag, so do engage with ‘em. We love to see the passion!

Thanks Eugene!

You bet.

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SPRING FOOTBALL HAS SPRUNG is a production of Common Sense Entertainment Inc. Subscribe now to YouTube.com/TheCSEChannel so that you do not miss any of the action, and use the hashtag #SFHS to engage with the conversation.