On Thursday, October 3rd, 2024, TSN’s Dave Naylor was on Ottawa 1200 The Drive. He brought an interesting perspective on the future of the UFL,  and the possible expansion of the CFL.  The UFL has been going through a lot of financial difficulties as has been the case with spring football. Whether it was the reboot of the XFL, and USFL, along with the merge of the two in the form of the UFL as it is now. It is unclear at the moment how long the UFL will still exist or have another reform.

Aside from the attendance issues from the XFL, USFL, and the merger creating the UFL, he spoke about the only city with the strongest attendance in St. Louis, Missouri. 

This is also compared to the same attendance figures of the Baltimore Stallions who have the same comparisons with the City of St. Louis.  The NFL abandoned Baltimore for the 1984 NFL season, only to pack up overnight in 1983 and were renamed the Indianapolis Colts as we know it today. 

Naylor: “If the UFL fails, I think it would behoove the CFL to add a team in St Louis”.

Let us rewind to when the CFL expanded and found a hidden gem in Baltimore and how the comparisons are intertwined with that of St. Louis.

CFL Expansion into the United States of America

The initial expansion occurred in 1993 with the introduction of the Sacramento Gold Minders.  They would relocate to San Antonio, Texas for the 1995 CFL Season and be rebranded as the San Antonio Texans.

Las Vegas Posse.  Established in 1994.

Baltimore CFLers / CFL Colts / Stallions.  Established in 1994.

Shreveport Pirates.  Established in 1994.

Birmingham Barracudas. Established in 1995.

Memphis Mad Dogs.  Established in 1995.

Fast forward to the 1995 CFL Season, and it was minus one team as the Las Vegas Posse seized operations.  Most of the American expansion teams did not have great attendances, thus the demise of the Las Vegas Posse folding after their only represented season in the CFL in 1994.

But there was one team that stood head and shoulders above all of the other American expansion teams and that was the Baltimore Stallions.

Fact: Former Linebacker O.J. Brigance is the only player to win a Grey Cup and a Super Bowl in the same city.  He won the Grey Cup in 1995 with the Baltimore Stallions and a Super Bowl for the Baltimore Ravens in 2000.

The Baltimore Stallions

The Baltimore Stallions were the only CFL team from the United States of America where the CFL expansion was a success.

Jim Speros was an owner the CFL wished they could still have.  He was an owner who was all in when it came to bringing professional football back to the City of Baltimore.  He was a renegade who would go to war with the National Football League in wanting to use the team’s name the Baltimore Colts since they were on record, a defunct team.  However, the NFL did not see it that way where to their defence, the name was still a trademark of the NFL, even through Jim Spero’s defense, this was the CFL. 

With the loss in the court of the use of the name, the next best thing amongst Jim Spero and the Baltimore fans was the rebranding of the Baltimore Stallions.

For those who never saw the ESPN 30 for 30 series Season 1, Episode 2: The Band That Wouldn’t Die directed by Barry Levinson, I’d highly recommend it.  Originally aired in 2009, it is centred around the Baltimore Colts Marching Band.  It was a marching band that still exists today and is now called Baltimore’s Marching Ravens.

In between the Colts moving to Indianapolis, and before the Clevland Browns moving to Baltimore in 1996 the Baltimore Marching Band were proud to represent the City of Baltimore with their Baltimore Stallions.

In retrospect, let’s say Art Modell did not move the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore and elected to go elsewhere, wherever that may be, the Baltimore Stallions would have existed, at least for longer.  Jim Speros would then move the Baltimore Stallions to Montreal, Quebec where the Montreal Alouettes were reborn, and a dynasty was created.  Trying to compete with the NFL is a monster of a challenge that nobody can win. 

However, what if it did work?

It has never been done before, and probably won’t happen ever.  But let’s say if the Stallions and Ravens did co-exist.  Baltimore fans would have double-dipped into the season ticket market and be ticket holders for both the Stallions and Ravens.

Baltimore Fans Still Remember the Baltimore Stallions  

For any CFL fan who attends a Grey Cup during Grey Cup Week, the Baltimore fans still show up with a pretty good crowd.  There are times they are between 50 to 200 Baltimore fans show up with their Baltimore Stallions gear, along with their Ravens gear with a mix and match in between.

The Baltimore fans have fond memories of being part of CFL history in being the only American team to win a Grey Cup.  It might have been short-lived, but the Baltimore faithful still tune into CFL games in between their respected college football team and the Ravens.

Why This Works in St. Louis

In typical fashion, owners of NFL franchises are greedy.  Most if not all, ask city and or state tax dollars to fund the majority, or if not all of a new stadium.  If they don’t get what they want, they will find a way to move to another city and or country where they get funding.  Even if that means breaking your current lease as was the case with owner Jim Irsay in Baltimore, and owner Stan Kroenke in St. Louis. 

Just like when the Baltimore Colts abandoned Baltimore for Indianapolis for the 1984 season, St. Louis fans felt the same way when their Rams relocated to Los Angeles, California in 2016 and were rebranded the Los Angeles Rams again.

Fans in St. Louis are very similar to fans in Baltimore when it comes to football.  Baltimore had a void in professional football until Jim Speros got the ball rolling to bring back a team to Baltimore.  And just like the fan support from St. Louis from either when it was the XFL, and now the UFL, St. Louis fans have still showed up with the highest average attendance in the area of 30,000 – 35,000 fans per game.

If the UFL is on life support due to not having the benefit of larger crowds as it is in the rest of the UFL, it would be wise for the CFL to look elsewhere for expansion.  Just like in Baltimore, St. Louis is a blessing in disguise.

The St. Louis fans have proved that they are football fans first by supporting the NFL, XFL, and now the UFL.  In all cases, attendance was never the issue.  On that alone, the CFL should strongly consider St. Louis as a prime candidate for CFL expansion.  It will give the CFL larger TV ratings from the American Midwest region, along with travelling fans from that region.  More importantly, they now have an influx of American dollars coming in for the CFL. 

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