Knowshon Moreno, Donovan McNabb, Mike Shanahan and David Garrard enter pivotal seasons where they will be scrutinized if they do not perform at a high level.
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The AFL has cancelled their 2009 season, and the 2010 campaign could suffer the same fate, but the UNGL is doing all they can to help football fans remain busy until the NFL returns in late summer.
The United National Gridiron League has its infrastructure set in place, which bodes well for their projected March 2009 debut. The UNGL currently consists of eight teams, all of which have general managers, coaches, stadiums and player housing in place.
It hasn't been a cakewalk, however, as the league had to push their initial kickoff from Feb. 8 to Mar. 22. The six-week delay was a result of some dishonesty on the part of their then primary investor, but they are currently engaged with, as well as looking for, additional investors to resume that role.
The rosters, which consist mainly of Division I and Division I-AA players, were filled through the first-ever UNGL draft on Jan. 8 & 9. Each club selected 70 players, which was hosted on-line by the UNGL's partner company BSN.
The roster process doesn't end there, however, as teams must get down to 48 players before the inaugural season begins.
Fans interested in getting to know each team and numerous players can visit the UNGL's Fan Network -- a very unique site set up to make the league as fan friendly as possible. The site, a hub for football fans of any kind, provides users with news, blogs, forums, interviews, and even fantasy football.
Here at RealGM we started following the UNGL back in Dec. 2007, when the league was still known as the UNFL. It's amazing that a league of any kind, especially a brand-new one, has been able to put the pieces together for spring football. It doesn't matter what Bud Selig says, football has far surpassed baseball in terms of popularity in the United States.
When the UNGL kicks off in late March, we'll have football when diehard NFL fans need it most -- when the weather has started getting warmer all over the country, the Super Bowl is nine weeks in the past, and the start of a new season is still more than four months away.
It's an especially exciting time for pigskin fans in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Virginia, the home states of the first eight franchises in UNGL history.
"As a drafted member of Team Georgia, I appreciate more than anything the effort that is being made," one player said. "After losing a primary investor of such magnitude it would have been very easy for [the UNGL] to pack it up and attempt to get the league off the ground next year, but the league has made a commitment to the players, fans, and the nation to provide a spring football league in 2009 and I admire their effort in attempting to do so."
Fans and players alike are extremely excited to see the 2009 season getoff the ground, and having followed the league from it's infancy I can definitely understand their enthusiasm.
Whether you are interested in playing, investing, or simply following football when the NFL is on its lengthy break ... the UNGL is prepared to fill the needs of millions of people across the nation.
Don't get left behind.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM's Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com
