The Spring Football League (SFL) was a professional American football league that existed for only part of one mini-season in 2000. Founded by several ex-NFL players such as Eric Dickerson, Drew Pearson, Bo Jackson, and Tony Dorsett, the SFL planned to use the four game mini-season (dubbed "Festival 2000") to test cities, fans, stadiums, the media, entertainment, and springtime American football as a product. The year before, the Regional Football League staggered through a spring season, then announced it would not return for 2000.
The SFL announced its formation on March 1, 2000 and planned to play games less than two months later; league director Bill Futterer said the league would play four games on Saturdays from April 29, followed by a championship game in Miami on May 27.
The teams were:
- Los Angeles Dragons
- Miami Tropics
- Houston Marshals
- San Antonio Matadors
SFL teams consisted of 38 players, each of whom would receive $1,200 per game with a $200 winners bonus.
The league's games included pre-game and at half-time shows featuring national musical acts (such as The O'Jays, Mark Wills, and Poncho Sanchez), a pronounced effort to attract both African-Americans and Latino fans, and innovative use of wireless communication.
SFL coaches of note:
- Lew Carpenter - Green Bay Packers
- Guy McIntyre - San Francisco 49ers
- Doug Cosbie - Dallas Cowboys
- Keith Millard - Minnesota Vikings
- Jim Jensen - Miami Dolphins
- Hugh Green - Miami Dolphins
- Larry Little - Miami Dolphins
- Neal Colzie - Oakland Raiders
- Donald Hollas - Oakland Raiders
Read more about Spring Football League: Mini-season Cut Short
Famous quotes containing the words spring, football and/or league:
“Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“...I’m not money hungry.... People who are rich want to be richer, but what’s the difference? You can’t take it with you. The toys get different, that’s all. The rich guys buy a football team, the poor guys buy a football. It’s all relative.”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“Stereotypes fall in the face of humanity. You toodle along, thinking that all gay men wear leather after dark and should never, ever be permitted around a Little League field. And then one day your best friend from college, the one your kids adore, comes out to you.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)