St. Louis has found solace, and perhaps even a touch of defiance, in the United Football League (UFL). The appetite for professional football has not waned since 2015 when their team left town, winding up the Los Angeles Rams.
For the second consecutive year, the city will host the UFL championship game in the familiar confines of the St. Louis Battlehawks’ home stadium, a decision announced during Sunday’s contest between the Battlehawks and the D.C. Defenders. This repeat hosting honor isn’t merely coincidental; it’s a direct reflection of St. Louis’ unparalleled support for the spring league, a devotion that appears intrinsically linked to the void left by the departure of their beloved NFL team.
The numbers speak volumes. The Battlehawks consistently draw an average crowd exceeding 32,000 fans per home game, a stark contrast to the other seven UFL markets that struggle to maintain even 10,000 attendees. This remarkable level of engagement is unique within the UFL landscape, and St. Louis holds the distinction of being the only one of the eight markets to have once possessed an NFL franchise, only to see it relocate.
Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht astutely observed this connection, telling ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert, “You would love to see a lot of the markets duplicate it. And it could definitely happen. I will say this is a unique market where something was taken from them. And the fans, actually a lot of them show up just because of that.” This sentiment of loss and a subsequent embrace of the UFL as a new football identity is palpable within the St. Louis community.
Los Angeles Rams: ‘We loved the Rams. They did so much for this community, and then they snuck out.’
For many fans, the Battlehawks and the UFL represent more than just spring football; they embody a collective response to the pain of the Rams’ departure.
As Battlehawks fan John Lewis articulated to Seifert, “It’s a community experience with a shared interest in spring football and a shared hatred of Stan Kroenke. When I talk to some of the old-timers there, they’re like, ‘We loved the Rams. They did so much for this community, and then they snuck out.’ Having a good professional football team in the place where the Rams played is kind of like a middle finger to Stan. It’s like, ‘We don’t need you. Look what we have here.’ And it’s so much more accessible and cheaper than trying to go to a Rams game.”
Lewis’s words poignantly capture the emotional undercurrent driving the fervent support for the Battlehawks – a desire to reclaim a piece of their football identity and perhaps even send a message to the owner who orchestrated the team’s relocation to Los Angeles.
The strength of this connection was evident last year when the UFL championship game drew over 27,000 fans in St. Louis, despite the Battlehawks not even competing for the title. It’s difficult to imagine any other UFL city achieving such attendance under similar circumstances.
St. Louis, therefore, shines as the UFL’s brightest beacon, its passion fueled, in part, by the lingering shadow of what was lost. The question that remains is whether the other UFL markets can cultivate a similar level of passionate engagement, perhaps finding their own unique connections with their local teams, to ensure the long-term viability of spring football as a compelling alternative to the traditional sports calendar.
The story of St. Louis suggests that sometimes, a community’s embrace of something new can be powerfully shaped by the memory of what was left behind.
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