100 Seasons Of Excellence

No one ever sits down and says, "I am going to build something that will last a hundred years." If they do, they're either evil dictators or have no idea what they are talking about.
Andrew Lewis, Commissioner and Founder of the USA Football League

From the desk of: Lorne Sundby
Nearly nine years ago, I wrote a handful of small programs that helped me simulate football games in a little make-believe league I dabbled with. The first was PLAY - solving one of my biggest frustrations with what was Football Pro 95 at the time, that being the absence of game summaries. INJURY and GAMEDAY followed. Within a year, I solved the data encryption that Sierra had applied to foil 3rd party developers, and suddenly I had something innovative - every statistical structure that was absent in the original game had a means of being replaced with a utility.

It never occurred to me at the time that in 2005, fully 7 years after Sierra last released a meaningful version of the game, there would still be leagues at play, and I would still be registering users. Twenty two different programs. Over 19,000 registrations, in over 50 countries, six continents, all US states, and all Canadian provinces - I'd guess that over 400 leagues have used my tools, but only a handful remain - a testament to the dedication of the owners, as well as a tribute to the incredible simulation power of the game itself.

One hundred seasons is, quite frankly, startling. The USAFL was not the first league to organize around my utilities, but it is certainly the most prolific. And it was the first to clearly design itself in the form of a "real" simulated league. The times I've visited the web site I've been struck by the realism of its presentation. A visitor unfamiliar with our customs and culture would wonder how it is that this USAFL has been around so long, with such success.

To the many owners of USAFL - congratulations on 100 seasons, and best wishes for many more. I'm pleased to have played a part in supporting its success.

Lorne Sundby
St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
 

You can't imagine what it feels like to see something that started out as something to pass the time and watch it blossom into a finely tuned shared experience for so many people. It is our hope that you enjoy this look back at the 100 seasons of the USAFL.

We've taken great care to present archived information in it's original state. So you will see the HTML from previous versions of the website. Be sure to take some time over the coming weeks and follow through as many links as possible. This presentation is quite extensive and is a real joy to read for our diehard GMs.

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the impact Lorne Sundby has had on the USAFL. Lorne's willingness to continue supporting his applications for a product that has long since passed on is quite admirable. We are indebted to his dedication.

The success of this league does not rest on it's founder's shoulders. It squarely rests on every GM that has contributed their sweat and care back into the league. Just take a stroll through the Garritt Grandberg USA Sports Spirit Award area and you will see the honorable men that have given back to the league more than they took. Here's to another 100 seasons for the USA Football League.

Countdown To A Century
As the USAFL came within four seasons of the century mark, the league paused to focus on four special landmark events during the history of the league. A fascinating read, the article takes you back to Super Bowl I to reveal just how peculiar this venture was in it's infancy. The league's 20th Anniversary Greatest Super Bowl Teams Tournament also gets a fresh look, along with the league's only live RealAudio broadcast of a Super Bowl game.

Best advice we can give you is, grab some of your favorite beverage and chips, then spend an hour going through this exhibition while you Countdown To A Century.

 A Fond Memory Shared

 Six General Managers sat down and shared their thoughts on the league's history. The USAFL has enjoyed having nearly 50 GMs throughout the years. Here are just a few memories from our current crop of GMs.
 

15 Questions

 A few seasons back, the USA Sports Daily did a series of interviews of all our USAFL General Managers. The GMs were all asked fifteen questions. The widely popular series was able to interview fourteen GMs before a webserver crash kept the series from continuing. Todd Ricotta, Nolan Harrison, and Jay Petty missed out on the series.
 

A Look Back At Our 50th Anniversary

 Anniversaries are always a time to look back and examine how far you've come. When the USAFL reached it's 50th season, the league asked five General Managers to sit down and share their thoughts on the USA Football League. These GMs held nothing back during this series of 15 articles. You will read about some of the most hilarious moments, some of the games most interesting trades, and many more stories of the good ole days.

This series includes several screen shots of some early playoff games and lots of images from our early website designs. Oh, and it also includes the earliest known HTML from the league's 3rd season. Be sure to check out how far Andrew Lewis has progressed in his HTML skills.
 

Other Interviews

 While browsing through the league's extensive archive of publications, we came across a few notable interviews and articles that are well worth re-reading:
 

1997: Do You Remember?

 April 1997, the month the USA Football League began it's first season. The league would run seven seasons before moving online. The USAFL launched it's public website in September of that same year. Within a couple weeks, Garritt Grandberg, Tim Arkwright, Mike Manuel, Jimmie Keyes, Nate Rupple, Jim Maurer, and Andrew Lewis gathered for the first online College Draft (click for chat transcript). We used Microsoft NetMeeting back then. Very buggy.

While the USAFL was getting underway, here's a few real-world events that occurred in 1997:

Top five athletes
1. Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers: 3,867 yards, 35 TDs, co-NFL MVP.
2. Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls: 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, Finals MVP for fifth time.
3. Roger Clemens, Toronto Blue Jays: 21-7, 2.05 ERA, 264 IP, 292 K's, Cy Young.
4. Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions: 2,053 yards rushing, 6.1 average, 14 TDs, co-MVP.
5. Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers: 40 HRs, 124 RBI, .362, .638 slugging.

Top five teams
1. Green Bay Packers (13-3). The Pack is Back with Super Bowl win over New England.
2. Chicago Bulls (69-13). MJ goes 5 for 5 in NBA titles, as Bulls knock off Utah in 6.
3. Michigan football (12-0). Wolverines share national title with ...
4. Nebraska football (13-0). Cornhuskers win third title in four seasons.
5. Detroit Red Wings (94 points). First Stanley Cup win since 1955.

Sports moves
Cleveland Browns to Baltimore as the Baltimore Ravens
Houston Oilers to Memphis as the Tennessee Oilers
MLB introduces regular season interleague play
Hartford Whalers move and become the Carolina Hurricane
WNBA begins play
Atlanta Braves into Turner Field
Washington Redskins into FedEx Field
Washington Wizards and Capitals into MCI Center

Pop culture trivia
Oscar winner: Titanic

Most popular TV show: Seinfeld

Top of the Pops: Candle In The Wind 1997, Elton John

Fiction bestseller: The Partner, John Grisham

Nonfiction bestseller: Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt

Pop culture potpourri:
"Titanic" and "Harry Potter" splash onto the scene;
body painting becomes big;
Dolly, a sheep, is first cloned mammal;
Princess Di killed in tragic crash;
Ellen comes out;
DVD players debut;
Barbie's waist expands, breasts shrink.