BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A long list of now-defunct professional Birmingham sports teams may sadly be getting a new chapter soon.
At the Birmingham Stallions’ home opener on April 18 vs. Orlando, new UFL owner Mike Repole paraded himself around the sidelines of Protective Stadium in front of the largest crowd in team history.
He took every chance he got to take off his aviators, grab a microphone and tout the achievement, one that was born from an ultimatum he gave the city last August after reports emerged he planned to move the team. The message was clear: “If you want the team, kindly show up.”
Dedicated fans purchased season tickets, local government pined for people to come out and players rallied support online.
The subsequent outpour made him think twice, so a reluctant Repole announced the team would be back for 2026 and affirmed on local radio station WJOX 94.5 that “as long as there is a UFL – and there will be – the Birmingham Stallions will be a part of it.”
His approach to maintaining the franchise since then has been anything but that of someone who truly wants it to stick around, however.
Sure, he got the UFL a quick payday and some attention with his threat to move the team, but a “ticket sales” hiring of first-time head coach AJ McCarron and backhanding fans with alleged blacklisting of franchise favorites J’Mar Smith and Ricky Person Jr. led not only to controversy, but a disappointing product on-field.
A once-great team has become plagued by uncharacteristically sloppy play and an even worse locker room culture, with starting defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey quitting on the team mid season after creating a post on social media that said “Sorry Stallions nation that staff ain’t it! I’d rather work out at home than deal with that madness. Giddy up, good luck this season.”
Despite an exciting second half of the year after trading for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, plus some growth from McCarron, Birmingham finished 4-6 and missed the playoffs for the first time since their return five years ago.
After that crowd of over 18,000 watched the team suffer the first shutout in league history at the home opener, the crowds for the following four home games were disheartening, to say the least.
The reported numbers are:
Week 5 vs. DC – 8,120
Week 7 vs. Dallas – 4,705
Week 8 vs. Columbus – 4,824
Week 10 vs. Houston – 5,253
And who can truly blame Birmingham for not showing up?
Well, Mike Repole can, and will, but I think he’s getting what he wanted all along. He’ll get to hold attendance over Birmingham’s head while ripping our team away after stripping it of everything that made it great.
If this was truly just a grievance with Birmingham, it showed he simply had no respect for the market. Why would an overgrown rich kid from New York City care about what he likely sees as a third-rate southern town, anyway?
If this is how he plans to run the UFL as a whole, however, as a circus act where names and merchandise made by his own clothing company matter more than becoming a feeder for the NFL, you can kiss this league goodbye.
