UFL still banking on Omaha to embrace championship game

• Live Video: Watch the championship game live on the UFL's YouTube channel

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A year ago, most Omahans didn't know what a Tusker was.

And the mention of the word Locomotive would have had most thinking of Union Pacific.

A year ago, a United Football League franchise in Omaha was merely a glint in Michael Huyghue's eye.

Saturday, the UFL will play its second championship game at Rosenblatt Stadium. The Tuskers from Florida and the Locomotives from Las Vegas will be there. So will Huyghue, the league commissioner who calls what Omaha has done in becoming the UFL's model franchise the “greatest story of the year in professional sports.''

“It was an exciting season,'' Huyghue said, “one that was memorable.''

The city's support for the expansion Nighthawks is the primary reason the UFL picked Omaha to play host to its championship game. The Nighthawks sold out all four of their games and drew a league-best actual attendance of almost 23,000 per game.

But the question of today is whether Omaha will turn out for the game without the Nighthawks being in it. A late-season collapse that saw Omaha lose its last four games to finish 3-5 cost the game the home presence organizers so dearly wanted.

A league spokesman said he is uncertain how many tickets have been sold for the 11:07 a.m. game, but that officials are confident the contest will draw a large crowd.

“We anticipate a strong attendance and believe the chances of more inviting temperatures than were forecast earlier in the week will result in a good walk-up on game day,'' said Michael Preston, the UFL's director of public relations. “We hope Omaha football fans will come out to see the game.''

Early this week, Las Vegas coach Jim Fassel joked that the thought of spending Thanksgiving week in Omaha was not a very inviting thought to most Las Vegas residents.

“No offense,'' he said. Turning serious, Fassel added, “When they picked Omaha, our local media asked why. I said because when the franchise was founded, that community rallied around it. They sold the stadium out, and they deserve the game.

“We've enjoyed coming here and playing. The atmosphere is tremendous.''

Fassel's team and the Tuskers, coached by Jay Gruden, are both looking for their second wins of the season at Rosenblatt. Las Vegas defeated Omaha 24-10 on Oct. 28, a defeat that started the Nighthawks on their season-ending slide.

Florida completed Omaha's skid by defeating the Nighthawks 27-10 eight days ago. That victory clinched a spot in the title game for the Tuskers, who were 2-3 and in danger of dropping out of championship contention before catching fire.

“We were coming back from a bye week, and coach Gruden said to us, ‘Just give me three weeks,' '' Florida quarterback Chris Greisen said. “To a man, everyone prepared as hard as he could for those three weeks to put us in a position to play Las Vegas.''

The Tuskers used victories of 31-14 over Omaha and 41-7 over Hartford to move to the brink of earning a championship game spot. Still, they needed to beat the Nighthawks in the regular-season finale to wrap up a title game spot, as a loss would have brought Sacramento to Omaha.

Greisen directed a workmanlike effort on offense and the defense chipped in with two interceptions for touchdowns in the 27-10 win that completed the three-game stretch run.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas stumbled after earning its spot in the final game. The Locomotives started 5-1 but have lost 27-24 to Sacramento and 27-14 to Hartford in the final two weeks.

“Securing a spot early takes the pressure off of you,'' Fassel said. “I don't like it that we've lost two games in a row and haven't played well. We lost momentum. I played everybody, but that shouldn't matter.

“But everything is week-to-week in this league, and I know everything is put aside when we play Florida. Every one of our games with them have been knock-out, drag-out fights. And when we kick it off, both teams will be ready to play.''

The game will showcase the closest thing the UFL has been able to develop as a rivalry in its short history. Saturday's game will be the sixth meeting between the two teams. Three came last season, when Florida won twice in a perfect 6-0 run through the regular season.

The Locomotives avenged the two losses by posting a 20-17 overtime victory over the Tuskers in the first championship game, which drew a crowd of 14,801 to Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium.

Florida opened this season with a 27-20 win in Las Vegas. Two weeks later, the Locomotives rallied in the fourth quarter and used a field goal on the final play of the game in a 20-17 win.

The past, including his team's recent hot streak, mattered little to Gruden as he approached the title game.

“What we did in the last three weeks was outstanding,'' he said, “but the only thing that matters is how you put your helmet on on game day and that you're ready to play.

“We didn't do our best job last year in getting ready for the championship game and being focused. The better team won that day, and hopefully the better team will win Saturday.''

Huyghue, the league's ultimate promoter, anticipates another hard-fought game in what will be the final event at Omaha's historic stadium. Rosenblatt is best known as a baseball stadium and the home of the College World Series since 1950.

But the stadium served as the stage for countless football games, from high school to professional, throughout its first three decades of existence. The Nighthawks returned the sport to Rosenblatt this season, and the game between the Tuskers and the Locomotives will serve as the venue's curtain call.

When he announced on Oct. 18 that the UFL was bringing the championship game to Rosenblatt, Huyghue hinted that organizers hoped the contest would draw the largest crowd in stadium history. That most likely won't happen without the home-town draw of the Nighthawks.

But Huyghue is hoping for a big crowd, and a good game, to provide a fitting ending to Omaha's stadium.

“We certainly want to send Rosenblatt out on a high note,'' he said.

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