UFL officials ready, optimistic for league’s first game

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009 | 2:10 a.m.

Rick Mueller, vice president and general manager of the upstart United Football League, says it won’t hit him until Thursday when he sees the teams take the field at Sam Boyd Stadium for the league's initial game.

Mueller has worked endlessly for more than a year to prepare for that moment, when the Las Vegas Locomotives will take on the California Redwoods in the UFL’s first official game. Mueller took time to discuss his excitement, expectations and the league’s challenges in a one-on-one interview Wednesday with the Las Vegas Sun.

The Sun: What type of football should fans expect from the UFL?

Rick Mueller: We’ve hopefully got the best players available right now. From a pool of 2,000 players involved in transactions in the last year and a half, we’ve narrowed it down to the 250 that we think are the next best that are available. I think we’ve got players in this league who right now could play in the NFL and deserve to play in the NFL. I think it’s going to be as close to the NFL product as you can get and that’s our goal.

The Sun: What was it about Las Vegas that ensured the city got a franchise in the first UFL season?

Rick Mueller: The Las Vegas market deserves pro football and it was always in our mind that we wanted to come here from the start. It all came together. And there are other cities out there just like Las Vegas. But really, Las Vegas will be a market that we will look to and say this is where we want to go.

The Sun: Many people are skeptical of the UFL. What’s your response to them?

Rick Mueller: Really, I understand them. It’s history. Not many leagues have survived. But I really believe in the system we’ve got in place from a cost standpoint, but I also believe there are people out there and the reception has been great.

The Sun: Was the vision always to start with four teams?

Rick Mueller: We’ve changed that vision over the past year a couple of times, but we’ve settled on a plan that’s really outstanding. It really gives us an opportunity to get quality over quantity especially in this first season. We’ll get our product out there and get everybody excited about it and then incrementally add from there, starting with six teams next year.

The Sun: How’s the UFL’s relationship with the NFL?

Rick Mueller: It would be crazy to say we’re going to compete with the NFL, because the NFL is the best game out there. It’s the most popular sport around, so if we can complement that then that would be great. The relationship with the NFL has been great. In no way are we detracting from the NFL. If anything, from a player personnel and scouting standpoint, I think the NFL is going to be excited about this. This gives them the chance to evaluate our players and see these players in games instead of these players sitting at home waiting for a call.

The Sun: How do you cater to the Las Vegas community when the team is training and practicing in Phoenix?

Rick Mueller: It’s a little bit of a drawback, but we’re available to Las Vegas. This is Las Vegas’ team. Jim Fassel has a coaches’ show and does interviews and so do I. Just from the standpoint of being able to effectively keep our costs down and put everybody together, that’s the only reason we’re in Phoenix. We’re hoping next year we’re in the market and the Locomotives are here in Las Vegas.