It was only a matter of time, really. In a town seemingly built by FedEx, how has it taken more than 40 years since the company’s founding for a team to call itself the Express? Come February 2019, the wait is over. As announced last week, the Memphis franchise in the new Alliance of American Football (AAF) will be known as the Express. The team will shun purple and orange in favor of a more patriotic look, with red, white, and blue as the uniform colors.
Those of a certain age might remember the United States Football League (USFL). The Memphis Showboats were among the few USFL franchises that seemed to gain traction during the spring with a sport almost universally associated with the fall. Future Hall of Famer Reggie White tormented opposing quarterbacks for the Showboats and helped the team to the playoffs in its second and final season (1985) at the Liberty Bowl.
Less successful gridiron ventures have been seen (by a few, anyway) since the USFL went under. The Memphis Mad Dogs competed in the Canadian Football League — yes, you read that correctly — in 1995. And the Memphis Maniax went 5-5 as members of the XFL in 2001.
The AAF aims to rekindle interest in spring football, with tightly controlled expenses (players will earn $75,000, a fraction of the salary a rookie claims in the NFL). Rosters will be built largely from players who competed for schools in a team’s region, so expect to see plenty former Memphis Tigers in red, white, and blue.
As for the new name, let’s hope the Express grabs Memphians the way the league’s press release grabbed us:
Memphis has become one of the nation’s leading centers for transportation and logistics. Here, things move swiftly and purposefully with the goal of achieving awesome results and constantly raising the bar to new heights. The Memphis Express will be no different. America’s largest small town will be decked out in red, navy blue, and white. On the ground and through the air, the Memphis Express will operate with precision and urgency with visions of a championship fueling a run to the top.
The AAF will feature eight teams, and a 10-game schedule that opens in February. Three other franchises received their names last week: the Atlanta Legends, the Birmingham Iron, and the Orlando Apollos.
