Louisville Kings Sell Out UFL Kickoff Game

Spring Football arrives in the Commonwealth on Friday night when the third UFL season kicks off at Lynn Family Stadium. It’s the inaugural game for the Louisville Kings franchise, bringing professional football back to Kentucky for the first time since the Louisville Colonels failed to score a single point in the 1926 NFL season*.

The Louisville Kings will host the Birmingham Stallions, winners of the first UFL Championship, on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. Folks in Louisville are buying into the new franchise. Tonight’s game is a sell-out for the 11,600-seat venue. A limited number of standing room only tickets are available.

You might be skeptical about the new UFL franchise. Will it work? That I cannot answer. Will they be good? We do have a better idea about that.

The Louisville Kings got some bad news two days before kickoff. Jonathan Adams, one of the top spring football wide receivers over the past four years, was placed on injured reserve. Former Kansas Jayhawk Jason Bean will have to seek out a new top target. The Louisville Kings are a 4.5-point underdog against the Stallions, and the total is 43.5 on BetMGM.

Coached by former Male High School and UofL standout Chris Redman, there are quite a few players on the Kings’ roster with Kentucky connections. Benny Snell, UK’s all-time leading rusher, is back in action three years after his last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Lexington Lafayette product Lucky Jackson is suiting up for the Kings six seasons after his last at WKU, where he finished his career as one of the top three wideouts in program history. The Kings also have a pair of former Louisville Cardinals, OL Willie Tyler III and WR Tyler Hudson.

The UFL doesn’t look exactly like the NFL. Obviously, there’s a difference in talent, but they also operate under a few different rules to enhance scoring, like no punts inside the opponent’s 50-yard line. One can only hope that the Louisville Kings can produce an exciting brand of football that continues to bring out fans to Lynn Family Stadium.

* I’m not including the many arena football teams that have played in Kentucky over the years, like the Louisville Fire or the Kentucky Horsemen. This national TV deal gives the UFL more pop.