Executive VP Daryl "The Moose" Johnston Discusses if Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Cares About The UFL.

the whole it just this is Alan from the Allen office sports show. So we got the big game tomorrow first for us. How excited are you about the big game? Very excited. Very excited. Uh you kind of strange not having Birmingham here. You know they they've become a presence in our championship games in spring football. Um but a credit to Michigan for what they did. I mean tremendous resiliency by Mike Nolan and his team and his staff. Um you know after being 0 and six against them and and 0 and seven overall I mean Michigan has never beaten Birmingham until last week. So, you know, to get a new face into the playoffs to have DC back. I think they were the big unknown from 23 to 24, you know, what what DC team is going to show up in 25 and then to have Reggie Barlo have that opportunity to start the season and you're going to make a change to Shannon Harris and just watch Shannon step in and really kind of elevate that team. Uh it's been great. So, to have those two teams here in the championship game, um you there's a lot of one two rankings when you look at Michigan and DC together. uh when you look at our league stats. So, probably the two best teams in our league this year get to play in the championship game. That's awesome. And this question is from the Battlehawks fans. They they've asked me a lot and I promised him I would ask him I would ask they want to know Dwayne Johnson and the Rocks. How much is he still invested in this league? Not moneywise, but invest as far as caring and showing up and things of that nature. He is invested in this league. I I think that the thing that may frustrate people from time to time is, you know, how invested he was in 23. And when you're somebody that's at the level that Dwayne Johnson is at and you're being pulled in a million different direction and and we're one of those things that were pulling him, um, you know, he's got to set a balance in his life. And there's been a number of times when Dwayne Johnson was scheduled to be a part of a of a weekend. And you know, from things that are outside of his control to a schedule that just couldn't be adjusted. There's legitimate reasons why he hasn't been able to be a part of something that was planned. Uh so I would tell all the Battlehawk fans not to lose faith. He's still a part of this. You know, player 54 is always going to be something that resonates with him and he knows that that's what this league is trying to accomplish and we continue to give guys that opportunity to get back to the NFL to follow through on that. player 54. So, he's he's still a part of it even though he's not visible uh as he was in 2023. His presence is felt in the UFFL. So, Battlehawks fans, hang in there. Hang in there. Hang in there. As well for your team, too. Gosh, every year we're getting we're getting right. We're knocking on the door and we can't get through. So, uh you know, Anthony Beck and Dave Bowler did a great job. I think for the for the first time, possibly a a spring football team that had depth that could weather injury situations. So Anthony, Anthony Anthony and Dave did a great job of building that roster this year. Some of the names that were on that team, I mean to have guy like Andy Isabelle, not make the team. Andy Isabella doesn't make the team. I mean, really, is that how good your wide receiver core is? So, uh, I just I was very, very impressed by the roster that they put together. Um, and like we said, it was interesting to hear Anthony talk about this at the end of the year. Um, he had been seven and three, but he had never been 8-2. and going into that last game, how important that last game was for him and his team just from that perspective to get to eight wins. So, it's it's we talk about it all the time. Russ mentions it to us. It's incremental growth. And you've seen St. Louis incrementally grow every year. And getting from seven and three to 8 and two is a big deal. Now, you just got to get into the playoffs, but make it to the championship game. That team's got to shift their mind. We're not about getting to the playoffs anymore. We're about getting to the championship game and winning it. Yeah. And finally, we got to give the Battlehawks fans some love. They come out, show out strong. What do you can you say to the Battlehawks fans who come out every single game support? Yeah, it's uh it's amazing to see. You know, we heard about it when we were in Legacy USFL and my first opportunity to experience here is is awesome. Um I'm happy for our players to get to walk into this environment and there's nothing better than going into a visiting team's environment, especially when it's challenging and winning that football game. So every the Battlehawk fans motivate everybody else in our league to be able to come into this facility and win a game because you're going to be stressed with the noise. You're going to have to be good at your silent count. You can't have the offsides uh and the false starts and all the penalties that this this crowd can create during the course of a game. So I love the fact that our teams get to come and play in this environment because if they are going to get to the next level, those are the types of environments they're going to play in and they've got to be professional. They've got to be dialed into their details every snap. Appreciate you, J. Definitely. Best wishes tomorrow. Big game. Yeah, looking forward to it. It's going to be awesome. That's right. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Appreciate you. Yeah, you got it.