Welcome to the beginning of the 1991 regular season, the 18th regular season of USFL/WFL football. Our defending champions Memphis has a new owner as tribewriter has moved on to browner pastures as he tries to restore some luster to the Pittsburgh Maulers. Will the Showboats continue their success under their 6th owner/GM? There are a whole bunch of teams waiting in the wings to knock Memphis off, including previous champions Portland and Houston. In fact, that trio of teams (Memphis, Houston and Portland) has won 10 of the last 12 World Bowls although several other teams have the talent to possibly break that stranglehold in the American Conference.
Will San Jose and Honolulu fight for the Pacific again or will we have a new Pacific Champion?
The West is usually one of the toughest top to bottom divisions every year, so will the Storm emerge again?
Speaking of tough, top to bottom divisions, the Midwest was exactly that in 1990 as we had to wait until Week 16 to decide the winner. Will we have similar drama in 1991?
It's been the Memphis and Houston show in the Southwest for most of the last decade. Will Houston rise now that Memphis underwent yet another ownership change, or will the Showboats keep sailing along? Will one or both of Oklahoma or San Antonio improve enough to make a playoff run?
The National Conference seems like an afterthought sometimes, and a 3-14 World Bowl record only reinforces that. In fact, the conference has lost 7 in a row since New Jersey won World Bowl X. Baltimore and Washington have developed a fierce rivalry, and they have represented the conference in the last 4 World Bowls. They look to fight for the division again, although Charlotte has been improving in recent years and tribewriter seeks a World Bowl trophy with his 3rd franchise after winning last season with Memphis and World Bowl I with the Florida Blazers.
The New Orleans VooDoo are going hard in an effort to win now, as they added more speed to an already potent offense. The VooDoo need to win now because the future is going to be difficult with no 1st or 2nd round picks the next 3 seasons. Can Shreveport build on last year's success and push the VooDoo? Will Georgia and/or Birmingham see improvement?
New Jersey won the East again after a 2 year hiatus, but can they do it again? Do we even want them to? Except me of course, I want to, but if the Generals actually make another World Bowl, odds are they'll lose anyway. Boston and Philadelphia improved in 1990 and New York has new ownership.
The Southeast looks wide open for the Florida based teams. Which one emerges as division champs?
All of these questions will be answered over the next 16 weeks of game action so strap in and enjoy the ride. It's time to play ball!