This is an opinion column.

The United Football League smacked a wild bronco in the hindquarters with that leak earlier this week about yanking the Stallions out of Birmingham.

About maybe herding the iconic franchise from the womb that re-birthed spring football four years ago after a protracted and turbulent gestation?

About — how did y’all put it? — being in the “planning stages” for the 2026 season and the “unauthorized speculation” about four of the league’s eight franchises potentially high-tailing it to new horizons.

The very notion, the audacity, unleashed a stampede of reactions, not surprisingly. And justifiably.

Why might the UFL euthanize a franchise that three-peated in the spring football championships, a franchise whose fans regularly generated the highest television ratings of any team in the league?

Well, we don’t exactly know because the UFL hasn’t articulated the criterion it’s using to determine these next moves. At least not publicly — not to city officials and seemingly not even to its own people since the Stallions are out here touting 2026 season ticket sales.

So right now, I’ll just say this: The Stallions deserve to saddle up again right where they are — in the heart of this football-crazed oasis.

They deserve to stay in Birmingham because without Birmingham, there may not have been spring football. The city incubated all eight teams from training camp through the inaugural season of the United States Football League, which merged with the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-hyped XFL in 2024 to create the UFL.

They deserve to stay in the region whose citizens have invested $4.2 million in the Stallions through the city, Jefferson County and the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

They deserve to stay, if for no other reason than the raucous Horsemen, that wonderful band of salivating Stallions faithful who donned maroon and gold, waved flags, and screamed “giddy-up” more than Gene Autry and Roy Rogers combined.

“They out here destroying the only good thing spring football has ever had,” Horsemen leader Chase Newton shared on social media, reacting to the buzz that the franchise might be horse-traded elsewhere. “The Stallions are spring football.”

No shade to the cities reportedly on your moving list, but the Boise Stallions? That bronco will buck all night.

I get this: Herding the Stallions out of town might make sense to the television execs (Fox Sports/ESPN) and private equity types (RedBird Capital Partners) who own the league — if the number of tushes in seats is their key criteria. They’re good folks with all the best intentions. Folks who want the UFL to work. To succeed.

To make a profit. That’s not a bad thing, though it’s a bit of a paradigm shift. In the early USFL seasons, majority owner Fox Sports said the primary aim was to fill the yawning void of spring sports programming with catnip for craving football fans. Those eyeballs would drive advertising revenue. That was the win-win.

Now, game-day ghost stadiums weren’t pretty; they didn’t make for stellar television. But filling brand spankin’ new Protective Stadium — still one of the league’s most pristine venues — was then just a hope, not a priority.

Still, a pack of Stallion faithful trotted to games. Fans were intergenerational — parents who rooted for the Stallions that roamed for three seasons (1983-1985) and their children. Many were local college students seeking to build their own affinity with the franchise. Others hailed from a Birmingham community proud of a pro team they called their own.

Crowds grew a bit sparse this past spring, however. Scheduling (the final two regular-season home games were played at 11 a.m. on Mother’s Day and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend) and spring’s almost-constant (or threat of) rain didn’t help lure fans from their comfy couches and big screens at home.

Still, the franchise was not a box-office bust. It was sixth in announced attendance, even better in ticket revenue.

If everyone’s being honest, maybe the UFL and Stallion faithful began to take each other somewhat for granted.

After the merger, league headquarters moved to Arlington, Texas, leaving a paucity of front-office personnel in the area to maintain relationships with fans or court corporate support. You know us, Birmingham: If you’re not here, you ain’t here.

Moreover, the team wasn’t even in the city. Players were housed in Arlington and flown in for games. It was like after being spring football’s first love, we were ghosted. So, it’s easy to see why some fans’ giddy-up may have waned.

Corey Helvey, former UFL director of ticket sales in Birmingham shared on social media: “Could’ve been a high attendance market if handled differently.”

So, now, UFL, if filling seats at Protective is your key move-or-not-move marker, give Birmingham a chance to saddle up and show up.

Give it a chance by investing in a local sales and marketing team that will re-engage the resident and corporate communities.

Give it a chance by housing the players here, allowing them to engage with our youth and families at local schools and community events, to shake hands with potential partners, and to share their journeys and dreams with my media colleagues.

Stallions wide receiver Davion Davis said on X: “No team to fan interaction. Players aren’t able to build that relationship with fan base.”

Give Birmingham what it deserves — a chance to ride again.

Let’s be better tomorrow than we are today. My column appears on AL.com, and digital editions of The Birmingham News, Huntsville Times, and Mobile Press-Register. Tell me what you think at [email protected], and follow me at twitter.com/roysj, Instagram @roysj and BlueSky.