Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.The Omaha Nighthawks created plenty of buzz in getting off the ground last year.
Area fans embraced the new United Football League team, which was loaded with National Football League veterans and sold out each of its four home games. Apparel sales skyrocketed, and a 3-1 start only stoked the excitement.
But the Nighthawks limped to the finish, losing their last four games to finish in a tie for last place in the five-team league. The poor finish, coupled with some offseason financial issues and uncertainty about the UFL’s future, have club officials scrambling to recapture the excitement that surrounded the team last season.
“I think the way we finished up the year left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, including mine,” said Rick Mueller, heading into his second season as the team’s general manager. “The financial issues kind of put us behind the eight-ball a little bit, but we’ve slowly worked to get back to where we want to be.
“I honestly think that once we start playing football and people can see what this club is all about, the excitement will return. I know I’m more excited about this club than any I’ve worked with.”
The Nighthawks will begin trying to rekindle the buzz Friday when they open their second training camp at the Kroc Center in South Omaha. In less than a month, Omaha will open the season with an Aug. 14 game at Sacramento, with the team’s first home game at TD Ameritrade Park scheduled for Aug. 21.
Joe Moglia, named the team’s head coach as well as its president in January, called the support for last year’s team “unbelievable.”
“It didn’t surprise me,” said Moglia, who a year ago was working as the executive adviser to Nebraska coach Bo Pelini in addition to his duties as chairman of TD Ameritrade.
Nor does it surprise Moglia that some fans might have soured on the team based on its finish. Winning back those fans, Moglia said, will not be easy.
“Our goal is to put a team on the field that Omaha and the state of Nebraska can be proud of,” Moglia said. “Hopefully, people are going to find what we’re doing is entertaining and affordable, and they’ll want to be there.
“But we have to earn that from them. We just can’t expect them to show up.”
Moglia would like the team to match last season’s success at the box office. He knows some of that depends on how he coaches and how his players perform.
“If we win, I have no doubt that Omaha will want to support us,” he said. “If we don’t, we don’t deserve that support.
“We’re going to earn the respect of this community. Whatever happens, it’s going to be entertaining. It’s affordable — you can go with your buddies, you can go with your family. It’s a phenomenal new venue. The ingredients are there, and now it’s up to us.”
Mueller expects to have a UFL-limit 70 players report for camp. Players were scheduled to arrive Wednesday and will undergo physicals Thursday.
Moglia and his staff will run the players through two-a-day drills Friday and Saturday at the Kroc Center, which features a new artificial practice field. Last season, conditions of the grass field forced the team to seek alternate practice venues throughout the season.
Practices are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on the first two days, with single sessions set for 3:05 p.m. Sunday and at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays. Practices are open to the public.
“We have a lot of work to do, and we’re making sure we have the finishing touches ready to go,” Moglia said. “I’m excited. I really am excited.”
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