USFL Says a Poll Indicates It Is Supported by a Majority of Fans

A sampling of 1,000 persons in a United States Football League poll indicates that most fans want the USFL to survive, they want it to have a conventional fall season and, according to the USFL, they want the National Football League to quit picking on it.

“More than half of all adult Americans now believe the NFL is pressuring the television networks not to telecast USFL games during the fall and winter football season, and 8 in 10 people say that is wrong,” USFL official Jim Byrne said after reviewing the survey taken by a New York polling company.

Interviews were conducted with 700 people who said they followed football and 300 individuals who said they had no special interest in football.

“There is a growing consensus that the NFL does not want our games televised,” said Harry Usher, USFL commissioner. Three-quarters of those interviewed said they believed there is enough room on TV for both leagues and that they would like to see the winner of Sunday’s USFL championship game face the NFL’s Super Bowl winner.

The poll also indicated that fans do not think businesses should be permitted to deduct the price of football tickets from their taxes as a business expense, that there should be a ceiling on player salaries, and that beer and wine should be for sale at games.

“I suppose it didn’t surprise too many of us to learn that the only group we interviewed that favored deducting ticket costs as a business expense were those who earned more than $50,000 a year,” Usher said.