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Birmingham ThunderboltsThe Birmingham Thunderbolts were a short-lived springtime American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. The Thunderbolts played their home games at Birmingham's legendary Legion Field. They were coached by Brooklyn-native Gerry DiNardo, a former star player at the University of Notre Dame, and previously head coach at Vanderbilt University and Louisiana State University. The team's colors were purple, yellow, and white. Their logo was a stylized 'B' with six lightning bolts extending from it. On the teams helmets, the logo was placed at the front, instead of the customary position on each side, with only the upper three lightning bolts visible. The team was frequently referred to by fans and the media as simply the Bolts. Team merchandise almost always used the shortened Bolts moniker. Allegedly, the league had originally planned to name the team the Blast, but changed the name at the last minute when it was considered to invoke images of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and of the 1994 bombing of a local abortion clinic, two tragic events in Birmingham history. The teams logo is said to be the same one originally designed for the Blast. While XFL players were encouraged to use nicknames instead of their last names on the backs of their jerseys, no Thunderbolts player ever did. The team got off to a good start winning the first two games of the 10-game season. Home crowds were among the largest to see the XFL. The team was soon plagued by injuries and lost the remaining eight games of the season. After the team's first two quarterbacks were injured, the team signed former University of Alabama star QB Jay Barker, who had just been released from his contract with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Barker, who lead the University of Alabama to their 1992 national championship victory, was one of the most popular players in Crimson Tide history owing to his handsome looks, modest demeanor, and high morals. He was seen as a positive influence on the league, and gave the league a measure of credibility in Birmingham where the local media had been cynical towards the team and league. NBC dropped the XFL concept after the first (2001) season due to dismal ratings, and the league was disbanded shortly thereafter. After the league folded, head coach Gerry DiNardo joined the staff of Birmingham sports talk radio station WJOX 690, as did Jay Barker, who now also does sports commentary on local CBS TV affilate WIAT channel 42. DiNardo returned to his college football coaching roots in 2002 as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers football team. The team was sometimes jokingly nicknamed 'The Fighting DiNardos' in his honor. External links
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