NFL analysts clown on “borderline stupid” UFL opening weekend’s attempt to challenge Shohei Ohtani and March Madness for viewership

The UFL finally began its inaugural season on Saturday, with eight teams set to battle it out for the right to be crowned champions for the next 10 weeks.

Despite the "football" season being over for a while, the desire to have it almost all year round is something that some fans want, but the United Football League's timing of this weekend's games wasn't exactly the best.

With college basketball's March Madness in full swing and captivating most of the nation, along with Shohei Ohtani's LA Dodgers in action against the St. Louis Cardinals, viewership for the UFL might not be that great.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms discussed that exact issue on the NFL on NBC.

"Not the best weekend to move the needle nationally," Florio said. "Not the best weekend to stand out. Are they trying to fail?"

Florio's co-host Simms also chimed in about what the UFL was up against:

"It's kind of borderline stupid, there's March Madness and opening day."

With the XFL and USFL merging to create one league, the hierarchy of the newfound league is likely trying to get it off the ground in the best way possible.

Unfortunately for the league, coming up against March Madness and the MLB likely won't end well given how much of the country is invested in both. The league is still trying to get fans to get into football in the spring, but the timing of its start isn't exactly ideal, so perhaps a later start to the new season would be the best idea.

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The XFL and the USFL combined in the offseason to be rebranded as the UFL.

The competition is split into two conferences, the XFL and the USFL, and there are four teams in each conference.

On the opening weekend, the San Antonio Brahmas, Birmingham Stallions, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers all had an opening weekend win, with the Brahmas having the biggest win, a 27-12 thumping of the D.C. Defenders.

While both the XFL and USFL were still trying to get more fans interested in their leagues, with the two now combining, there is hope that more fans will gravitate toward the new-look league.

But perhaps for future reference, the league doesn't begin its season when there is March Madness and MLB on at the same time.