Fan Controlled Football

UConn Greats Making Their Mark in New Football League

Huskies Help Launch Fan Controlled Football

NBC 5 Sports

If you check out the new Fan Controlled Football league, or FCF, you'll likely recognize the name on the back of one of the jerseys.

Former UConn quarterback, David Pindell, took his last live snap as a Husky in 2018, and he told NBC Connecticut it just felt good to "go out there on the first night and actually compete and score that touchdown."

Pindell set a single-season rushing record for UConn quarterbacks, so it may not be a surprise that he scored Fan Controlled Football's very first touchdown, in the FCF's very first game on February 13.

The FCF brings together traditional, live football, with esports, or video gaming.

"The fans call the plays, they draft the teams, and basically, they control everything," Pindell explained.

They do it all through a digital platform that focuses mostly on video game live streaming and chat.

Even if the fans call a bad play, it's up to the guys on the field to execute.

"You've got to go with it. There've been some times where I wish they would have called a certain play, but it's like, 'hey, it's up to the fans. It's what they want to see. It's what they want to call,'" Pindell said.

Pindell says you can't argue about it; you just have to make something of it,
which is exactly what he's trying to do with this opportunity.

After multiple invitations to NFL rookie camps following his UConn career, nobody signed him as a quarterback -- instead, seeing Pindell as a potential running back or receiver. Now he has one more shot.

"The one thing I'm still trying to check off my list is just becoming an NFL quarterback," he said.

There are retired NFL stars watching. Several of them are FCF team owners, along with entertainers, and another UConn great -- women's basketball player Renee Montgomery.

Pindell says he was not aware of Montgomery's involvement until he arrived at the FCF bubble in Duluth, Georgia.

"'Oh, we got somebody from UConn who owns a team!'" he recalled thinking. "So, when I found out about it, I was like 'okay, that's awesome.'"

It's the kind of Husky pride that's kept Pindell fighting to get back in the game,
even if it's on a smaller field, while still taking big hits, which might be an apt metaphor.

"I know if I'm getting popped or something, I try to get right back up and just act like I'm fine, even if it hurts or something like that. I just try not to show that I got knocked out or anything like that," Pindell said.

And now David Pindell is getting one more chance to prove that he has not been knocked out of football.

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