The sun is shining and the flowers are soon to sprout. Best of all, spring football has returned to Pittsburgh.

Okay, not technically.

The USFL’s second try is slated to kick off this weekend, with the entire season to be played in Birmingham, Ala. Eight reincarnated franchises will use touched-up logos and uniforms.

No team except for the Stallions — who are based out of the host city — will really play any home games and, admittedly, I can’t name more than a handful of players off the top of my head at this point.

As the type of fan that would probably rather watch an arena football clash than an MLB regular season matchup, I’m not any less excited.

This version obviously isn’t going to attempt to outshine the almighty NFL like the first installment did. The original league was able to sign three straight Heisman winners in the mid-1980s. Mike Rozier, who played for the Pittsburgh Maulers, was one of them. Herschel Walker, Reggie White and Jim Kelly all got their pro starts in the USFL.

Instead, this USFL will likely act as a pipeline and give those who fell short of the sport’s highest level a shot at redemption.

In February, when the eight teams drafted their players, the meeting wasn’t televised. I paid attention through the evening as my phone buzzed with Twitter notifications giving updates. Of the players taken, 11 spent time with the Steelers.

Paxton Lynch, the only quarterback to start an NFL regular season game, landed with the Michigan Panthers. He was selected in the first round by Denver in 2016 and failed as Peyton Manning’s successor before eventually landing on Pittsburgh’s active roster a few years ago.

Wideout Eli Rogers was a pretty good third or fourth option for Ben Roethlisberger from 2016-18, but hasn’t played since suiting up for the XFL’s D.C. Defenders before the pandemic. He’ll get back on the horse with the Tampa Bay Bandits, who are coached by former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

It’s possible that a few weeks into May the Pirates could be ten games out of first place in their division.

It’s never too early to switch back to football.