The Thunderbolts played in the Eastern Division, with the
Chicago Enforcers,
Orlando Rage and the
New York/New Jersey Hitmen. They finished the only year of XFL play – 2001 – in last place with the worst record in the league, at 2-8. 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. Following the collapse of the XFL, he went on to coach at
Indiana University. One of DiNardo's assistants with the Thunderbolts was his predecessor at LSU,
Curley Hallman, who was
Brett Favre's head coach for three seasons at the
University of Southern Mississippi. Hallman also coached at Legion Field with the
Alabama Crimson Tide during two stints as an assistant under
Bear Bryant,
Gene Stallings and
Mike DuBose. 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. The league originally planned to name the team the
Blast, which was the most popular of over 96 names presented to local males aged 12 to 24 (the XFL's target audience) and was approved by local
focus groups. However, the name was deemed to be in poor taste among older demographics because "Birmingham Blast" invoked images of the
1963 bombing of the
16th Street Baptist Church and of
Eric Rudolph's 1998 bombing of a local
abortion clinic, two tragic events in Birmingham history. It was eventually changed to "Thunderbolts," or "Bolts" for short, which the XFL had already copyrighted. The team's 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, DiNardo, who earned a reputation as a strict disciplinarian during his college coaching stops, banned Thunderbolts players from doing so. After losing the opening game to the
Memphis Maniax, the Thunderbolts posted wins over the
Chicago Enforcers and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen. These would ultimately become the only victories the Thunderbolts would ever see. The Bolts would finish with a 2–8 record. Birmingham went through all 3 quarterbacks during the season. Former Florida State quarterback Casey Weldon was signed as the starter. Former University of Alabama quarterback
Jay Barker was signed as the backup, despite the crowds (averaging only 17,000 fans a game, second-lowest in the league) chanting his name during the home games. Barker (who became much more famous when he married country singing star
Sara Evans in 2007) would become the starter after Weldon injured his shoulder. Barker suffered a concussion in Chicago when he collided with Enforcers' cornerback Ray Austin while attempting a bootleg run on a broken play. He was replaced by third string QB Graham Leigh. NBC dropped the XFL after the first (2001) season due to dismal ratings, and the league was disbanded shortly thereafter. ==Season-by-season==