That's Two Strikes For The XFL & Vince McMahon
You have to feel for Vince McMahon… at least a little bit. Back in 2001, Vince and Dick Ebersol of NBC formed a spring football league called the XFL and it lasted just one season. It was designed to be an outdoor football league that would take place right after the NFL season concluded. That way it would take advantage of the public’s lingering desire to watch football after the college and pro seasons ended. In theory, that was a good idea but it just didn’t play out that way on the field.
The league was promoted as having much fewer rules than the NFL, along with rougher play and suggestively-dressed cheerleaders. In essence, it was more designed like the WWF (now WWE) was and that is as sports entertainment. The ratings were pretty good at the outset of the season but then they went into the tank and it was ended after just one season. The big problem was that they were worried more about the entertainment aspect and less about getting some high-level talent to participate. It was not a talented league at att, but I personally found it enjoyable but that may be due to the fact that I am a WWF/WWE junkie and I liked the entertainment aspect of the sport. The NFL is way too strict and is sometimes called the No Fun League. All the flags make the sport boring. The XFL was supposed to be far different than that, and it was, but it was still not good enough for a second season thanks to tanking ratings and the COVID-19 crisis.
Now, let’s all get into our time machine and fast-forward 19 years. After the first attempt ended in disaster, McMahon kept the XFL brand name in hopes of one day starting the league back up again. In 2018, Vince did what many thought he couldn’t do and that was to create XFL 2.0, with games starting in 2020. He did state that while the new league would share the name of its predecessor, it would not be the same kind of league on the field. In other words, XFL 2.0 would not rely on wrestling-inspired features and entertainment elements. The league would also be considered a developmental league for the NFL, using players that were not signed by any NFL or Canadian Football Leagues.
The second go-a-round ended the same way the first did only a bit quicker. While XFL 1.0 lasted a whole season, 2.0 lasted just five weeks. The big reason for the stoppage was the nationwide social distancing that was going on, due to Covid-19. The rest of the season was canceled at that point. A few days ago the league suspended all operations, fired all of their workers and announced that there are no plans for starting back up in 2021.
That is a shame as the league did have some good games in their five weeks of existence. The teams consisted of four eastern teams and four teams from the west. In the east, we had the DC Defenders, theNew York Guardians, the St Louis BattleHawks (Awesome name) and the Tampa Bay Vipers. Out west, it was the Dallas Renegades, the Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats and the Seattle Dragons. The Roughnecks were the best team in the league when it folded with a perfect 5-0 record.
The ratings were decent after the first week with 3.3 million people tuning in to watch the first game of the season which was the DC Defenders hosting the Seattle Dragons on ABC. DC won that game 31-19. Ticket sales were strong during the opening weekend over with an averaged of 17,000 fans attending the four games. After week one, the XFL had already bested the ticket sales that the Alliance of American Football brought in during their entire eight-week existence in 2019.
After week one, the ratings took a huge drop. In week one, there was an averaged of about 3.25 million views and in week two that dropped to an average of 2.2 million viewers. It is said that two million viewers on average for a new league is not terrible. It is great either but still it is not terrible. The problem was how quickly the viewership went down from week one to week two. The viewer numbers dipped even further in week three with an average of 1.60 million viewers for the four games. In week four, the average viewers dropped to 1.38 million and in week five the average viewers dipped below the one million mark. Yikes. That is not good at all.
It would have been nice to see the XFL succeed this time around. I do like the idea of year-round football, so to speak. I do think that starting the season right after the Super Bowl may have been a bad I-idea. There are some out there that do miss football after the season is over but there are many others that can get tired of the sports after 25 straight weeks or so, including the preseason. Maybe starting the league in April would have been a better idea. That way the fans could take a breather before really Jonesing for some football again. Of course, if they had waited till April this year, the league would have not played a single game. Still, it would have had a better chance for next year.
A few rules of note that are different from the NFL game: (Rules are courtesy of XFL.com)
The XFL had the one-foot inbound rule like the college game. Many felt that they should have revoked that rue as this is pro football and not college. Still, I thought it was a good rule change as it made things more interesting and could help the scoring increase.
On the kick-off, the kicker kicks from his own 30-yard line and must kick the ball in the air and in play between the opponent’s 20-yard line and the end zone. The coverage team then lines up at the return team’s 35-yard line, while the return begins to line up at their own 30. I was not a fan of this one, as it meant there would be very few, if any, TDs on kick returns and also there would not be a ton of long returns. The kicking game can be exciting and while it did mean it was safer, it just wasn’t dazzling enough for my liking.
After a touchdown, the team has the option of running a play from the 2, 5, or 10-yard line, worth 1, 2, or 3 points respectively. The team must run an offensive play and no kicking plays are allowed. If the defense causes a turnover and returns it for a TD then they would be awarded however many points the offense was going for. This is an exciting new rule and I would like to see the NFL adopt it. Kicking the extra-point is just too easy and the XFL rule makes it more exciting.
On punts, the gunners may not release until the ball is kicked. If the ball goes out of bounds inside the 35-yard line, it is a “Major” touchback and the ball goes to the 35-yard line. The same for a touchback. Fair catches are permitted. I have mixed feelings on this one as it takes away the of angling kicks to go out of bounds at the one-yard line. The coffin-corner kick as been eliminated. Still, it will create more returns and also you may see more teams going for it when they are on their opponent’s side of the 50.
If a team completes a forward pass behind the line of scrimmage, that team may throw a second forward pass, as long as the ball has at no time crossed the line of scrimmage. This is only good if the first pass is completed behind the line of scrimmage. The double pass is one of the most exciting plays in the game and this was a good addition to the XFL rule book.
The overtime period shall consist of 5 “Rounds”, staged in alternating single-play possessions as is customary in NHL shootouts or MLS penalty kicks. A “Round” will consist of one offensive play per team. Each possession starts at the opponent’s 5-yard line and the offensive team has one play to score. The team with more points after 5 rounds is the winner. If a team has been mathematically eliminated before all 5 rounds have been completed, the game ends immediately. Each successful score is worth two points. All Overtimes will have the visiting team on offense first and the home team on defense first.
There are some other rule changes like a 25-second clock between plays, and if a play goes out of bounds (except) in the last two minutes) they the clock will stop only until the ball is spotted... Two timeouts per half… The XFL will have no coaches’ challenges and all plays will be subject to review from the Replay Official, who will be stationed in a booth above the field… 10-minute break at halftime, instead of a 15-minute break.
The XFL had a chance to be an exciting league, especially with the fact that it went for more seriousness, instead of gimmicks. Vince tried to mold it like the WWF/WWE the first time around and that didn’t work. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge WWE fan but those gimmicks don’t mix on the gridiron. I feel that starting the league right after the NFL season ended this time was a big downfall. Yes, the season would have ended early anyway because of Covid-19 but still, the ratings showed that the season was a flop until it was canceled.
Will McMahon eventually try and make a third run at the XFL in the future? That remains to be seen but if I was a betting man, and I am, I would say that it is an emphatic NO!!!
The XFL is Kaput, Fini, Over, Done!!!
