A popular news story this week has been centered around musings of an XFL rebirth. The XFL, if you remember, was one of the greatest sports failures in American history. Its memory was largely forgotten – until recently.
In multiple interviews since the demise of his league, longtime World Wrestling Entertainment and former-XFL President Vince McMahon has never quite been able to give a definitive “no” regarding questions on whether he’d be into giving another crack at starting a pro football league.
Last January, ESPN’s “30 for 30” series ran an episode entitled “This Was the XFL” that captured the imagination of viewers and caused many to wonder what the league could have been had it not imploded under the weight of its own lofty goals and costly mistakes.
Interestingly enough, it appears that question may not go unanswered forever. As NFL ratings, attendance, and sponsorship took a nosedive this fall for reasons we’re all well aware of, Vince McMahon was busy registering trademarks for “UFL” and “United Football League”. Get your popcorn ready, folks. There’s a real chance we could see an XFL 2.0 in the next few years.
…with the NFL giant continuing to shrink week after week in 2017, could 2018 finally be the year for a legit challenger to emerge?
You could say the entertainment mogul smells blood in the water. While the NFL may have damaged its own brand irreversibly, the public demand for quality football hasn’t gone anywhere. I’d argue that despite increasing attention paid to brain injuries in contact sports, CTE research, and a softening generation of millennials less likely to remove the bubble wrapping from their children – it still probably never will.
In reality, Americans have turned their backs on the NFL out of feeling alienated by the league, not by the game itself. Football persists as a riveting athletic display like no other and the continued success enjoyed by the NFL this season is proof that people remain interested in seeing it played. Still, with the NFL giant continuing to shrink week after week in 2017, could 2018 finally be the year for a legit challenger to emerge?
Most sports buffs say no, referencing the defunct USFL or the relatively non-threatening Arena and Canadian football leagues that continue to exist downstream. They may be right, but there does appear to be an opening left in the market share lost by the bumbling NFL this season. If for nothing else, my mouth is watering over the thought of someone out there considering making a run at them.
Hopefully, I can help answer the question of whether such a league could thrive in a post- Trump/Kaepernick America.
Continuing with the OpsLens tradition of Experience Driven Commentary, I’m writing this two-part series to share some insight on the XFL as someone who actually had season tickets to the dumpster fire that it was. Hopefully, I can help answer the question of whether such a league could thrive in a post- Trump/Kaepernick America.
As one of many Americans disaffected by the NFL in ’17, I consciously made the decision to walk away from my PD’s fantasy football league in response to the anti-cop rhetoric, racial divisiveness, and America bashing that has been allowed to occur. I haven’t watched a single game this season, but the truth is that I love football and I do want to tune in. From the time I was too young to wear shoulder pads, it’s always been a part of me. I can honestly say that I miss it.
Here’s a little back story. I grew up in a football family. From the time I was 5 years old running around with a flag belt up until my freshman year of high school, I played Pop Warner ball for the South River Little Knights. My dad coached and my mom served as President of the organization.
Aside from jobs and school, our lives revolved around that organization not just on game-days, but all week-long season after season. To this day, my parents’ closest lifelong friends are the moms and dads of the kids I suited up for games with from the Pop Warner days of blue and gold to years of vying for high school state championships in maroon and gray.
Keep this all in mind when someone tells you that the NFL’s woes aren’t that serious. If they can lose my family, they can lose just about anyone.
My hometown had a rich high school football history with NFL Hall of Famers Drew Pearson and Joe Theisman being our most revered alumni. Banners of state championships from the years past hung everywhere and the Rams were always in the hunt for another one. It gave my tiny two-square mile town the feel of a football-crazy Mecca somewhere out in Texas.
South River wasn’t known for much, but being a “River Rat” meant football was in your blood. Keep this all in mind when someone tells you that the NFL’s woes aren’t that serious. If they can lose my family, they can lose just about anyone.
Throughout my childhood, my dad and I would head up to the Meadowlands to catch the occasional New York Giants or Jets game whenever he got the opportunity to score a pair of tickets on the cheap. Of course, we’d watch both teams on TV every Sunday when we didn’t have our own game to focus on, but pop would never go for those expensive season ticket packages. NFL season tickets seemed then and now like a luxury most responsible middle-class Americans would have to pass up.
The XFL’s creation back in 2001 was a dream come true for a kid like me – even if it was short lived.
On the other hand, my buddy Drew who lived up the street did have those coveted Jets season tickets, and I envied him for it. I’d get to go to a game with those guys every now and then, but the tailgating stories, Monday night magic, and father-son camaraderie that seemed to hinge on that team were all things I yearned to be able to share with my own father. The XFL’s creation back in 2001 was a dream come true for a kid like me – even if it was short lived.
Fast forward 16 years and I’m completely out of the loop. The NFL didn’t just lose the support of casual football fans this season. Lifelong super fans made burning thousands of dollars worth of their own team merchandise go viral for crying out loud. For the first half of my life, the sport had been a way of life and a time consuming family affair. Amazingly, the NFL somehow managed to kick us to the curb.
In part two, I’ll talk about what XFL games were like back in 2001 and what McMahon’s United Football League would need to be in 2018 and beyond in order to mount a successful run as an alternative to the newly controversial National Football League.
What do you think? Could we be on the verge of a football arms race in America? Cross those fingers and sound off if you’re hoping so.
