Anyone have any thoughts on this idea? I guess if there ever was a time, this could be it with the "popularity" of the nfl right now. Personally, I don't give a hoot either way.
After the spectacular flame-out of the original XFL, this sounds like a vanity project to soothe Vince's bruised ego, but he's got $100M to burn, so more power to him.
I think with the popularity of the NFL declining we could take a fresh look at football and there actually might be some room there for the XFL.
But the flame out occurred because every time they start a new league does new and different day Resort back to normal football and nobody does normal football better than NFL so it's got to be gimmicky and a gimmicks have to work and they have to stick with the game plan of being the anti-NFL
wonder which tv network will be showing the games. 1st time around vince was with nbc. i think it will fail again.
back on the day the usfl had some real talented players playing in that league before disbanding. i remember the games were competitive. xfl games were just brutal to watch. after 2-3 weeks i tuned out.
@25 - Could be. Trump owned the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) in the 80's. The USFL shut down in 1986 after losing $160M.
^^^ That’s right I couldn’t remember the league or the team but I do remember he bet the farm and lost a fuck ton of money and it directly caused caused one of his many bankruptcies, he caught a lot of the blame for the leagues demise and he was sued by a couple of players that he signed to long term contracts. Not sure how that all ended up but he was publicly feuding with Pete Rozelle for months in the Daily News and the N. Y. Post.
There's always been room for a 2nd tier football league to play in the football off season and focus on secondary markets (although no LA opportunity anymore)
The XFL failed in part because it launched too quickly and the launch product stunk.
They need personalities... decent players who make veteran money but can shine in interviews.
@JamesSD - from what I've heard, the launch is not until 2020, and games will be played starting in Jan/Feb (presumably after the Super Bowl so as not to directly compete with the NFL).
I’d watch if they played the games from like a February thru May/June time frame.
Once it gets into summer, there are too many other things to do. But I’d like to still be able to watch a football league in the late winter/early spring time.
And I hope it’s more like a USFL product and not the XFL product of old. And I certainly hope it’s not going to be staged crap like the WWE is.
What about the LFL (Lingerie Football League), Arena Football - and the CFL?
I think I was still married when the XFL went down. It was fun to watch - but that’s because the cheerleaders looked more like strippers! So if they offer extras - I might get season tickets!
The problem with any professional American football league is the pool of available talent. Seventy - five percent of "available" football players are African-Americans who attended college on a scholarship, but attended few actual classes and did not graduate. They will still expect multi-million dollar contracts, even though they were cut by the NFL - usually before preseason even started. About half have documented behavioral issues (drug or violence arrests).
While there are a lot of ordinary guys out there who would play pro (or even semi-pro) football for small salaries a "major" league will need to hire players with a college record and a "following." That means NFL failures that had big college careers and probably means former players with arrest records that kept their names in the sports news.
I would certainly prefer the Lingerie Football League to another NFL knock-off.
The NFL isn't actually in decline; all TV show ratings are down because people are cutting their cables. Ratings numbers are far less accurate than in the past.
I don't really give a shit about professional sports. It seems like a waste of time, but I do make an effort to watch championship games since they are valuable icebreakers and occasionally offer actual thrills and entertainment. Most Americans would like to see the existing NFL change it's misguided ways. While the leftist bozos have irreparably screwed up the actual NFL as a company, the problem goes deeper than that. You've got wannabe pundits offering editorials on gun control and race relations when they are barely able to provide color or play-by-play as it is. Unless you can clean up the NFL executive offices, the idiot players on the field, and the leftist twits in the networks, viewership and attendance will continue to decline. I don't think that necessarily means that we want the XFL.
I also recall that the XFL started seeming scripted. I remember "he hate me" shaking off not one, not two, but three defensive players tackling him simultaneously. The jackass Jesse Ventura began personal beefs with other coaches (scripted? manufactured drama?). The XFL wasn't able to keep up with the literally-no-holds-barred plays promised because of the risk of career-ending injuries (remember no fair catches?). But it's Vince's money so he can take another stab at it, and more power to him if he succeeds.
If the NFL is not in decline, why were the numbers of actual "butts in stadium seats" down 5% from 2015 to 2016, and apparently down over 10% from 2016 to 2017?
I analyzed the college grad rates and Top 25 this last season. It was near the end of the season. Only two teams were in the Top Ten of grad rates and in the Top 25, Penn State and Miami. The service academies also did well.
Fine with it.
I liked the xfl, was a fan of the usfl and saw a couple games, and watch cfl.
I hate roger goodell, the awful officiating, game length and social justice warrior bullshiit that is today's NFL, so I will give the xfl a shot.
+1 To Cashman''s interest in the LFL (now "Legends" since the original "Lingerie" was clearly too politically incorrect to survive for long).
Seriously, though, I think the trend with any of the traditional "major" sports is likely to be one of ddiminishing market share as the Millennial generation comes of age with a combination of diminished attention spans (how do you sit through a 3-hour game if you need a fidget spinner to make it an hour focused on one class or TV show?) coupled with being accustomed to all media "on demand."
Specific to the US market, soccer may be the only professional sport with significant and sustainable growth potential. But that's mainly a function of how underrepresented it is compared to the global market.
I'll only care if the quality of the games are worth watching. I don't care about all the side bs the xfl had last time or any political crap from either side of the political spectrum.
A few suggestions to help make it at least semi successful :
1) 10 minute quarters, fewer clock stoppages (ie going out of bounds doesn't stop the clock) and a smaller field to help attract those with a shorter attention span.
2) put the teams in smaller cities that are close enough to NFL cities to draw from their fan base but not to be seen as direct competition (think Columbus drawing from Cincinnati and Cleveland or Austin drawing from Dallas and Houston)
3) Shorter but not too short of a regular season. I think 10-12 weeks would be enough to show what a team is made of without seeming like it is too drawn out.
4) Allow the Cincinnati Bengals to become an XFL team. Playing against a lower tier of teams might give them a chance to finally get a playoff win under Marvin Lewis.
My major problem with the XFL coming back: The quite possible effect on the consumer cable bill (which is why many of us are unhooking anyway). Cable/Satellite providers keep blaming the cost of content on bills going up. Vince McMann is likely going to ask for a contract that bills everyone on the system regardless of viewership (Like Big 10 network and others do), the media companies will waffle but once one caries the bonus contact the others will fall into line to keep up with the Jons'es. We all get to pay under this scenario regardless of whether or not it is a quality product or whether or not the league is actually sustainable. Vince makes his money even if the whole thing is a train wreck.
I think there’s too much history in the NFL for ppl to switch. It’s almost like a soap opera for men, w changing charters and ongoing rivalries. For guys who play fantasy, past stats and all, are very important. XFL would have to have some new basis to appeal to fans, and I can’t imagine what that could be. It would be nice for the NFL to feel a little pressure to compete. It might force the NFL to become more available online.
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I did like "He Hate Me" though.
But the flame out occurred because every time they start a new league does new and different day Resort back to normal football and nobody does normal football better than NFL so it's got to be gimmicky and a gimmicks have to work and they have to stick with the game plan of being the anti-NFL
back on the day the usfl had some real talented players playing in that league before disbanding. i remember the games were competitive. xfl games were just brutal to watch. after 2-3 weeks i tuned out.
Also clotheslines, head slaps, grapping the facemask, and late hits will not be penalized. Wooooo!
The XFL failed in part because it launched too quickly and the launch product stunk.
They need personalities... decent players who make veteran money but can shine in interviews.
Once it gets into summer, there are too many other things to do. But I’d like to still be able to watch a football league in the late winter/early spring time.
And I hope it’s more like a USFL product and not the XFL product of old. And I certainly hope it’s not going to be staged crap like the WWE is.
I think I was still married when the XFL went down. It was fun to watch - but that’s because the cheerleaders looked more like strippers! So if they offer extras - I might get season tickets!
While there are a lot of ordinary guys out there who would play pro (or even semi-pro) football for small salaries a "major" league will need to hire players with a college record and a "following." That means NFL failures that had big college careers and probably means former players with arrest records that kept their names in the sports news.
I would certainly prefer the Lingerie Football League to another NFL knock-off.
I also recall that the XFL started seeming scripted. I remember "he hate me" shaking off not one, not two, but three defensive players tackling him simultaneously. The jackass Jesse Ventura began personal beefs with other coaches (scripted? manufactured drama?). The XFL wasn't able to keep up with the literally-no-holds-barred plays promised because of the risk of career-ending injuries (remember no fair catches?). But it's Vince's money so he can take another stab at it, and more power to him if he succeeds.
I think they need a real leader - to move the league forward. This Roger Goodell isn’t the proper leader..
If there were an Arena league near me, I would attend some games. Like hockey, not a good TV sport.
I analyzed the college grad rates and Top 25 this last season. It was near the end of the season. Only two teams were in the Top Ten of grad rates and in the Top 25, Penn State and Miami. The service academies also did well.
I liked the xfl, was a fan of the usfl and saw a couple games, and watch cfl.
I hate roger goodell, the awful officiating, game length and social justice warrior bullshiit that is today's NFL, so I will give the xfl a shot.
Seriously, though, I think the trend with any of the traditional "major" sports is likely to be one of ddiminishing market share as the Millennial generation comes of age with a combination of diminished attention spans (how do you sit through a 3-hour game if you need a fidget spinner to make it an hour focused on one class or TV show?) coupled with being accustomed to all media "on demand."
Specific to the US market, soccer may be the only professional sport with significant and sustainable growth potential. But that's mainly a function of how underrepresented it is compared to the global market.
A few suggestions to help make it at least semi successful :
1) 10 minute quarters, fewer clock stoppages (ie going out of bounds doesn't stop the clock) and a smaller field to help attract those with a shorter attention span.
2) put the teams in smaller cities that are close enough to NFL cities to draw from their fan base but not to be seen as direct competition (think Columbus drawing from Cincinnati and Cleveland or Austin drawing from Dallas and Houston)
3) Shorter but not too short of a regular season. I think 10-12 weeks would be enough to show what a team is made of without seeming like it is too drawn out.
4) Allow the Cincinnati Bengals to become an XFL team. Playing against a lower tier of teams might give them a chance to finally get a playoff win under Marvin Lewis.