Six years ago, the WWE, then known as the WWF, announced they would attempt to expand into the sports world by introducing the XFL. It was a 50/50 deal between Vince McMahon and NBC. The goal however was to be like an alternate and was to run right after the Super Bowl from the NFL. It could be seen as a possible competitor as it was the goal. Another item that was seen as a goal to find an audience of people who were football and wrestling fans, something that was going to be very tough. On one hand, if it was presented as just a football league it might have worked but it tried to both and could get neither.
Unlike the NFL, it would be one person running the whole league and had a pay system that would pay each player according to his position. There was an XFL Draft that included the likes of players who got a chance after the XFL, most notably Tommy Maddox, the Million Dollar Game’s MVP and Rod Smart, most known for his “He Hate Me” name. One of the biggest notable differences with the league was that some of the players could have whatever they wanted on the back on their jersey. It did set it apart but it might not have been the right approach if the league was to be taken seriously as a sport. Another one was the fact that instead of a coin toss, two players would rush to grab the XFL ball and whoever could maintain possession had the option to either kick or receive the ball, just like the coin toss is used in football in general.
Eight 8 teams were created for this league to start off and was not just like NBC but also TNN, now Spike TV, and UPN, now CW. The teams were the Los Angeles Xtreme, Las Vegas Outlaws, Birmingham Thunderbolts, Memphis Maniax, New York/New Jersey Hitmen, San Francisco Demons, Orlando Rage, and Chicago Enforcers. These teams were the initial start of the league in an effort to be different. 2001 was the only year the XFL had ever been shown and at the end of the season, it was gone but here’s the question, what are the factors that caused the demise of a potential league that could have possibly opened up some doors for other football players who didn’t get to play in the NFL?
The biggest reason had to do with the media. They seem to be the thing that pretty much dictates what survives and what doesn’t anymore. The league was heavily criticized mainly due to the affiliation with the WWE and the general dislike for it. Very few newspapers would actually cover the league. In fact, a huge factor was that the sports media or the WWE hating media in general probably joked around that the games were actually rigged. To be quite honest, the games while were close, there weren’t rigged at all. It would be rather difficult to actually rig a game. Now if there was gambling involved in that within the whole XFL franchise with the players and coaches, that could be another story.
Another factor that lead to the demise of the XFL was partially due to the mixture of WWE involvement in with it. That is why the league was never actually taken seriously. It wasn’t presented as being its own separate entity. Had that actually occurred, it might have survived at least a couple more seasons. What needed to be remembered was that there are people who want to see a good football game and not worry about other extracurricular activity. The names on the back on the players names while funny, wasn’t seen as professional since most players who play in general tend to use their last name and have it on their jersey instead of some nickname.
The play while wasn’t horrible in one view, may not have been the greatest in the world. It also didn’t have an audience watching it after the 1st week. Ratings for the show went south and didn’t get that back up to the numbers it initially started out with. If a show is presented in a way that will get people to watch every week, it will be successful. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as it would be looked at as a complete failure. NBC however decided not to want to run the league on the channel and initially Vince McMahon wanted to continue the league and was looking to expand it into different cities. However, it came down to TV negotiations with UPN that pretty much meant the end of the XFL.The league itself sounded good on paper but it failed to deliver after the hype. Perhaps the timing of it was a bad choice and was put on a bad time. That could be a reason but it came down to it just wasn’t appealing to anyone at all. It is true that it had some people watching the games but it wasn’t enough to keep the league going. While it failed, it did however give a couple players more or less a 2nd chance to be in the NFL as mentioned with Maddox and Smart to name a few. It has an impact and it has influenced in particular the NFL on some innovations and for that matter sports. For instance, that Sky Cam is now used in the NFL after it came out of there. While no one gives the XFL the credit it does deserve for influence, it should be noted that they had an impact on sports like it or not. It wasn’t Vince McMahon’s finest hour as he has been attempting to expand beyond wrestling but it wasn’t a bad idea to try a football league at all. Maybe if they had gotten a commissioner and had the WWE as the big financial backer it could have lasted and maybe the criticism wouldn’t have been so harsh but who knows. In conclusion, the league just came up short in their attempt at finding the perfect audience.
