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How long will the XFL Survive
- Thread starter Don CT
- Start date
I give it one season, just like his previous league. I understand that ESPN and Fox feel they need something other than basketball to fill time in the most dismal sports month on the American calendar, but it's been shown several times now that there is not a significant market for out-of-season football, outdoor or indoor, standard rules or wacky new rules.
There's never been a big market for minor league pro football at any time
Would the AFL have survived had it formed in modern day. Granted the NFL wasn't as big when both leagues existed.
The NFL absorbed four AFLs and the All American Football Conference between 1925 and 1970. Only the last AFL was capitalized well enough to compete. It would have survived even without the merger.
But it was a major league, the level of play (and players) being close to par with the NFL from Day One. Having that ABC-TV money for their first 5 years was what saved them.
The post-merger leagues, from the WFL in the '70s to the UFL a few years ago, plus all of the Indoor/Arena leagues, were the football equivalents of Class AA baseball at best. Never mind the NFL, they couldn't compete with baseball, basketball, and hockey in the spring or college football in the fall. Yet they thought that they could draw national TV interest when they couldn't even draw crowds in their own stadiums.
If the un-merged AFL started up today with the same talent it had could it compete with the NFL? Or is the NFL just too big now for any real competitor.
Possibly, but only if it had enough start-up TV money to sign good players. Remember, with no AFL merger, today's NFL might have 16-20 teams, including the Browns, Steelers, and Colts that moved to the AFC after the merger. There would be plenty of good players and TV networks available.
These leagues have tried to be billed as the NFL minor leagues, when in reality that's what college football is.
I don't know how long it'll last but after watching yesterday color very much a fan. So much so that I hope College and NFL chuck their rules and replace them with the rules package the XFL came up with. Much more exciting and safer without watering down the game to flag football.
The technical advances are great to. Hearing the coaches call the plays allow the color commentators to explain the inside ball and why. Also micing the Refs makes the game more open and accountible as you get the why they are making the call they are about to make on penalties, and reviews.
The technical advances are great to. Hearing the coaches call the plays allow the color commentators to explain the inside ball and why. Also micing the Refs makes the game more open and accountible as you get the why they are making the call they are about to make on penalties, and reviews.
I watched parts of both games, more of the second than the first, and my impression was positive as well. The teams looked surprisingly sharp for having been put together only a couple of months ago and the skill level was decent. As you say, the rules favor offense and there was plenty of scoring, which is always good for attracting fans, but there were more than enough solid hits, sacks and pass break-ups to remind you that defense is still part of the game. Not sure how much of this I'll be watching, considering that there is no team in the Northeast other than the New York Guardians, and I don't root for New York teams as a rule, but what I saw yesterday entertained me more than random NBA and college basketball regular-season games would have, so I'll be on board at least until the NCAA Tournament starts.
They do seem to be better organized than the AAF was last year.
And they seem to have left the 2001 XFL silliness out of this league, concentrating on football. There will be no He Hate Me in this league.
I still don't know if the league has staying power, but they do seem more serious this time. How much money does Vince want to sink into it.
I enjoyed the XFL I watched yesterday I didn't watch today I was watching NHL & NBA today. I think the XFL has staying power and see players from the XFL getting a shot in the NFL some maybe getting a second chance. No way going to see the plays being called in NFL like you see in the XFL I think I could see them take kickoff rule I don't see the 3PT con either in the NFL. If the XFL ever gets a Detroit team that will be my team.
It'll make it through February easily, since this is one of the least important months in the sports calendar. No championships after the Super Bowl, Spring Training and NASCAR start this week, and everybody else is in the middle of their regular season.
But that changes in March and April, with the NCAA basketball and hockey tournaments, MLB starting at the end of March, the NBA and NHL wrapping up their regular seasons and starting their playoffs, and the NFL Draft going on just before the XFL Championship. The XFL will be off everybody's radar by then.
I think the 'new' XFL may have legs. There is a need for a football development league outside of the NCAA. The XFL could fulfill this need. Further, the quality is better this time around and, rather than trying to craft a renegade football image, there has been a lot more focus on developing a credible product and ensuring financial stability. Having ESPN as a partner is better than trying to rely on network TV where immediate ratings have an outsize effect.
I have always followed spring football, basically because I'm not much of a basketball fan
and it fills this void in the sports calendar for me.
The level of play in this incarnation of the XFL is far superior to the last, which was frankly a joke.
The USFL was still the best spring league in my opinion. It put many all-pro players into the NFL.
That being said, I think it will be gone once the next NFL collective bargaining agreement is executed.
If they extend the season and the playoffs, with the Super Bowl getting played around President's Day,
it will effectively shut them out of their window. They can't start-up while the NFL is still playing and
already they risk people losing interest when the weather turns nice toward season's end.
and it fills this void in the sports calendar for me.
The level of play in this incarnation of the XFL is far superior to the last, which was frankly a joke.
The USFL was still the best spring league in my opinion. It put many all-pro players into the NFL.
That being said, I think it will be gone once the next NFL collective bargaining agreement is executed.
If they extend the season and the playoffs, with the Super Bowl getting played around President's Day,
it will effectively shut them out of their window. They can't start-up while the NFL is still playing and
already they risk people losing interest when the weather turns nice toward season's end.
How long with the XFL survive? What time is it now?
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