Will the XFL be successful?

By Elijah Winn | Editor

January 23rd, 2020

As the NFL season draws nearer to its conclusion with the Superbowl, there comes the annual void for football lovers until April. The XFL hopes to fulfill this void with a compact version of an NFL season with eight teams and a ten week season, including two weeks of postseason. The St. Louis BattleHawks, Houston Roughnecks, Dallas Renegades, New York Guardians, Seattle Dragons, Tampa Bay Vipers, Los Angeles Wildcats, and DC Defenders will begin their season February 8th. 

The original XFL premiered in 2001, broadcasting on NBC and was a joint venture between NBC and the WWE. The original XFL infamously ended in catastrophe, lasting only one season and summed up as a complete “flop”. 

Revived by Vince McMahon, the new XFL has actually taken to prepare for the leagues debut by looking towards the faults of its predecessor. The original XFL never actually had a preseason, so minimal preparations and practice yielded a slew of technical difficulties. But, the XFL has been preparing for their debut since 2018, so some past issues may be avoided. 

Vince McMahon’s background in the WWE should give insight into what the XFL is trying to become. A faster paced, flashier version of the NFL that will offer a different style of football. But, will the XFL utilize the same antics as the WWE? This question yields an interesting discussion as the WWE can be known for its oversexualization of women, sensualized sporting events, and scripted matches. If this carries over to the XFL can this be distinguished as a legitimate sporting league?

“I don’t really think that this is supposed to be a real take on football,” senior Fabio Pschaidt said. “It’s more just for the spectacle and not the actual game.”

The idea for an additional league to fill the hole that the NFL leaves is smart, but the way the XFL is going about it may not be the answer.

“It really just reminds of a WWE match that’s mostly just a joke,” senior Gavin Raab said. ” It’s nothing that I really need to watch as a football fan.” 

The XFL holds no weight for football fans and seemingly appears to be more about capitalization. The continuation of the XFL obviously depends on viewership, which is expected to spike for the first few games and then descend. It may be smarter for the XFL to be more involved with the following NFL season by using NFL players and acting as a spring season for non-playoff contending teams, or even use the practice squads of NFL teams.

Here’s a list of the notable players coming over from the NFL:

Dallas Renegades:

• Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
• TommyLee Lewis, WR, Northern Illinois
• Cameron Artis-Payne, RB, Auburn

DC Defenders:

• Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State
• Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State

Houston Roughnecks:

• Phillip Walker, QB, Temple
• Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State
• Sammie Coats, WR, Auburn

Los Angeles Wildcats:

• Luis Perez, QB, Texas A&M

New York Guardians:

• Matt McGloin, QB, Penn State

St. Louis Battlehawks:

• Jordan Ta’amu, QB, Mississippi
• Brogan Roback, QB, Eastern Michigan

Seattle Dragons:

• Brandon Silvers, QB, Troy
• Keenan Reynolds, WR, Navy

Tampa Bay Vipers:

• Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia
• Quinton Flowers, RB, USF

But, only time will tell how the XFL will fare.