XFL Football a Good Idea that Failed.   I was all in on the AAF.  I really thought that league had a chance.  Of course that was before I knew that they had made some really poor financial decisions.  The first go for the XFL lasted one season.  I guess that is better than the AAF so there is something there.  The new version of the XFL has announced that it will start play in February of 2020.  I really do believe that there is room for another pro football league.  It has to be done right and it cannot compete with the NFL.  The best thing would be to work out some kind of deal where the XFL is working with the NFL.  Especially if they can get the NFL to sponsor teams and try to use the XFL as a developmental league.

XFL Twenty Years Ago – Now Try Again

The XFL tried almost 20 years ago.  They failed because they wanted to compete with the NFL.  The USFL had the same problem.  They spent millions to compete with the NFL.  The only league that was able to compete with the NFL was the AFL in the late 50’s and early 60s.  You would think that people would have learned that the NFL is a beast that cannot be competed with.  Heck even alternate established sports leagues cannot compete with the NFL.

The AAF provided the blue print for how the XFL can succeed where other leagues failed.  Including the massive failure of the AAF.  Even with that huge failure the AAF showed what anther league has to do in order to make it.

What the XFL has to do it to learn from it original failure and then learn from the more recent failure of the AAF.  Since they have a great amount of data to pull from they should be able to put something together to have a real chance at making it.

What the XFL needs to do it take the idea from the AAF to work with the NFL in to practice.  Aligning with NFL teams will help to give fans a tie to a team.  The other thing that they need to do.  Which I think they have is stable financial situation.  The AAF put their trust in the wrong billionaire.  Regardless of what you think of Vince McMahon he has the money to sustain some losses to get it started.  This going to be a huge part of the potential success of the XFL.  They will not make any money the first few years the league is going to be in existence.

XFL Eight Teams – All in NFL Cities

They are all in current or former NFL cites.  Seven of the cities have current NFL teams.  St. Louis has had the Cardinals and the Rams in the NFL.  That may could be a red flag.  Probably not.  It was probably more owner related that those teams moved on from St. Louis.  With the XFL they will not need the huge stadium like and NFL team needs so it will be much easier to manage.  In the case of St. Louis they are playing in the stadium that the Rams said was not viable for their football team.  I am sure it will be just fine for the Battlehawks.

The Seattle Dragons are playing in the same stadium as the Seahawks.  It is difficult to believe it will have the same home field advantage for the Dragons as the Seahawks.  The rest of the teams are playing in a mix of College and multi use stadiums.  I am sure that at a log of the stadiums they will tarp over a lot of the seats.  I would guess that most teams are going to draw 10,000 – 20,000 fans a game.  If they can get those numbers some of the stadiums might look a little empty but those would be dome decent numbers.

 

XFL Draft Takes Place

The XFL draft has taken place.  It was smart to assign a quarterback to each team.  Of course this does not ensure that quarterback will be their starter.  But it was a fair way to spread some talent around the league. The XFL draft took place over two days.  There were five phases of the draft.  There were 1000 players with their name in the pool for the teams to draft from.  In Day one each team selected 30 players.  Basically each team had to pick an offense and defense.  In day two each team picked around another 40 players.  Giving each team around 70 players.  Not  sure if they are going to be able to sign undrafted free agents or how that is going to happen.   After going to training camps and cut downs.  Each team will have to get down to 40 players for the start of the season.

How the XFL Season Will Work

Each team will be allowed to have 40 active players on a roster for each game.  The season will consist of a 10 week season starting in February 2020.  After the ten game regular season the top two teams in each conference would play a single elimination game for the conference championship  The next week the to conference champions would meet in a one game playoff to the XFL season championship.  The rules will be basically the same as the NFL with a few changes.  Not all of the changes to the rules have been confirmed yet.

One that I think is going to be really interesting will be the possibility of having two forward passes on a play.  If enacted this rule would say that any pass behind the line of scrimmage is considered a lateral so if the receiver misses it or drops it the ball would still be live.    It would also mean that player could throw that ball down field to another receiver.    The XFL would go in a different direction with kickoffs.  Unlike the NFL trying to minimize the amount of kick and punt returns.  The XFL would take away fair catches and move the kick off back to the 15 yard line in an attempt to eliminate the touch back.  It will be interesting to see how that turns out.

Can the XFL Succeed

There is a lot going against the XFL.  There has been no league that plays NFL style football to succeed since the AFL was able to force a merger with the NFL.  The Arena league has been around for a while but since it is a completely different style of football we are not counting that.  There are a few things that are a concern for this league to make it.  One of those is that the teams are very spread out around the country.  Traveling from the east coast to the west coast in not cheap.  With funds being tight it will be interesting how that part works out.   The XFL might have been better served to start in a certain region with the teams a bit closer together.  The interest in the XFL will start out high.  It will also fade a bit.  That does not mean the league will fail but if they panic it will.  They need to be stable and steady.    The XFL also has to play some decent football.  That could mean limited play books and running simplified  plays.  At least for now till the league gets established.

There is room for anther football league.  Especially a Spring league that can work as a developmental league.  Root for the XFL to make it.  Even if you don’t like Vince McMahon.  A successful XFL will be good for sports fans.

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