The First weekend of the XFL is in the books. There were a few close games. A few blow outs. The football was not the best football I have ever seen but it was not the worst either. No one really expected the football played to be the best they have seen. It really did not need to be. It just needed to be alright. It had to be alright with the potential to get better. I get it that the XFL is not going to be for everyone. That is okay. It is not targeted at everyone. If you are one of those people then no harm no foul. You can go watch something else. I watched the better part of three of the games. It was football with some twists and some decent play. It was fun to watch.
XFL First Weekend By The Media Numbers
The ratings for the first weekend of the XFL were slightly better then the numbers for the AAF. The numbers for the first weekend of the AAF were very respectable so this is very encouraging.
The first XFL game between the DC Defenders and the Seattle Dragons drew and average audience of 3.3 million viewers. That game was on ABC. There was a point near the end of the game where the number of viewers hit almost 4 million.
These numbers are comparable to the numbers the ESPN Christmas day game drew featuring the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors. This is also pretty impressive considering the game had a 2PM start on a Saturday afternoon.
The average attendance for the 4 games played this weekend was 17,000. That is a pretty good number as well. No where near NFL numbers but that is not what they were going for. The numbers are in line for what they expected.
According to The Action Network’s Darren Rovell the XFL generated more revenue prior to their first game then the AAF did for its entire season last year. That is a pretty good sign that the XFL is not just going to be a flash in the pan.
Over all I am pretty sure that the XFL is going to survive its first season. I am also feeling confident that it will get at least a second season.
What I liked about the XFL First Weekend
- The Kickoffs – this was interesting and fun to watch. Of the new rules I think this one has a chance to jump to the NFL. Making the players all wait till the deep man makes contact with the ball does a few nice things. Allows for a return. Almost none of the kick offs were a touch back. I saw one go out of bounds and the stiff penalty of the receiving team getting the ball where kicking team kicked off from is quite the deterrent to kicking it out of bounds. Since no one has a running start this should help make the injury rate about the same or maybe even less then a standard play.
- Hearing the Coaches Make the Calls – This was a lot of fun too. Everyone always has wondered what the coaches are saying when they have the call sheet over their mouth blocking everyone from trying to read their lips. With the XFL we don’t have to wonder. I am not sure how they are keeping the other team from looking in but I am sure they have something to deal with that. The coolness of us getting to hear the call over rules the possibility of the other team knowing the play.
- Replay Transparency – like with the coaches miked up the replay from both the replay booth and the ref we get to hear what is going on. It was nice to see what the replay official is thinking about as he watches the play. It makes it easier to accept his call even if you think he is wrong when you get to hear the thought process of how the decision was reached. I think that this has a chance to jump to the NFL as well. I never really understood why it was all such a secret anyway. Made me feel like they had something to hide. The XFL rule takes all that out of the equation.
- Interviews right after a play – It was interesting to get a coach or a players perspective after a play. Both good and bad plays were subjected to being asked questions after the player came off the field. I have never been a huge fan of the side line reporter. This aspect may make them actually quite useful now. Getting to hear the thought process right after it happened is very interesting.
- Pace of Play – The play did move much quicker with the 25 second clock. At least two of the games still went over the 3 hour time slot. Not by a lot and as the play gets better I am guessing that the games will slightly speed up and most games will hit the three hours or under.
Things that I was unsure of
- Two Minute Drill – When I read about how the clock was going to go in the last two minutes of the second and fourth quarter I thought it was going to go a little differently than it did. I am unsure if I like or dislike how it went. The clock did stop after every play but it was like the college rule after a first down. The clock stops till the ball is set for play then they wind the clock. That is fine so it still brings in getting out of bound and using time outs. Since you are only given two for each half th time outs need to be used very cautiously.
- Extra Point Attempts – not sure if it was nerves or just how new the point(s) after touchdown are but it seemed that most of the coaches were very cautious and opted to go from the two yard line to try for one point. I would have liked to see more teams go for two or three points. The three points from the ten may turn out to be a really low percentage play. Until we get more teams giving it a try we will not know. This seems like a good idea on the surface but if no one does it then it really does not matter.
There was not a lot I did not like about the XFL First Weekend. The play really was about what I expected it would be. The question is will the fans continue to watch and will the play get better. I would guess that there will be a slight drop in week two. If they can pick up the play and get better each week then the numbers should go up a bit. Keeping the tickets relatively inexpensive will keep the fans in the stands. With the games on ABC, FOX and ESPN and set times for the Saturday and Sunday games they will be easy to find and for people to plan to watch. I would have liked if they had keep to a noon and three or a 1 and four start time but that is not a deal breaker type of thing.
The XFL needs to improve play each week and keep the games moving.
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