XFL (2001)
Sport | American football |
---|---|
Founded | 1999 |
Founder | Vince McMahon Dick Ebersol |
First season | 2001 |
Ceased | 2001 |
Owner(s) | WWF (50%)[1] NBC (50%) |
No. of teams | 8 |
Country | United States |
Last champion(s) | Los Angeles Xtreme (2001) |
Official website | XFL.com |
The XFL was a professional
The XFL operated as a single entity with all teams owned by the league, in contrast to most major professional leagues, which use a
The first night of play brought higher television viewership than NBC had projected, but ratings exponentially plummeted for subsequent games, with criticism directed toward its overall quality of play, on-air presentation and connection to the WWF, prompting NBC to pull out of the venture after one season. While plans were made to continue without NBC (with plans for expansion teams as well), UPN allegedly made inordinate demands of the league, which hastened its demise. The league ceased operations entirely in May 2001. Its closure was announced just a few weeks after the league's season championship game, in which the Los Angeles Xtreme defeated the San Francisco Demons, on April 21, 2001, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Despite its short-lived existence, the XFL did pioneer several on-air technologies that would later become commonplace in football telecasts, such as aerial
Founding
Created as a 50–50 joint venture between
NBC had lost their broadcast rights to the NFL's
The concept of the league was first announced on February 3, 2000. The XFL was originally conceived to build on the success of the NFL and
The XFL featured extensive television coverage, with three games televised each week on
The XFL chose unusual names for its teams, most of which either referenced images of uncontrolled insanity (Maniax, Rage, Xtreme, Demons) or criminal activity (Enforcers, Hitmen, Outlaws, and the Birmingham Blast). After outrage from Birmingham residents who noted that Birmingham had a history of notorious "blasts", including the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963 and Eric Rudolph's 1998 bombing of a local abortion clinic, the XFL changed the name of the Birmingham team to the more benign "Birmingham Thunderbolts" (later shortened to "Bolts").[12]
Contrary to popular belief, the "X" in XFL did not stand for "extreme", as in "eXtreme Football League".[13] When the league was first organized in 1999, it was originally supposed to stand for "Xtreme Football League"; however, there was already a league in formation at the same time with that name, and so promoters wanted to make sure that everyone knew that the "X" did not actually stand for anything (though McMahon would comment that "if the NFL stood for the 'No Fun League', the XFL will stand for the 'extra fun league'"[14]). The other Xtreme Football League, which was also organized in 1999, merged with the Arena Football League's minor league AF2 before ever playing a single game. In a much later article describing the origins of the league's name, Sports Illustrated stated: "The F and the L act to indicate, if only indirectly, a football league. But the X is a variable. It could mean anything."[15]
Draft
The only main draft for the league took place over a three-day period from October 28 to October 30, 2000. A total of 475 players were selected initially, with 65 additional players then selected in a supplemental draft on December 29, 2000.
Teams
Eastern Division
Western Division
2001 season
On the field
The XFL's opening game took place on February 3, 2001, one year after the league was announced, less than one week following the NFL's Super Bowl XXXV. The first game was between the New York/New Jersey Hitmen and the Las Vegas Outlaws at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada.
The league's regular season structure was set up so that each team played teams in its own division twice in the season, home and away (the same as the National Football League) and played against teams in the other division once. The season ran ten weeks, with no bye weeks.
The league's western division was far more competitive than the east, with the four teams' records ranging from 7–3 (for eventual champion Los Angeles) to 4–6 (Las Vegas, who finished last after losing its last three games to end up one game out of a playoff spot). In the East, New York and Chicago both were hampered by slow starts and ineffective starters before making personnel changes that improved their play, while Orlando, under quarterback Jeff Brohm, who owned the league's highest QB rating at 99.9 during the 2001 XFL season, soared to first place, winning its first six games before Brohm suffered a career-ending injury and the team regressed (the team went 2–2 in his absence). Birmingham started the season 2–1 before a rash of injuries (and tougher competition, as its two wins were against New York and Chicago) led to the team losing the last seven games. Injuries were a major problem across the league: only three of the league's eight Opening Day starting quarterbacks—Los Angeles's Tommy Maddox, San Francisco's Mike Pawlawski and Memphis's Jim Druckenmiller—were still starters by the end of the season. Birmingham and Las Vegas were both on their third-string quarterbacks by the end of the ten-week season.
The top two teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. To avoid teams having to play each other three times in a season, the league set up the semifinal round of the playoffs so that the games would feature teams from opposite divisions: the east division champion (Orlando) hosted the west division runner-up (San Francisco), and likewise for the west champion and east runner-up (Los Angeles and Chicago, respectively). Los Angeles and San Francisco each won their playoff games to advance to the XFL championship.
Off the field
The opening game ended with a 19–0 victory for the Outlaws, and was watched on NBC by an estimated 14 million viewers. During the telecast,
The opening-week games actually delivered ratings double those of what NBC had promised advertisers (and more viewers than the 2001 Pro Bowl). The audience declined to a 4.6 in week 2,[17] still an acceptable rating for NBC, but further ratings declines eventually led to the network abandoning the league after the season.
A further problem was that the XFL itself was the brainchild of Vince McMahon, a man who was ridiculed by mainstream sports journalists due to the stigma attached to
Ebersol was disappointed with the opening game's poor quality of play.[18] Even longtime NBC sportscaster Bob Costas joined in the mocking of the league. Ebersol purposely allowed Costas and other NBC Sports veterans to opt out of the network's coverage of the league (hence with the exception of former NFL on NBC analyst Mike Adamle, its coverage was helmed mostly by younger unknowns and professional wrestling figures), and Costas in particular did not like McMahon's approach to the sport. In an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in February 2001, after the league's second week of play, Costas joked: "It has to be at least a decade since I first mused out loud, 'Why doesn't somebody combine mediocre high school football with a tawdry strip club?' Finally, somebody takes my idea and runs with it."[19] Costas interviewed a defiant McMahon for an episode of his HBO show On the Record as the league was in decline, an interview that the 2017 documentary This Was the XFL portrayed as being an omen of the league's collapse.[20]
2001 schedule
2001 XFL schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Home | Away | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | ||||||||||||||||
Win | Loss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eastern Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Birmingham Thunderbolts (2–8) |
MEM | NY | CHI | ORL | SF | LA | LV | CHI | ORL | NY | |||||||||||||||||
20–22 | 19–12 | 14–3 | 6–30 | 10–39 | 26–35 | 12–34 | 0–13 | 24–29 | 0–22 | ||||||||||||||||||
Chicago Enforcers (5–5) |
ORL | LA | BIR | NY | LV | MEM | SF | BIR | NY | ORL | |||||||||||||||||
29–33 | 30–32 (2OT) |
3–14 | 0–13 | 15–13 | 23–29 | 25–19 | 13–0 | 23–18 | 23–6 | ||||||||||||||||||
New York/New Jersey Hitmen (4–6) |
LV | BIR | ORL | CHI | LA | SF | MEM | ORL | CHI | BIR | |||||||||||||||||
0–19 | 12–19 | 12–18 | 13–0 | 7–22 | 20–12 | 16–15 | 12–17 | 18–23 | 22–0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Orlando Rage (8–2) |
CHI | SF | NY | BIR | MEM | LV | LA | NY | BIR | CHI | |||||||||||||||||
33–29 | 26–14 | 18–12 | 30–6 | 21–19 | 27–15 | 6–31 | 17–12 | 29–24 | 6–23 | ||||||||||||||||||
Western Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Las Vegas Outlaws (4–6) |
NY | MEM | LA | SF | CHI | ORL | BIR | LA | SF | MEM | |||||||||||||||||
19–0 | 25–3 | 9–12 | 16–9 | 13–15 | 15–27 | 34–12 | 26–35 | 9–14 | 3–16 | ||||||||||||||||||
Los Angeles Xtreme (7–3) |
SF | CHI | LV | MEM | NY | BIR | ORL | LV | MEM | SF | |||||||||||||||||
13–15 | 32–30 (2OT) |
12–9 | 12–18 | 22–7 | 35–26 | 31–6 | 35–26 | 12–27 | 24–0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Memphis Maniax (5–5) |
BIR | LV | SF | LA | ORL | CHI | NY | SF | LA | LV | |||||||||||||||||
22–20 | 3–25 | 6–13 | 18–12 | 19–21 | 29–23 | 15–16 | 12–21 | 27–12 | 16–3 | ||||||||||||||||||
San Francisco Demons (5–5) |
LA | ORL | MEM | LV | BIR | NY | CHI | MEM | LV | LA | |||||||||||||||||
15–13 | 14–26 | 13–6 | 9–16 | 39–10 | 12–20 | 19–25 | 21–12 | 14–9 | 0–24 |
2001 standings
|
|
Awards
- Most Valuable Player: Tommy Maddox, QB, Los Angeles Xtreme
- Million Dollar Game MVP: José Cortez, K, Los Angeles Xtreme
- Coach of the Year: Galen Hall, Orlando Rage
Statistical leaders
- Rushing Attempts: 153 James Bostic (Birmingham Thunderbolts)
- Rushing Yards: 800 John Avery (Chicago Enforcers)
- Rushing Touchdowns: 7 Derrick Clark (Orlando Rage)
- Receptions: 67 Jeremaine Copeland (Los Angeles Xtreme)
- Receiving Yards: 828 Stepfret Williams (Birmingham Thunderbolts)
- Receiving Touchdowns: 8 Darnell McDonald (Los Angeles Xtreme)
- Passing Attempts: 342 Tommy Maddox (Los Angeles Xtreme)
- Passing Completions: 196 Tommy Maddox (Los Angeles Xtreme)
- Passing Yards: 2,186 Tommy Maddox (Los Angeles Xtreme)
- Passing Touchdowns: 18 Tommy Maddox (Los Angeles Xtreme)
- Passing Interceptions: 10 Brian Kuklick (Orlando Rage)
- Interceptions: 5 Corey Ivy (Chicago Enforcers)
- Quarterback Sacks: 7 Antonio Edwards and Kelvin Kinney (both Las Vegas Outlaws)
Statistics
Team | Stadium | Capacity | Avg. Att. | Avg.% Filled |
---|---|---|---|---|
San Francisco Demons | Pacific Bell Park |
41,059 | 35,005 | 85% |
New York/New Jersey Hitmen | Giants Stadium | 80,242 | 28,309 | 35% |
Orlando Rage | Citrus Bowl |
36,000A | 25,563 | 71% |
Los Angeles Xtreme | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 92,000 | 22,679 | 25% |
Las Vegas Outlaws | Sam Boyd Stadium | 36,800 | 22,618 | 61% |
Memphis Maniax | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
62,921 | 20,396 | 32% |
Birmingham Thunderbolts | Legion Field | 83,091 | 17,002 | 20% |
Chicago Enforcers | Soldier Field | 55,701 | 15,710 | 28% |
A The Citrus Bowl, which had a total capacity of 65,438 at the time, had its upper decks closed off for XFL games.[21]
Name | Team | Att | Comp | % | Yards | YDs/Att | TD | TD % | INT | INT % | Long | Sacked | Yds lost | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tommy Maddox | LA | 342 | 196 | 57.3 | 2186 | 6.39 | 18 | 5.3 | 9 | 2.6 | 63 | 14 | 91 | 81.2 |
Mike Pawlawski | SF | 297 | 186 | 62.6 | 1659 | 5.59 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 35 | 16 | 141 | 82.6 |
Jim Druckenmiller | MEM | 199 | 109 | 54.8 | 1499 | 7.53 | 13 | 6.5 | 7 | 3.5 | 49 | 15 | 89 | 86.2 |
Casey Weldon | BIRM | 164 | 102 | 62.2 | 1228 | 7.49 | 7 | 4.3 | 5 | 3 | 80 (TD) | 7 | 44 | 86.6 |
Kevin McDougal | CHI | 134 | 81 | 60.4 | 1168 | 8.72 | 5 | 3.7 | 3 | 2.2 | 56 | 8 | 69 | 91.9 |
Brian Kuklick | ORL | 122 | 68 | 55.7 | 994 | 8.15 | 6 | 4.9 | 10 | 8.2 | 81 (TD) | 7 | 42 | 64.7 |
Jeff Brohm | ORL | 119 | 69 | 58.0 | 993 | 8.34 | 9 | 7.6 | 3 | 2.5 | 51 (TD) | 11 | 78 | 99.9 |
Wally Richardson | NY/NJ | 142 | 83 | 58.5 | 812 | 5.72 | 6 | 4.2 | 6 | 4.2 | 33 (TD) | 17 | 107 | 71.1 |
Ryan Clement | LV | 138 | 78 | 56.5 | 805 | 5.83 | 9 | 6.5 | 4 | 2.9 | 46 | 10 | 59 | 83.2 |
Name | Team | Att | Comp | % | Yards | YDs/Att | TD | TD % | INT | INT % | Long | Sacked | Yds lost | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tim Lester | CHI | 77 | 40 | 51.9 | 581 | 7.55 | 4 | 5.2 | 5 | 6.5 | 68 (TD) | 13 | 68 | 67.1 |
Graham Leigh | BIRM | 97 | 44 | 45.4 | 499 | 5.14 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6.2 | 36 | 8 | 62 | 39.0 |
Marcus Crandell | MEM | 69 | 33 | 47.8 | 473 | 6.86 | 1 | 1.4 | 2 | 2.9 | 53 | 9 | 62 | 63.3 |
Jay Barker | BIRM | 65 | 37 | 56.9 | 425 | 6.54 | 1 | 1.5 | 5 | 7.7 | 92 (TD) | 10 | 64 | 49.8 |
Charles Puleri | NY/NJ | 64 | 29 | 45.3 | 411 | 6.42 | 2 | 3.1 | 2 | 3.1 | 77 (TD) | 4 | 39 | 64.0 |
Mark Grieb | LV | 78 | 37 | 47.4 | 408 | 5.23 | 3 | 3.8 | 4 | 5.1 | 41 (TD) | 5 | 44 | 54.9 |
Pat Barnes | SF | 80 | 36 | 45.0 | 379 | 4.74 | 3 | 3.8 | 2 | 2.5 | 34 | 5 | 38 | 61.4 |
Corte McGuffey | NY/NJ | 48 | 25 | 52.1 | 329 | 6.85 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.2 | 54 | 5 | 38 | 56.7 |
Mike Cawley | LV | 38 | 17 | 44.7 | 180 | 4.74 | 1 | 2.6 | 2 | 5.3 | 26 | 10 | 83 | 45.9 |
Scott Milanovich | LA | 9 | 2 | 22.2 | 45 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11.1 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 |
Craig Whelihan | CHI/MEM | 5 | 4 | 80.0 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 91.7 |
Paul Failla |
CHI | 5 | 1 | 20.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 39.6 |
Name | Team | Att | Yds | Ave. | Long | TDs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Avery |
CHI | 150 | 800 | 5.3 | 73 (TD) | 5 |
Rod Smart | LV | 146 | 555 | 3.8 | 31 | 3 |
James Bostic | BIRM | 153 | 536 | 3.5 | 56 | 2 |
Rashaan Salaam | MEM | 114 | 528 | 4.6 | 39 (TD) | 5 |
Derrick Clark | ORL | 94 | 395 | 4.2 | 19 | 7 |
Saladin McCullough | LA | 88 | 384 | 4.4 | 22 | 5 |
Joe Aska | NY/NJ | 82 | 329 | 4.0 | 42 | 3 |
Micheal Black | ORL | 83 | 320 | 3.9 | 20 | 0 |
LeShon Johnson | CHI | 72 | 287 | 4.0 | 41 | 6 |
Rashaan Shehee | LA | 61 | 242 | 4.0 | 28 | 0 |
Kelvin Anderson | SF | 53 | 231 | 4.4 | 39 | 1 |
Jim Druckenmiller | MEM | 31 | 208 | 6.7 | 36 | 0 |
Juan Johnson | SF | 33 | 172 | 5.2 | 19 | 0 |
Wally Richardson | NY/NJ | 26 | 148 | 5.7 | 24 | 0 |
Name | Team | Rec | Yds | Ave. | Long | TDs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stepfret Williams | BIRM | 51 | 828 | 16.2 | 92 (TD) | 2 |
Charles Jordan | MEM | 45 | 823 | 18.3 | 49 | 4 |
Jeremaine Copeland | LA | 67 | 755 | 11.3 | 34 | 5 |
Dialleo Burks | ORL | 34 | 659 | 19.4 | 81 (TD) | 7 |
Aaron Bailey | CHI | 32 | 546 | 17.1 | 50 | 3 |
Quincy Jackson | BIRM | 45 | 531 | 11.8 | 36 (TD) | 6 |
Darnell McDonald |
LA | 34 | 456 | 13.4 | 39 | 8 |
Daryl Hobbs | MEM | 30 | 419 | 14 | 49 (TD) | 5 |
Jimmy Cunningham | SF | 50 | 408 | 8.2 | 26 | 3 |
Kirby Dar Dar | NY/NJ | 22 | 405 | 18.4 | 77 (TD) | 2 |
Kevin Swayne | ORL | 27 | 400 | 14.8 | 51 (TD) | 2 |
Brian Roberson | SF | 36 | 395 | 11 | 35 | 2 |
Kevin Prentiss | MEM | 25 | 383 | 15.3 | 53 | 0 |
Mario Bailey | ORL | 27 | 379 | 14 | 49 (TD) | 3 |
Zola Davis | NY/NJ | 29 | 378 | 13 | 26 | 4 |
James Hundon | SF | 28 | 357 | 12.8 | 34 | 0 |
Zechariah Lord |
CHI | 20 | 301 | 15.1 | 46 | 0 |
John Avery |
CHI | 17 | 297 | 17.5 | 68 (TD) | 2 |
Yo Murphy | LV | 27 | 273 | 10.1 | 35 | 3 |
Anthony DiCosmo | NY/NJ | 26 | 268 | 10.3 | 30 | 0 |
Latario Rachal | LA | 24 | 254 | 10.6 | 24 | 0 |
Rod Smart | LV | 27 | 245 | 9.1 | 46 | 0 |
Mike Furrey | LV | 18 | 242 | 13.4 | 41 (TD) | 1 |
Ed Smith | BIRM | 25 | 195 | 7.8 | 16 | 1 |
XFL rule changes
Despite boasts of a "rules-light" game and universally negative reviews from the mainstream sports media early on, the XFL played the standard brand of 11-man American outdoor football that was recognizable, aside from the opening game sprint to determine possession and some other changes, some of which were modified during the season as it progressed. The league's coaches vetoed a proposal to eliminate ineligible receivers (allowing any player to receive a forward pass) midway through the season, on account that the change would be too radical.
Game balls
The league's game balls were made by Spalding, and were unique in that instead of being the standard brown, the ball was black with a red "X" going across the sides of the ball.[22] The balls were later found to be slippery and difficult to handle, and the balls had to be rubbed with sandpaper to make them usable.[23]
Grass stadiums
The league deliberately avoided placing teams in stadiums with
Most of the league's stadiums were football-specific facilities, the only exception being San Francisco's
The home team in every stadium was required to occupy the sideline opposite the press box in order to be visible to the television cameras. Due to the odd field dimensions in San Francisco, teams playing there were permitted to occupy the same sideline (a similar arrangement existed in the NFL when the Green Bay Packers played home games at Milwaukee County Stadium and in stadiums previously used by the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings).
The all-grass field stipulation caused the league to skip over several of the country's largest markets, including Houston and Philadelphia, since they lacked a large grass stadium in 2001. In the league's two northernmost markets, Chicago and New York/New Jersey (the latter of which played in Giants Stadium during a brief window in which the stadium's usual artificial turf had been replaced by natural grass), the combination of the all-grass requirement, midwinter playing season and the fact that the XFL followed shortly after the NFL had used both fields for a full season (in Giants Stadium's case, two full seasons, since the Giants and Jets shared the stadium; the Giants also hosted two playoff games following the 2000 season) caused significant damage to the playing fields; at Chicago's Soldier Field, the wear and tear on the field was such that by midseason, the midfield logo of the NFL's Chicago Bears was clearly visible amid a stretch of dirt and dead grass.
At the time, "next generation" artificial surfaces (which much more closely mimicked grass in appearance, feel and player safety) were slowly being introduced in professional football. In 2000, the Seattle Seahawks were the first professional team to play on next-generation artificial turf at the University of Washington's Husky Stadium, where the Seahawks played in 2000 and 2001 following the demolition of the Kingdome and prior to the completion of what is now Lumen Field). Giants Stadium would have a next generation artificial surface installed in 2003; Soldier Field was renovated extensively in 2002 but retained its grass field. Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and Legion Field have also installed next-generation turf fields since the demise of the original XFL.
Opening scramble
Replacing the
No PAT (point after touchdown) kicks
After every touchdown scored, no extra point after kicks were done, due to the XFL's perception that an extra-point kick was a "guaranteed point." To earn a point after a touchdown, teams ran a single offensive down from the two-yard line (functionally identical to the NFL / NCAA / CFL two-point conversion, but for just a single point as it had been before the two-point conversion was adopted). By the playoffs, two-point and three-point conversions had been added to the rules. Teams could opt for the bonus points by playing the conversion farther back from the goal line. However, touchdowns were still worth 6 points.
This rule, as originally implemented, was similar to the WFL's "Action Point", and was identical to a 1968 "Pressure Point" experiment by the NFL and the American Football League, used only in preseason interleague games that year.
In 2015, the NFL, CFL and other professional leagues would address the "guaranteed point" concerns by moving the extra point kick back to the 15-yard and 25-yard lines, respectively, thus making the length of the kick the same distance (taking into account the NFL's position of the goalposts on the end line, and the CFL's goalposts being positioned on the goal line). The Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019 adopted this "no extra point kick" rule from the original XFL, albeit making the scrimmage play conversion two points as in other levels of the game. The revived XFL kept the conversion system used during the playoffs.
Overtime
Ties were to be resolved in similar fashion to the NCAA and in the CFL today, with at least one possession by each team, starting from the opponent's 20-yard line. There were differences: there were no first downs and thus teams had to score within four downs, and the team that had possession first in overtime could not attempt a field goal until fourth down. If that team managed to score a touchdown in fewer than four downs, the second team would only have that same number of downs to match or beat the result. If the score was still tied after one overtime period, the team that played second on offense in the first OT would start on offense in the second OT (similar to the rules of college football overtime). The process would be repeated until a winner was determined; unlike the CFL and NFL, but like college football, games could not end in ties even in the regular season.
Bump and run
The XFL allowed full bump and run coverage early in the season. Defensive backs were allowed to hit wide receivers any time before the quarterback released the ball, as long as the hit came from the front or the side.
Following the fourth week of the season, bump and run was restricted to the first five yards from the line of scrimmage (similar to NFL and CFL) in an effort to increase offensive production.
Forward motion
Unlike the
Punting rules
The XFL imposed a number of restrictions on punting that are not present in most other leagues' rules, the net effect of which made punts in the XFL operate under rules more akin to kickoffs. The purpose of these provisions was to keep play going after the ball was punted, encouraging the kicking team to make the ball playable and the receiving team to run it back. To this effect:
- Punting out of bounds was a ten-yard coffin corner puntcommonplace at most other levels of the game.
- Any punt that traveled at least 25 yards past the line of scrimmage could be recovered by the kicking team, thus legalizing to an extent the up-and-under or garryowen common to rugby football codes. Thus, instead of letting the kicking team down the ball as is common in other leagues, the receiving team was required to try and return the punt or else lose possession.
- The kicking team was prohibited from coming within five yards of the punt returnerbefore he gained possession of the ball. This rule, known as the halo rule in college football and also common in the CFL, was dubbed the "danger zone" in the XFL. Coming within 5 yards or less of this "danger zone" entailed a 5-yard penalty, much in the same vein as the CFL's "no yards" penalty.
- Fair catches were not recognized. (The "no fair catch" rule was one of the most heavily hyped rule differences in the XFL and a central part of the league's marketing campaign, and like the above "no yards" penalty, fair catches were not recognized in Canadian football.)
For the initial weeks of the season, the XFL forbade all players on the kicking team from going downfield before a kick was made from scrimmage on that down, similarly to a rule the NFL considered in 1974. For the rest of the season the XFL modified it to allow one player closest to each sideline downfield ahead of the kick, the same modification the NFL adopted to their change just before their 1974 exhibition games started.
Allowing the kicking team to recover a punt did encourage noticeably more quick kicks over the course of the XFL's lone season than was typically seen in the NFL over the preceding decades, including a quick kick during the Million Dollar Game (that particular kick, executed by San Francisco on a third-and-31 play, succeeded in taking Los Angeles off-guard, but the kick also backfired as the Demons could not recover the kick and Los Angeles returned it for a touchdown).[27]
Play clock
The XFL used a play clock of 35 seconds from the end of the previous play, five seconds shorter than the contemporary NFL play clock of 40 seconds (but still longer than the CFL's 20 seconds, timed from the spotting of the football), in an effort to speed up the game.
Roster and salaries
The XFL limited each team to an unusually low 38 players, as opposed to 53 on NFL teams and 80 or more on unlimited college rosters. This was similar to the CFL, which had a comparable 40 man roster limit in 2001. This was partly to limit payroll costs, and partly because the XFL wanted to curb the use of "specialists," something which the NFL has sometimes come under criticism for. To comply with roster limits, most teams only carried two quarterbacks and one kicker who doubled as the punter.
The XFL paid standardized player salaries.
Jersey nicknames
The XFL allowed its players to wear a nickname on the back of their jersey, as opposed to the legal last name most professional sports leagues have required since the 1960s. Players could change the nickname any time they wanted, and a few players chose to change the nicknames on a weekly basis depending on their opponent. The league's use of backfield camera angles gave these nicknames even greater exposure. Nevertheless, two teams, Orlando[28] and Birmingham, imposed policies that forbade players from using nicknames. Orlando's ban was voted upon by the players, although Jeff Brohm objected. Birmingham's players were banned from doing so by coach Gerry DiNardo, a notoriously strict disciplinarian more accustomed to coaching at the college level. DiNardo previously alienated players at Vanderbilt and LSU and later did so at Indiana with his iron-fisted rule. The Thunderbolts were the only professional team he would ever coach.
Rod Smart, a running back who played in the first XFL nationally televised game, was the first player to gain notice from his nickname, "He Hate Me."[29][30]
Broadcast overview
Camera perspectives
Although the XFL was not the first football league to feature the "sky cam", which enables TV viewers to see behind the offensive unit, it helped to popularize its unique capabilities.[31] For the first several weeks, the league used the sky cam and on-field cameramen (nicknamed the "Bubba Cam" after WWE's cameraman, Bubba, who couldn't get medical clearance to cover the XFL) extensively, giving the television broadcasts a perspective similar to video games such as the Madden series.[32]
During player interviews, particularly later in the season as attendances declined, the television crews took extensive efforts to avoid capturing the empty stands on camera. When they did show the stands, it was just mostly close ups of individual sections that were full. Player interviews at sparsely-attended games were often shot from a camera angle in close proximity and low to the ground pointed upward, giving the perspective of the camera being operated by a little person.[33]
After the XFL's failure, the sky cam was adopted by the NFL's broadcasters; the device has subsequently come into use on all major networks. NBC in particular switched back to the XFL camera angles in 2017, when traditional cameras were too far away to cut through thick fog and smoke on some of the Sunday Night Football games that year; response was so positive that the network opted to use two of its Thursday Night Football games to experiment with intentionally broadcasting most of the game through that angle.[34]
Broadcast schedule
At the beginning of the season, NBC showed a feature game at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday nights, also taping a second game. The second game, in some weeks, would air in the visiting team's home market (as was the case in week 6 for the Enforcers-Maniax game, and in week 7, for the Maniax-Hitmen game) and be put on the air nationally if the feature game was a blowout (as was the case in week one) or encountered technical difficulties (as was the case in week two). Two games were shown each Sunday: one at 4 p.m. Eastern on TNN and another at 7 p.m. Eastern on UPN. The XFL also had a fairly extensive local radio presence, often using nationally recognized disc jockeys. The morning radio duo of Rick and Bubba, for instance, was the radio broadcast team for the Birmingham Thunderbolts. Super Dave Osborne was a sideline reporter for Los Angeles Xtreme broadcasts on KLSX; WMVP carried Chicago Enforcers games.
Unusually for a professional league, the XFL did not feature a studio wraparound. The network offered XFL Gameday, a pregame show featuring radio shock jocks
In the third week of the season, the games were sped up through changes in the playing rules, and broadcasts were subjected to increased time constraints. The reason was the reaction of
In the face of declining ratings, NBC and the XFL aggressively promoted that the week 6 game between the Orlando Rage and Las Vegas Outlaws would feature a behind-the-scenes visit into the locker room of the Rage's cheerleaders at halftime. The heavily promoted event was actually a kayfabe sketch with McMahon and a cameraman, who knocks himself unconscious on the locker room door trying to run in. This was followed by a suggestive dream sequence with the cheerleaders, including a surprise cameo by Rodney Dangerfield.[36] The New York Daily News reported that the scene would likely be the "[last] salacious WWF-style stunt for the rest of the season", citing internal sources indicating that NBC wished to pivot the telecasts back towards a football-oriented product, including hiring NFL alumni as analysts, and reinstating Vasgersian as the lead commentator.[37][38][39]
Broadcast teams
- NBC (national telecasts):
- Week 1, Matt Vasgersian, Jesse Ventura, Fred Roggin and Mike Adamle.
- Week 2–5: Jim Ross, Ventura, Roggin and Adamle
- Week 6–10: Vasgersian, Ventura, Adamle, Roggin and Chris Wragge. Adamle moved from the sidelines to the booth with Vasgerian and Ventura.
- NBC (regional telecasts):
- Week 1: Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman. For week 1, Ross and Lawler were billed as their WWF personas, "J.R." and "The King."
- Week 2–5: Vasgersian, Lawler, and Coachman. McMahon personally demoted Vasgersian to the regional telecast after openly criticizing a suggestive shot of the cheerleaders as "uncomfortable" on-air during the week 1 broadcast.
- Week 6–10: Ross, Stacy Carter, as well as his own dissatisfaction with being pressured into commentary on XFL games; Lawler openly admitted on-air that he had virtually no interest or background in football, an unusual trait for a color analyst. After Lawler's departure, NBC brought Vasgersian back up to the main broadcast team. Hampton and Butkus rotated as the regional color analyst for the rest of the season.
- TNN: Craig Minervini, Bob Golic, Lee Reherman and Kip Lewis.
- UPN: Chris Marlowe, Brian Bosworth, Chris Wragge and Michael Barkann.
Critical reception
It was believed that the willingness of Las Vegas bookmakers to take bets on XFL games established their legitimacy, dispelling concerns that the league was using predetermined storylines as in professional wrestling.[40][41] However, the league was panned by critics as boring football with a tawdry broadcast style, although the broadcasts on TNN and to a lesser extent UPN and the Matt Vasgersian–helmed NBC coverage were considered comparatively professional.[42]
End of season and failure
On April 21, 2001, the season concluded as the Los Angeles Xtreme defeated the San Francisco Demons 38–6 in the XFL Championship Game (which was originally given the moniker "The Big Game at the End of the Season", but was later dubbed the Million Dollar Game, after the amount of money awarded to the winning team, which if divided, gave each player less than the losing team in the Pro Bowl).
Though paid attendance at games remained respectable, if unimpressive (overall attendance was only 10% below what the league's goal had been at the start of the season), the XFL ceased operations after just one season due to low television ratings.
Despite initially agreeing to broadcast XFL games for two years and owning half of the league, NBC announced it would not broadcast a second XFL season; the network no longer had a full season of Saturday nights to offer the league because it had acquired the rights to the 2002 Winter Olympics, even if the XFL had been more successful or profitable. WWF Chairman Vince McMahon initially announced that the XFL would continue, as it still had UPN and TNN as broadcast outlets.[46] In fact, expansion teams were being explored for cities such as Washington, D.C., and Detroit (Washington would later receive its team in the revived XFL). However, in order to continue broadcasting XFL games, UPN demanded that WWF SmackDown! broadcasts be cut from two hours to one and a half hours.[46] McMahon found these terms unacceptable and he announced the XFL's closure on May 10, 2001.[43][44] McMahon's chief adviser, a perplexed Nathan Livian, was quoted as saying "the situation is, indeed, very bad".
The XFL ranked No. 3 on
Many stories recapping the history of the XFL show photos of the crash of its promotional blimp in Oakland, California, portraying it retrospectively as an ill-omen for the league. The incident occurred a month before the opening game on Tuesday, January 9, 2001.[50][51] The blimp was in Oakland as the league had flown it over the January 6 playoff game between the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins and intended to do the same with the following week's AFC Championship, also in Oakland.[52] The pilots lost control of the airship and were forced to evacuate. The ground crew were unable to secure the vehicle and the "unattended blimp then floated five miles north over the Oakland Estuary, at one point reaching 1,600 feet, or about the height of the Central Park Tower in Midtown Manhattan (listed as the second tallest building in the United States as of 2023[update]), until its gondola caught on a sailboat mast in the Central Basin marina. It draped over the roof of the Oyster Reef restaurant—next to where the boat was moored—and a nearby power line."[53] While the pilot was hospitalized, no other major injuries were reported. The blimp needed $2.5 million in repairs (equivalent to $4.3 million in 2023), while the sailboat and restaurant had only minor damages.
Before the season started, a fictional XFL game appeared in the 2000 film The 6th Day, set in 2015.[54]
Legacy
NBC continued airing professional league football beyond the demise of the XFL, starting with the Arena Football League television coverage from 2003 to 2006. In 2006, NBC returned to coverage of NFL games with NBC Sunday Night Football, eventually adding Thursday Night Football to its coverage in 2016.
The XFL's racier-than-average cheerleaders helped inspire the
XFL team names and logos sometimes appear in movies and television where professional football needs to be dramatized, as licensing for NFL logos may be cost prohibitive (such as in the Arnold Schwarzenegger starring sci-fi film The 6th Day).[54]
The
ESPN produced a documentary surrounding the league, This Was the XFL, as part of its anthology series 30 for 30.[57] The film discusses the longtime friendship between McMahon and Ebersol, as seen through the eyes of Dick's son, Charlie Ebersol, who directs the film. McMahon, Dick Ebersol, Dick Schanzer, Rusty Tillman, Al Luginbill, Rod Smart, Tommy Maddox, Paris Lenon, league President Basil DeVito, costume designer Jay Howarth, Jesse Ventura, Matt Vasgersian, Jonathan Coachman, Bob Costas and Jerry Jones all provided interviews for the film. It debuted at Doc NYC November 11, 2016, and premiered on ESPN on February 2, 2017.[58]
Notable players
Notable players included league
The last active player to have played in the XFL is Canadian placekicker
Played in the CFL
Won a Grey Cup
- Kelvin Anderson (1998 Calgary Stampeders, 2001 Calgary Stampeders)
- John Avery (2004 Toronto Argonauts)
- Jeremaine Copeland (2002 Montreal Alouettes, 2008 Calgary Stampeders)
- Marcus Crandell (2001 Calgary Stampeders, 2007 Saskatchewan Roughriders)
- Reggie Durden (2002 Montreal Alouettes)
- Eric England (2004 Toronto Argonauts)
- )
- Scott Milanovich (2012 Toronto Argonauts as head coach)
- Yo Murphy (2007 Saskatchewan Roughriders)
- Noel Prefontaine (2004 Toronto Argonauts, 2012 Toronto Argonauts)
- Bobby Singh (2006 BC Lions)
Played in the NFL
- Bennie Anderson
- Joe Aska
- John Avery
- Aaron Bailey
- Pat Barnes
- Michael Blair
- Jeff Brohm
- Butler By'not'e
- José Cortez
- Kirby Dar Dar
- Isaac Davis
- Jim Druckenmiller
- Jamal Duff
- Keith Elias
- Eric England
- Leomont Evans
- Mike Furrey
- Steve Gleason
- Alvin Harper
- Kelly Herndon
- Daryl Hobbs
- James Hundon
- Corey Ivy
- LeShon Johnson
- Charles Jordan
- Kevin Kaesviharn
- Paris Lenon (last former XFL player on an NFL roster, 2013)
- Tommy Maddox
- Yo Murphy
- Latario Rachal
- David Richie
- Angel Rubio
- Rashaan Salaam
- Nicky Savoie
- Rashaan Shehee
- Rod Smart
- Ed Smith
- Kevin Swayne
- Brad Trout
- Casey Weldon
- Craig Whelihan
- Stepfret Williams
Played in the Super Bowl
- Ron Carpenter (Super Bowl XXXIV, St. Louis Rams)
- Isaac Davis (Super Bowl XXIX, San Diego Chargers)
- Alvin Harper (Super Bowl XXVII, Super Bowl XXVIII, Dallas Cowboys)
- Kelly Herndon (Super Bowl XL, Seattle Seahawks)
- Corey Ivy (Super Bowl XXXVII, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Paris Lenon (Super Bowl XLVIII, Denver Broncos)
- Tommy Maddox (Super Bowl XL, Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Yo Murphy (Super Bowl XXXVI, St. Louis Rams)
- Bobby Singh (Super Bowl XXXIV, St. Louis Rams)
- Rod Smart (Super Bowl XXXVIII, Carolina Panthers)
Won a Super Bowl
- Ron Carpenter (Super Bowl XXXIV, St. Louis Rams)
- Fred Coleman (Super Bowl XXXVI, New England Patriots)
- Alvin Harper (Super Bowl XXVII, Super Bowl XXVIII, Dallas Cowboys)
- Corey Ivy (Super Bowl XXXVII, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Tommy Maddox (Super Bowl XL, Pittsburgh Steelers)
- David Richie (Super Bowl XXXII, Denver Broncos)
- Bobby Singh (Super Bowl XXXIV, St. Louis Rams)
Won both an XFL Championship and Super Bowl
- Ron Carpenter (Super Bowl XXXIV, St. Louis Rams)
- Tommy Maddox (Super Bowl XL, Pittsburgh Steelers)
- David Richie (Super Bowl XXXII, Denver Broncos)
- Bobby Singh (Super Bowl XXXIV, St. Louis Rams)
Won an XFL Championship, Grey Cup, and Super Bowl
Played in the Arena Football League
- Jerry Crafts
- Eric England
- Mike Furrey
- Mark Grieb
- James Hundon
- Kelvin Kinney
- Tommy Maddox
- Kevin Swayne
- Craig Whelihan
Wrestled for WWE
- Richard Young (Ricky Ortiz)
Current status and revival
The 2001 XFL games are now part of the
In September 2012, WWE attempted to file a new XFL trademark for use in wrestling and football which was previously filed in 2009 under XFL LLC. The application remained pending since WWE never put together a "Statement of Use" for the trademark.[62] In July 2015, the XFL's first trademark extension was granted.[63]
On December 15, 2017, it was reported that McMahon was seriously considering a revival of the XFL. WWE didn't confirm or deny the rumors, but released a statement that McMahon was launching a new company known as Alpha Entertainment, that was looking to expand into sports and entertainment properties "including professional football", and that WWE itself wasn't returning to professional football.[64]
Noted wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer speculated that McMahon was starting a shell corporation with his own money to protect WWE shareholders on a potential XFL revival.[65] A revival of the XFL would air either on traditional TV or the WWE Network, and would be toned down compared to its original incarnation due to CTE concerns in football that surfaced in the early 2010s.[64] On December 22, 2017, McMahon sold $100 million worth of WWE shares, which required notification to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; the SEC reported that it was done so that McMahon could fund Alpha Entertainment.[66] WWE shares did in fact decline slightly due to the report, with Citigroup downgrading WWE shares from "buy" to "neutral".[67]
On January 25, 2018, Alpha Entertainment announced a
See also
Citations
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- ^ Seifert, Kevin (April 13, 2020). "XFL files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after suspending operations". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
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- ^ TNT, NBC consider new football league, archived from the original on November 5, 2013
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{{cite magazine}}
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- ^ Fritz & Murray 2006, p. 171.
- ^ a b c Fritz & Murray 2006, p. 172.
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- ^ FitzGerald, Tom, Top of the Sixth, San Francisco Chronicle online edition (SFGate.com), February 15, 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
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"XFL Names Spalding First Official Licensee". WWE.com. WWE. August 3, 2000. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
Spalding is one of the most recognizable names in sports and we're very excited to have Spalding on board as our first on-field partner," said Basil V. DeVito, Jr., President of the XFL. "The Spalding game ball, with its unique and high-impact black, silver, and red color combination, will be one of the strongest icons of the XFL.
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References
- Forrest, Brett (2002). Long Bomb: How the XFL Became TV's Biggest Fiasco. New York: Crown Publishing. OCLC 49260464.
- Fritz, Brian; Murray, Christopher (2006). Between the Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures. ISBN 978-1-55022-726-0.
External links
- Remember the XFL Archived March 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- "X Years After" – SportsBusiness Journal