Do Not Despair - Football is in the Air - XFL Starts Saturday
Mates,
We are not completely in a desert wasteland of no football, the XFL starts up on Saturday (and the USFL in April). The XFL had a season in 2020 but of course covid then shut it down. It comes back with 8 teams split between 2 divisions playing a 10 week season. League is set up as follows:
North Division: D.C. Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis BattleHawks, Vegas Vipers
South Division: Arlington Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, San Antonio Brahmas
The league has kept some unique rules such as a 1 pt (2yd), 2 pt (5yd) or 3 pt (10 yd) extra points. Kickoffs are different, too: The XFL kickoff will once again put the kicking team and the returning team 5 yards apart. No one except the kicker and returner can move until the ball is caught or is on the ground for three seconds, an effort to encourage returns and discourage touchbacks. The arrangement prompted XFL teams in 2020 to return 92% of kickoffs; the NFL rate this season was 40%.
The league will be broadcast on ABC/ESPN networks.
There are 4 former Wolverines on XFL rosters: De'Veon Smith (2013-2016), Kareem Walker (2016-2017), Juwann Bushell-Beatty (2014-2018) and LaVert Hill (2016-2019), the last three all playing for the St Louis Battlehawks.
It looks like they get paid $5,000/wk, plus a place to stay and 2 meals/day.
Here's an article with a lot more info: https://www.espn.com/xfl/story/_/id/35660230/xfl-football-2023-primer-rules-player-salaries-coaches-expectations
Simple questions: Will you tune in at all? Is there a team near enough to you that you'd attend? They say season tickets start at $100.
XM
February 16th, 2023 at 11:39 PM ^
It looks like they get paid $5,000/wk, plus a place to stay and 2 meals/day.
Will requesting pizza instead of chicken salad get you fired in the XFL as well? Or is that only a fireable offense in the USFL? Asking for De'Veon Smith.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll be checking it out.
February 17th, 2023 at 12:05 AM ^
Why are we so piss-poor at naming teams in 202x? Battlehawks? Golly that's lame. Beatlecocks I can get behind but man.
February 17th, 2023 at 5:39 AM ^
there is something to be said for 'all the good names have been taken'. it is a corollary to, 'all the best uniforms have been designed'. not exact, but they both show the difficulty of making them both right. a notable exception is of course:
great uni's, great name. won the USFL back before the internet....
February 17th, 2023 at 8:04 AM ^
The original USFL was so good. So much talent.
Anthony Carter, Herschel Walker, Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Bobby Hebert and more.
February 17th, 2023 at 4:13 PM ^
Saw AC and the Panthers play at the Silverdome the same year they won the championship 🏆.
February 17th, 2023 at 11:12 AM ^
I think these team names are a lot more modern and normal than some of the legacy ones that the more established leagues have. For example, if the NFL was starting up today, they would never name a team "the Browns" and don't even get me started on half the MLB franchise names that date back to the 19th century.
February 17th, 2023 at 12:25 AM ^
This did little to mitigate my sports despair, but thanks for trying.
February 17th, 2023 at 9:34 AM ^
Mine either but morbid curiosity will probably have me tuning in if I have nothing else to do
February 17th, 2023 at 12:29 PM ^
The despair fades away when you finally hit that iconic drum section at 3:16...
February 17th, 2023 at 4:20 PM ^
Phil Collins solo tour in the eighties was one of the best shows I ever saw.
His drum duet with Chester Thompson was incredible and the live version of In the Air Tonight was unforgettable 👍
February 17th, 2023 at 1:13 AM ^
Never understood why they still try to time the season like this. The best football JUST happened. Now we're gonna watch... The XFL?
Nope.
We're not.
Put the season from June-August, after basketball and hockey are finished but before NFL preseason. People would be drooling for football at that point, especially if they're not baseball fans.
February 17th, 2023 at 10:57 AM ^
Well, the CFL already has that late summer slot. They tried to expand into the US and that didn't work out so well.
I know I have better things to do in July and August than watch football and I don't even live in Michigan, where those are the two best outdoor months of the year.
February 17th, 2023 at 1:45 AM ^
[posted w/o comment]
February 17th, 2023 at 3:19 AM ^
I'm not watching the xfl.... Maybe I'll tune in for some usfl footballs but probably not
February 17th, 2023 at 5:24 AM ^
The product will suck. The team locations make little sense (3 teams in Texas for example). It will be an afterthought. For as much as people profess to watch anything football these spring leagues do shit for ratings/attendance. I prefer the USFL model where they are using historical teams but its still weak.
February 17th, 2023 at 6:00 AM ^
If Shea Patt had a better arm than Uncle Rico, Michigan coulda had the GOAT in both pro leagues.
February 17th, 2023 at 6:16 AM ^
Do not despair - there are still restaurants in this empty town for the hungry. Why look…..there’s a Taco Bell!
February 17th, 2023 at 6:20 AM ^
Won't be long until this league folds like the those that came before it. I know I have no interest in it. I look forward to the time away from football to really crank up that desire and excitement for late Aug/early September.
February 17th, 2023 at 6:42 AM ^
Reminder for anyone who missed it that the xfl is now owned by Dwayne Johnson and his former spouse and current business partner Dany Garcia 
February 17th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
She had too many roids😐
February 17th, 2023 at 10:27 AM ^
with that jaw and brow, i'd say growth hormone was deeply involved as well.
February 17th, 2023 at 1:05 PM ^
Former spouse, yes I get that. Definitely former.
February 17th, 2023 at 8:04 AM ^
I'll pass.
February 17th, 2023 at 8:04 AM ^
I'll pass.
February 17th, 2023 at 8:26 AM ^
Will I tune in? Very unlikely.
February 17th, 2023 at 8:33 AM ^
Just eat the salad De'Veon!
February 17th, 2023 at 8:40 AM ^
As Bob Ufer once said in the "Ufer Soliloquy On Collegiate Football" from the Maximum Meechigan album:
"There are 5 seasons across this country every year: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Football."
Unfortunately, football season is over and we must wait the long months until it returns.
February 17th, 2023 at 8:58 AM ^
No, but if these leagues can partner with the NFL, I'll tune in. Complete the XFL or USFL rosters with practice squad players, and I'll watch whichever teams have the Lions' guys.
February 17th, 2023 at 9:45 AM ^
Good point. I believe that the XFL has largely practice squad players. Not Positive about that but I think Dwayne Johnson, the rock, wrote something about being the 54th man meaning the first guy off the active NFL roster.
February 17th, 2023 at 7:11 PM ^
I agree... while the league may be guys hoping for a shot at the bigs, it would be better if a league like this was more closely & formally tied to the NFL. Call it D League or AAA or whatever... if we were watching UFAs or others playing with some affiliation with the teams or divisions we love, they'd probably see more asses in the seats.
February 17th, 2023 at 10:03 AM ^
I have 0 interest in watching this.
February 17th, 2023 at 10:18 AM ^
I'll do the usual thing that happens when one of these secondary leagues is on
- "oh football! let's watch that"
- 5 minutes later - "this kinda sucks and there's 200 people in the stands"
- Change the channel
February 17th, 2023 at 11:08 AM ^
Really seems a lot more legit than the upstart USFL, if there's going to be a clear cut #2 pro football league in a few years, I think it's going to be the new XFL. Having The Rock as the face of your league is a good thing.
No real geographic ties to any team so I've decided I'm going to be a DC Defenders fan, plus root for any ex-Michigan players to do well.
February 17th, 2023 at 5:53 PM ^
The XFL has folded twice and couldn’t even get through an entire season last time. The USFL has at least made it to season #2.
February 20th, 2023 at 10:37 AM ^
They couldn't get through the last season because of Covid quarantines, etc. I'm sure they planned to take X years before becoming profitable but they probably didn't plan to have next to zero revenue the first season.
Anyway I hope it works out.
February 17th, 2023 at 11:18 AM ^
How many times do they have to try to do these garbage leagues before they give up?
If you want something sort of like football, the Six Nations Tournament is underway which is essentially the European championships of rugby which is a round-robin matchup between Ireland, France, England, Wales, Scotland, and Italy.
World #1 Ireland beat #2 France last week in Dublin in one of the best rugby matches you'll ever see.
If you've never watched rugby union, you can pick it up pretty quick - just imagine it's football, but with unlimited downs and no forward passes.
February 17th, 2023 at 11:37 AM ^
what is the difference between rugby and 'rugby union'?
February 17th, 2023 at 5:21 PM ^
There are two major styles of rugby (union and league) with slight variations in rules. This ignores "7s" which is another topic. Here's a quick overview:
Regardless, check it out. Rugby is awesome to watch - even without knowing the rules. I don't fully "get it" but I sure as hell love watching it.
February 17th, 2023 at 9:32 PM ^
Rugby union is usually what people mean when they refer to rugby.
Rugby league is less popular (although in Australia and New Guinea it is more popular).
The two sports have different scoring rules and different numbers of players on the field.
Rugby league also limits the number of times you can try to advance the ball before you lose possession so in that sense it's more similar to football.
I've never watched rugby league match so I can't say much about it.
I'm flying to Rome on Thursday to see Ireland vs. Italy. I also have tickets to Ireland vs. Scotland in Edinburgh and Ireland vs. England in Dublin.
February 17th, 2023 at 9:43 PM ^
you have got to be the all-time, all-world sports fanatic. fiesta bowl, super bowl, international rugby, and who knows what else. you need to do a travel journal, complete with pictures, as a diary for us.
February 17th, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
If I started a league I would do the following, in order to increase the investment of people to watch:
4 division:
North
South
East
West
North:
* only players that can be selected to play for these teams had to play college at a big ten school, or played 3 or more years with a NFL team that is geographically in the Midwest: (Lions, Vikings, Etc)
South:
* only players that can be selected to play for these teams had to play college at an SEC school, or played 3 or more years with a NFL team that is geographically in the South: (Falcons, Titans, etc)
East:
* only players that can be selected to play for these teams had to play college at a school in the lower division conferences and the ACC (American, FBS, conf USA, etc.)or played 3 or more years with a NFL team that is geographically in the East: (Bills, Patriots, etc)
West:
big 12, PAC 12 and NFL teams from the west.
if you did thisrr, then you could pick a team that had all your players from your college team and possibly your NFL team, so you would have some investment in the players.
You would also get to have geographical pride so that would add another investment.
February 17th, 2023 at 12:03 PM ^
It’s football, so I’ll watch!
February 17th, 2023 at 12:29 PM ^
Actually watching these games might be a bridge too far, but as a diehard fan of the st Louis football cardinals, I'll definitely root for the battlehawks. Them having so many former wolverines is just gravy.
February 17th, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Personally, I hate that football is being played this soon after the Superbowl. I don't want more football now. I want a break. I want to watch basketball and hockey. Football can come back in the summer if it wants to, when there's nothing but baseball. But right now I'm tired of the sport and have no desire to watch a 2nd-rate version of it.
February 17th, 2023 at 4:20 PM ^
username checks out
February 17th, 2023 at 6:32 PM ^
THIS... IS... THE... XFL!!!
I will flip over just to see some of it.
Would like to know if the refs are any better.
February 21st, 2023 at 12:38 AM ^
I liked the previous xfl. Went to a couple of games as well, and it was fun. I liked watching some wolverines play, too.
I will definitely give it a watch.