There is Football this weekend - XFL Starts Saturday
Mates,
For those needing a 'fix' for football, tomorrow starts the XFL off. It will have actual TV coverage on ESPN and play a 10 game season. The teams are in cities with NFL teams, with the exception of St. Louis. Other teams are in D.C., Dallas, Houston, L.A., N.Y., Seattle and Tampa Bay.
They have tweaked the rules, too. Some of the differences are here:
1. Faster Games - 25 seconds between plays and the clock doesn't stop when the ball goes out of bounds or for an incomplete pass except for the last 2 minutes. Only 2 timeouts per team, per half, and half time is only 10 minutes.
2. OT is different - each team gets 5, 1 play drives from the 5 yd line.
3. No Extra Point Kicks - Instead, the teams can try for 1, 2, or 3 points by running a regular play from scrimmage from the 2, 5 and 10 yard line, respectively.
4. Salaries - Average is $55,000 for the 10 week season, with QB's able to make up to $500K.
There are some other changes and nuances, and here is a link to an ESPN article about it here
So, will you watch? Will you attend? Think there is any chance the league makes it?
Have a great weekend,
XM
February 7th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
I’m gonna watch. Hoping for good football tomorrow.
February 7th, 2020 at 10:46 PM ^
i might be wrong about the networks - FOX has the games this weekend. i thought ESPN was carrying the games but that might've been a mistake.
February 8th, 2020 at 12:05 AM ^
ESPN, FOX, and ABC have games this weekend. FS1 has games later in the season.
February 7th, 2020 at 11:03 PM ^
I'll be watching, hoping De'Veon tears it up! Go Vipers!
February 8th, 2020 at 6:30 AM ^
Yeah, while there are a couple teams with M players, I liked DeVeon probably the most of those playing, so I think I’ll be a ground-floor Vipers fan. While there’s no accounting for taste, I also think those two-tone green uniformz are pretty snazzy.
February 8th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
For those interested in which former Wolverines are playing today.
February 7th, 2020 at 11:54 PM ^
Go Battlehawks!
February 7th, 2020 at 11:54 PM ^
I'm a die hard Battlehawks fan. Never missed a game.
February 7th, 2020 at 11:59 PM ^
No
Nope
Negative
February 8th, 2020 at 12:05 AM ^
I miss the old USFL and Michigan Panthers. Not having a home team involved does not stir up the excitement for me.
February 8th, 2020 at 2:35 PM ^
+ Anthony Carter.
February 8th, 2020 at 12:52 AM ^
Still don't understand the having the first game of a football season with players who couldn't hack the NFL the weekend after the Superbowl, the game that pits the best players in the world against each other. The skill gap will be obvious immediately and it will be obvious that it is a lesser product.
If they waited until mid-summer, during the dog days, after the NBA championships, when the only sports to watch are baseball and the occasional golf or tennis major, to air their season, people would be jonesing for some football and be willing to overlook the fact that the product isn't as good as the NFL.
It's a bad business decision to start the XFL season now.
February 8th, 2020 at 6:46 AM ^
i saw something that had the details of 'why' they set the season when they did. they want the players to be able to be in a july training camp for NFL teams as undoubtedly some of them will get the nod and that was why they didn't set in the dog days of summer. i forget the reasoning about not wanting the start, say, in april, but it made sense - maybe with the NBA and NHL playoffs on, baseball starting, whatever.
February 8th, 2020 at 11:08 AM ^
NFL Europe --- when it was a thing from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s --- would play an early April to mid June schedule.
Now, they were affiliated with the NFL of course. But that timing seemingly allowed NFL Europe players to migrate into NFL summer camps.
February 8th, 2020 at 7:30 AM ^
Normally, I would agree. As someone who consistently is trying to find something, anything to watch over the summer, I’d rather have it be over the summer, too.
I’m guessing the reason it’s taking place now is to avoid any of the league’s star players from getting called up to NFL training camp in the middle of the season. Not only would it disrupt the team itself (especially if your starting QB gets called up), but it might hurt whatever ratings they have. Especially if it’s a fan favorite that people like coming to the games to see.
Personally I am with you and I’d rather they do this over the summer, but I understand why they don’t.
February 8th, 2020 at 9:09 AM ^
As far as the timing goes, NFL camp begins the last week of July. Set the XFL to end two weeks before that, or approximately July 15. 12 week season including playoffs? So, start the season mid/late April.
If you look at the general sports landscape...
March Madness ends the first weekend in April usually. Then you have the Masters following it up. None of that would compete at all, start the weekend after the Masters, which this year that open weekend is April 17. The dust has settled on football, it'll have been 10/11 weeks since the Super Bowl.
May is when NHL and then later NBA playoffs begin. For fans of those sports they'll have number one priority, but there are plenty of people who don't like professional hockey or professional basketball. NFL draft is somewhere in here, but that only emphasizes football.
NHL is usually done first week in June. NBA is usually done 2nd/3rd week in June. NBA Draft is around 3rd week.
From the 3rd week of June until the XFL Championship in mid July the only competition is MLB, a regional sport that will be in its mid-summer doldroms. The players that played will be in peak season shape to get invited to camps, etc.
This is what the timing should be.
But honestly, I don't care about the XFL and I'm sure it'll be done after a year or two like all the rest. This really should be a plan to move the NBA back. Start the season on Christmas day, that way they can still own the NBA/Xmas tradition. That means the season ends early Mid August, which would give it the entire sports world. NBA draft at the end of August. NBA Summer league leading up to the start of NFL season. Then break until training camps at the end of November early December.
Ultimately we need to figure out how to cover late June and July with a relevant sport. NFL training camps in August are ok, but becoming less and less relevant. I enjoy Hard Knocks as the unofficial start to football, but if that time were also the NBA championships, that would be great sports timing.
February 8th, 2020 at 1:31 AM ^
February 8th, 2020 at 1:51 AM ^
I think the best mode of action for McMahon and the XFL is to ride on the publicity this season and then next year move the season to the summer when it will be able to be more sustainable against MLB, Tennis, etc. If they can survive this season, they might be okay.
The AAF wasn’t a bad product but didn’t have the capital to last. McMahon has the personal money and a big TV contract. Quite honestly, I’d be surprised if this fails after 1 season
February 8th, 2020 at 9:36 AM ^
Moving to the summer would be a horrible decision. They could lose their top players to an NFL training camp during the XFL playoffs or championship game.
February 8th, 2020 at 3:49 AM ^
I'll be watching the Seattle Dragons. Three Wolverines on the team: Channing Stribling, Jeremy Clark, Will Campbell.
I'm looking forward to it. Maybe go see them next weekend, too.
February 8th, 2020 at 4:44 AM ^
I would watch if they did away with illegal formations, ineligible receivers downfield, holding, & interference. Also, if they put a crossbar on top of the uprights.
February 8th, 2020 at 2:30 PM ^
also, if they put a crossbar on top of the uprights.
That exists... it's Gaelic football:
February 10th, 2020 at 5:27 PM ^
What am I missing here? There is no cross bar at the top of the uprights.
February 8th, 2020 at 6:19 AM ^
I've got it set to record because why not.
Not concerned about the skill level, I mean hell I watch college and the occasional high school game. It's still football.
It won't really be the XFL though unless they make He Hate Me the commissioner or something.
February 8th, 2020 at 6:46 AM ^
This. Everyone seems concerned about the “inferior football product” thing, but A.) for viewing, IMO, that really only matters for the teams actually playing; it’s relative. What you hate to see is inferior vs. superior talent on the field *at the same time*, making for uncompetitive games and leagues, (cough cough Bama, Clemson, OSU), and B.) that’s also the definition of college football (at least talent-wise) compared to the NFL and I strongly prefer college ball for many, many reasons.
(At least for now. Lots of people, and many “Leaders and Best” types on this blog, seem absolutely committed to reducing those reasons and differences, and are getting their wish, so at some point, my enthusiasm for college football as a special institution will likely start to wane as teams do, in fact, become “inferior football product” versions of the NFL, which I frankly hate.)
February 8th, 2020 at 8:34 AM ^
I'm intrigued. If they can keep the length of games down and the amount of commercial breaks down, they'll be able to bring in casual viewers. No ones going to sit down for a 4 hr commercial-fest for teams they don't care about.
Looking over the teams again, I'm surprised the XFL elected to go head-to-head in so many NFL cities, especially LA. St Louis was a great call. I'm a little surprised they didn't go for any of San Antonio, San Diego, SLC, Austin, etc.
February 8th, 2020 at 10:30 AM ^
St. Louis, I agree. Not sure playing in NFL cities was a great move either. Or at least go to NFL cities where the home team has a history of sucking, like Detroit for example.
February 8th, 2020 at 11:57 AM ^
Now that would've been a clever idea to aim for Detroit and Cleveland. Two dedicated fanbases that are tired of crappy ownership and crappy results
February 8th, 2020 at 10:00 AM ^
I'm going to have the first game on in the background after the MSU game ends. I'm going to try to at least follow one of the teams. DC is my team right now since they have the least ugly uniforms, it's slightly closer to home than St. Louis, I kinda like DC teams in other sports, Pep Hamilton is their coach, and according to one XFL power rank I read they are probably the best team in the league. I don't even mind that Cardale Jones is their QB, at least it's someone that I've heard of.
The rule tweaks seem a little too radical to me, especially with kicking, but I'll have to see how much they actually impact the game. On a regular down basis I don't really think I'll notice.
I appreciate that they're trying to speed up the game, but I'm not sure they're going about it the right way. I don't think the time between plays is the problem (which seems to be what they're focusing on, with the extra official to just spot the ball and short playclock). I worry that the short play clock will lead to lots of delay of game penalties and bad plays as teams have to go faster than anyone is accustomed to. If that's the case, the quality of play complaints will come up again.
If you really want to make the game end sooner, the obvious solution is to eliminate the absolute dead time during commercial breaks and I think fans will actually notice and appreciate the shorter game. If it takes on-field advertising or extra sponsorships in-game (Ford First down! All-state field goal attempt) to make up the difference, I wouldn't mind.
February 8th, 2020 at 1:42 PM ^
The reasoning for the quick start after the SB is exactly what people mentioned in previous posts. They still want the XFL players to be able to make training camps.
The timing isn't dumb its really smart. The XFL wants to be the minor leagues for the NFL. There's a ton of money to made there. If the product is good and players start making the jump then the NFL would probably back them and tap into a new markets.
I hope it works as Michigan could end up with an expansion team and we could all discuss how much better the XFL team is than the Lions.
February 8th, 2020 at 1:44 PM ^
I'll miss the scrum instead of the kickoffs from XFL v.1.
Interested in this... all the major networks are behind it so perhaps the league will have legs.