XFL to make a comeback

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by ILChief

Having the season start in January seems dumb

Why? No competition with NFL or college football. Which also means you can easily use some of those stadiums. It's also the boringest month for sports with only the NBA and NHL regular seasons being offered.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Why? No competition with NFL or college football. Which also means you can easily use some of those stadiums. It's also the boringest month for sports with only the NBA and NHL regular seasons being offered.

For the first few weeks, fan interest would be almost zero, considering NFL is still going on. Then your going to be relying on the wives and families of football fans to okay another 8 weeks of sitting on the couch. Plus don't underestimate the number of sports fans who would rather watch elite athletes play regular season basketball or hockey as opposed to seeing some Southwest Montana A&M backup QB throw an orange ball to "Not Good Enough for NFL WR A or B"

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Why Not?

For the first few weeks, fan interest would be almost zero, considering NFL is still going on. Then your going to be relying on the wives and families of football fans to okay another 8 weeks of sitting on the couch. Plus don't underestimate the number of sports fans who would rather watch elite athletes play regular season basketball or hockey as opposed to seeing some Southwest Montana A&M backup QB throw an orange ball to "Not Good Enough for NFL WR A or B"

There are plenty of people who watch sports constantly all year round. Including soccer fans who move on from EPL to MLS. But you're also looking at this as some mass market play. I think you're underestimating how many of those same families who live in Des Moines that are looking for things to do with their kids in January. If Major League Lacrosse can pull in a few thousand per game and MLS can pull in 15-20K despite being very inferior to European soccer (and if USL can pull 8K to even 20K for a league even inferior to MLS), then XFL can certainly pull in a decent crowd if it's run well. Portland soccer is an excellent example of how something like this could work.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

There are plenty of people who watch sports constantly all year round. Including soccer fans who move on from EPL to MLS. But you're also looking at this as some mass market play. I think you're underestimating how many of those same families who live in Des Moines that are looking for things to do with their kids in January. If Major League Lacrosse can pull in a few thousand per game and MLS can pull in 15-20K despite being very inferior to European soccer (and if USL can pull 8K to even 20K for a league even inferior to MLS), then XFL can certainly pull in a decent crowd if it's run well. Portland soccer is an excellent example of how something like this could work.

Maybe it can develop a niche following. If McMahon's goal is to create something small like that Arena or the Indoor league, maybe he can. It's just hard to envision something that failed so spectacularly 20 years ago(basically)becoming a hit now. Also, you gotta get off the January thing. Nobody is watching this shit at least until the NFL season ends. If McMahon wants to give it any shot, he'd start it the week after the Super Bowl. He'll have a small window. Come the second week of March, nobody is watching the XFL either.

[B_Ambuehl]

I think it has a chance to succeed, if it improves upon the rules of NFL football and the rules give way towards a more entertaining product. NFL football itself is boring to a lot of casual viewers. Teams run on 1st down for 0-2 yards. Rules regarding formations and eligible receivers are too restrictive. I would start by trending towards some of the CFL rules. Widen the field by 10 yards, change yards to go from 10 to 15 (or bring downs from 4 down to 3), eliminate ineligible receiver rules, allow more motion (like arena football), and maybe consider allowing forward passes past the line of scrimmage. The rules need to make the average football fan curious enough to wanna check it out, and from there you hope enough will stay interested.

The problem with the '01 XFL is it was still just a regular football game, but with lesser talented players.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by B_Ambuehl

I think it has a chance to succeed, if it improves upon the rules of NFL football and the rules give way towards a more entertaining product. NFL football itself is boring to a lot of casual viewers. Teams run on 1st down for 0-2 yards. Rules regarding formations and eligible receivers are too restrictive. I would start by trending towards some of the CFL rules. Widen the field by 10 yards, change yards to go from 10 to 15 (or bring downs from 4 down to 3), eliminate ineligible receiver rules, allow more motion (like arena football), and maybe consider allowing forward passes past the line of scrimmage. The rules need to make the average football fan curious enough to wanna check it out, and from there you hope enough will stay interested.

The problem with the '01 XFL is it was still just a regular football game, but with lesser talented players.

I agree. There are tons of ways to innovate while making it still look like football. I don't think you need to look like arena, but you can look more like college or high school. And that innovation includes the stadium experience and how football is delivered through TV and merchandising.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Why Not?

Maybe it can develop a niche following. If McMahon's goal is to create something small like that Arena or the Indoor league, maybe he can. It's just hard to envision something that failed so spectacularly 20 years ago(basically)becoming a hit now. Also, you gotta get off the January thing. Nobody is watching this shit at least until the NFL season ends. If McMahon wants to give it any shot, he'd start it the week after the Super Bowl. He'll have a small window. Come the second week of March, nobody is watching the XFL either.

The more I think about how it could work, the more I don't see the need for gimmicks. You don't think this would do well offseason in a market like Portland, OKC, Louisville, Austin, des Moines, etc...? Second rate talent isn't an issue for mls, usl, or minor league baseball. And the xfl proposal we are seeing so far looks nothing like what was proposed 20 years ago which I would agree would end in disaster. But a measured approach to treat this like a niche league might stand a pretty good chance.

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

The more I think about how it could work, the more I don't see the need for gimmicks. You don't think this would do well offseason in a market like Portland, OKC, Louisville, Austin, des Moines, etc...? Second rate talent isn't an issue for mls, usl, or minor league baseball. And the xfl proposal we are seeing so far looks nothing like what was proposed 20 years ago which I would agree would end in disaster. But a measured approach to treat this like a niche league might stand a pretty good chance.

It would flop in OKC. Unless you had house hold OSU and OU players on it. And then it “might” half ass work, but I doubt it.

OU and OSU fans aren’t going to easily give up their disposable income on some jank football product when college football is king in Oklahoma.