The XFL is dead!
May 10, 2001 5:18 PM Subscribe
The XFL is dead! Now who had May 10th in the pool?
So did anyone ever actually watch a game? I kind of sat through the first one but then I pretty much forgot about it after that.
posted by fresh-n-minty at 7:14 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by fresh-n-minty at 7:14 PM on May 10, 2001
You got me beat. I made it through one quarter of the first game. After that, I just couldn't take it.
posted by tomorama at 7:22 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by tomorama at 7:22 PM on May 10, 2001
This one guy I know who is a big fan of the WWF watched it. His take on the woes of the XFL before it died was 'Well, everyone in the media hates Vince McMahon and wants to see him fail.' I haven't asked him about this development yet.
posted by darukaru at 7:23 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by darukaru at 7:23 PM on May 10, 2001
I really don't understand why everyone ridiculed it. The games weren't that bad--just a little below your average college game. I only watched one or two, but then,I don't like football very much.
posted by jpoulos at 7:24 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by jpoulos at 7:24 PM on May 10, 2001
The sports media never gave it a chance, and badmouthed it to no end. Sure, it had a lot of problems, but it could have overcome them. As an NFL fan, this saddens me - because another league would have pushed the NFL to be better than it already is.
posted by owillis at 8:02 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by owillis at 8:02 PM on May 10, 2001
jpoulos: it's just, you're not supposed to have football in after mid-January. It's just freakin' enough by then. Then, yes, it is Vince McMahon, but he's just about been outdone by the tackiness which is the Super Bowl anyway. Yikes, just knock it off after mid-January anyway. May this idea die for good.
posted by raysmj at 8:04 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by raysmj at 8:04 PM on May 10, 2001
The problem with the XFL was that they couldn't decide if they wanted it to be a serious football league or an entertainment show with football as part of it. Letting Jesse Ventura announce was a big mistake too. However, I liked their extra point rule and the scramble at the start of the game.
posted by gyc at 8:09 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by gyc at 8:09 PM on May 10, 2001
at best the XFL was a reform movement within the NFL - they will pick whatever good stuff they came up with.
(note: interview players mid game was not one of them, mostly they just got out-of-breath stupidty.)
posted by brucec at 8:31 PM on May 10, 2001
I'm still waiting for women's football. When they start up a league of women's football, I'll think about tuning in. NFL? XFL? It's all a wash to me, man.
posted by ZachsMind at 8:43 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by ZachsMind at 8:43 PM on May 10, 2001
I never even saw a commercial for the XFL. I only knew that it existed from the jokes.
posted by bargle at 8:45 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by bargle at 8:45 PM on May 10, 2001
There's actually a women's league starting up. I've got a friend who's trying out to be a center...
But I'm sadly sure the play would be the equivalent of the WNBA - that being, not good.
posted by owillis at 8:50 PM on May 10, 2001
But I'm sadly sure the play would be the equivalent of the WNBA - that being, not good.
posted by owillis at 8:50 PM on May 10, 2001
TacoConsumer: kudos for your name, less than kudos for not using the headline XFL now EX-FLI. Better luck next time!
Actually, I thought it was eminently more entertaining than football, especially Ventura's voice. Watched most of three games. I never watch football.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:54 PM on May 10, 2001
Actually, I thought it was eminently more entertaining than football, especially Ventura's voice. Watched most of three games. I never watch football.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:54 PM on May 10, 2001
oops
posted by ParisParamus at 8:55 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by ParisParamus at 8:55 PM on May 10, 2001
oops? There. Better.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:56 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by ParisParamus at 8:56 PM on May 10, 2001
The WWF will not die. It's the highest rated show on cable, and damn fun to boot. I'm watching Smackdown! right now (the only thing on UPN worth watching).
posted by owillis at 9:58 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by owillis at 9:58 PM on May 10, 2001
WWF is far from immune. Ratings are still high at the moment, but I read in another XFL obituary that, after climbing for quite a bit (which directly contributed to the creation of the XFL in the first place), they have now leveled off.
The whole wrestling thing just about fell off the face of the earth between the heyday of Hulk Hogan/Macho Man and its current incarnation. We'll see if history repeats.
posted by Mrmuhnrmuh at 11:02 PM on May 10, 2001
The whole wrestling thing just about fell off the face of the earth between the heyday of Hulk Hogan/Macho Man and its current incarnation. We'll see if history repeats.
posted by Mrmuhnrmuh at 11:02 PM on May 10, 2001
Professional Wrestling was best in the early 1970's, preferably on UHF stations in New York in Spanish.
posted by ParisParamus at 11:05 PM on May 10, 2001
posted by ParisParamus at 11:05 PM on May 10, 2001
As much as I hate football (and virtually all sports), I actually thought that this "marriage" would last; I figured there were enough fans of both WWF and football to sustain it. I suppose the American public is just a bit too smart to accept this hybrid as either pure entertainment or pure sport - the middle-ground was just not firm enough to support it.
posted by davidmsc at 4:56 AM on May 11, 2001
posted by davidmsc at 4:56 AM on May 11, 2001
Is the XFL the first organisation ever to go bust underestimating the intelligence of the American public? :-)
posted by salmacis at 5:36 AM on May 11, 2001
posted by salmacis at 5:36 AM on May 11, 2001
Does this prove there is a bottom to the barrel, which popular media seems to aim?
posted by vanderwal at 5:52 AM on May 11, 2001
posted by vanderwal at 5:52 AM on May 11, 2001
I actually went to one of the playoff games with a friend of mine who had tickets. It was pretty easy to figure out that the whole thing wasn't going to last another year when the stadium was only about 1/4 full during a playoff game. Probably the most fun I had at the game was testing various paper airplane designs to see which one I could get farthest on the field. Reminded me of high school.
posted by fluxcreative at 6:23 AM on May 11, 2001
posted by fluxcreative at 6:23 AM on May 11, 2001
Pracowity, none of those links seem to have anything to do with WWF-style "sports entertainment" wrestling.
posted by aaron at 7:05 AM on May 11, 2001
posted by aaron at 7:05 AM on May 11, 2001
> none of those links seem to have anything to do with
> WWF-style "sports entertainment" wrestling.
Maybe. Maybe not. You want sense from any topic at all connected with professional wrestling? I'm amazed any of you watch it.
posted by pracowity at 7:29 AM on May 11, 2001
> WWF-style "sports entertainment" wrestling.
Maybe. Maybe not. You want sense from any topic at all connected with professional wrestling? I'm amazed any of you watch it.
posted by pracowity at 7:29 AM on May 11, 2001
Note to self: don't try to run a professional sports league that will have games outside in Giants stadium. In February, that is. I don't remember where all the XFL teams were located, but there's a reason the NFL plays the Superbowl in a warm weather city (or in a dome)...
Take a moment to remember the kids whose dreams of playing semi-professional football without health insurance are now shattered.
posted by andrewraff at 7:58 AM on May 11, 2001
Take a moment to remember the kids whose dreams of playing semi-professional football without health insurance are now shattered.
posted by andrewraff at 7:58 AM on May 11, 2001
See, what would've been smart for Mr. McMahon is to bring back the most popular (term used loosely) XFL players, put them in a wrestling ring, and have a battle royale.
The last player standing then gets to be scripted into the WWF permanently, and do something EXTREME!!! to note the demise of the XFL, such as blow up a football in the middle of the ring, or send a jersey up into flames.
Now Dick Butkus can go back to selling his newspaper grills.
posted by hijinx at 8:02 AM on May 11, 2001
The last player standing then gets to be scripted into the WWF permanently, and do something EXTREME!!! to note the demise of the XFL, such as blow up a football in the middle of the ring, or send a jersey up into flames.
Now Dick Butkus can go back to selling his newspaper grills.
posted by hijinx at 8:02 AM on May 11, 2001
After reading posts on MeFi for the past couple of weeks, I can only come to one conclusion about the failure of the XFL: it's President Bush's fault.
posted by ljromanoff at 8:05 AM on May 11, 2001
posted by ljromanoff at 8:05 AM on May 11, 2001
ParisParamus: I didn't use Ex-FL because CNN, ESPN and everyone else used it. It seemed redundant.
posted by TacoConsumer at 9:59 AM on May 11, 2001
posted by TacoConsumer at 9:59 AM on May 11, 2001
For me, the best part about sports is the sense of history. The sense that any possible great human athletic achievement will fit somewhere within this known universe of "what has been done": records, statistics, folklore, anecdote.
The XFL always felt stupid to me. Even if the quality of play had been great (which, I am told, it was not), I still wouldn't have cared very much, because it would have meaningless to me outside of any record/stat/history construct. How would I even know really if something remarkable happened?
posted by MarkAnd at 10:18 AM on May 11, 2001
The XFL always felt stupid to me. Even if the quality of play had been great (which, I am told, it was not), I still wouldn't have cared very much, because it would have meaningless to me outside of any record/stat/history construct. How would I even know really if something remarkable happened?
posted by MarkAnd at 10:18 AM on May 11, 2001
Thank God, hopefully the WWF will be next.
Not for awhile anyway, this has helped them out a bit
posted by DiplomaticImmunity at 10:48 AM on May 11, 2001
Not for awhile anyway, this has helped them out a bit
posted by DiplomaticImmunity at 10:48 AM on May 11, 2001
The XFL always felt stupid to me. Even if the quality of play had been great (which, I am told, it was not), I still wouldn't have cared very much, because it would have meaningless to me outside of any record/stat/history construct. How would I even know really if something remarkable happened?
So, by your reasoning, no new league (or sport) for that matter should ever start because there's no history? Everything has to begin somewhere.
posted by ljromanoff at 11:35 AM on May 11, 2001
So, by your reasoning, no new league (or sport) for that matter should ever start because there's no history? Everything has to begin somewhere.
posted by ljromanoff at 11:35 AM on May 11, 2001
No, I just think that trying to promote it with $35 million worth of marketing or whatever in the first year was dumb. I think MLS is unwatchable now, too. But they at least have a moderately sustainable business model and may survive until I think there's enough history to watch.
I don't think I'm alone here either. New leagues stink.
posted by MarkAnd at 11:40 AM on May 11, 2001
I don't think I'm alone here either. New leagues stink.
posted by MarkAnd at 11:40 AM on May 11, 2001
I went to a regular season Demons game, and I gotta say I had a pretty good time. I didn't watch any XFL before that except the first game, at which point I deemed the playing craptastic. But I ended with some tickets so I went with a couple of friends and it was cool. Not because of the football, but we had seats parked right in front of the cheerleaders. Better yet, some girls in the skybox behind us a bit started flashing our section. It was great. Unfortunately, they got kicked out after 15 minutes of making everyone happy. :)
Honestly though, the quality of the football was pretty damn horrible. No one there actually cared about what was going on anyways. Football just isn't very interesting when no one catches a pass, and no one can tackle anyone period.
posted by swank6 at 1:07 PM on May 11, 2001
Honestly though, the quality of the football was pretty damn horrible. No one there actually cared about what was going on anyways. Football just isn't very interesting when no one catches a pass, and no one can tackle anyone period.
posted by swank6 at 1:07 PM on May 11, 2001
They should have expected to run at a loss for about five years. The fact that they're bailing out already may be a sign that they didn't have the backing they really needed to give the new league the time it needed to get on its feet.
posted by kindall at 4:10 PM on May 11, 2001
posted by kindall at 4:10 PM on May 11, 2001
Actually they had budgeted to lose $ for about four years, but expected 3-4 for the ratings. Instead they got around 1.5 and UPN/TNN tried to pick up rights for a lower price than they were willing to pay...
Hey, they made earnings of $100 mill last year - so I think Vince is sleeping ok
posted by owillis at 7:55 PM on May 11, 2001
Hey, they made earnings of $100 mill last year - so I think Vince is sleeping ok
posted by owillis at 7:55 PM on May 11, 2001
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by gyc at 6:33 PM on May 10, 2001