What went wrong with the XFL

The XFL football league was an attempt by Vince Mcmahon of WWE to create a competitor to the NFL. The first XFL failed due to poor viewer reception. The second time the league went the way of the Alliance of American Football.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the league into bankruptcy during its first season in 2020. Vince Mcmahon abandoned all interest in the league, which is now planning to return in 2022 under new management.

What is XFL

The XFL was an attempt made by WWE and NBC to create a competitor to the NFL professional football sports league. It all began in 1999 after NBC lost a broadcast contract on the NFL. The first XFL was a zealous attempt to improve football.

How did it start

Just like the ABA and the NBA in the 1970s, XFL was formed as an alternative league. Its brilliant debut was only met by an equally colossal failure. Vince McMahon was the man in charge of the league and made major rule changes to football.

The initial first game gathered over 50 million viewers. But the fans quickly grew tired of its over-aggressiveness and tacky promotion tactics. Reportedly, the name stood for Xtreme football league.

Competition with the NFL

The NFL is the primary football league in the country, featuring top athletes and a high viewership base. The XFL tried to improve on it by making adjustments to the game. For example, by having players from opposing teams sprint towards a football to determine who starts the game.

This lead to immediate injuries among the players. NFL makes the decision with a simple coin toss. Further, the XFL football team suffered strong injuries during the beginning matches. The extreme league was overly physical, with several quarterbacks receiving injuries.

Why did it launch?

The league launched because Vince Mcmahon thought he could improve football. The commercial interest of WWE and NBC was to make money by providing an off-season football game. The league simply could not withstand the competition from the NFL.

XFL could potentially have done better. Having a strong first game with a good viewership base. Although tacky team names like Houston Roughnecks, Las Vegas Outlaws, and Los Angeles Wildcats did not help.

How was it different?

XFL had major rules variations, such as the catch rule made similar to a college game. The broadcast featured sideline interviews and had great technological innovations. Football players had microphones attached to them and there was a sky cam set above the stadium.

Why did it fail?

Star players simply did not want to participate in the initial 2001 league. Teams were composed of second-rate athletes that did not qualify for the NFL. The gimmicks were tacky and fan interest quickly declined and ratings plummeted.

The moves required were overly physical with players getting injured during the course of the games. Designed similarly to college football, the final product focused more on cheerleaders than quality of play.

With the broadcast being cut before Saturday night live, the 2001 XFL lasted only one season and came to an abrupt end. The reasons for its failure include the difficulty of designing alternatives to existing sports leagues. And the poor team make-up and excess physicality of the game.

What's going on with the XFL?

XFL has made another debut in 2020, with games being played offseason from the NFL. The COVID-19 pandemic forced XFL to finish playing before the season's end. It filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and has currently been sold off for $15 million.

Initial failure

The XFL alternative football league failed miserably in 2001. XFL could potentially have done better, but its overly-physical nature has lead to a poor reception from the fans. With people like Dick Ebersol behind the league, it was believed that it could provide viable competition to the NFL.

However, it lasted only one season despite receiving an initially high Nielsen rating. Just like the AAF, it failed at gathering the sports-savvy audience. Games were seen as banal with players getting injured too frequently.

Bankruptcy

The attempt to revive the XFL in 2020 failed primarily due to the pandemic. The chaos of sports cancellations proved to be an insurmountable challenge to the league. The season was canceled and all of the employees were laid off.

The 2020 league ended in the same disaster as its predecessor in 2001. Although the initial reasons for its second demise are different, the league has still proven to be an unlucky draw. Certain elements between the two incarnations of XFL identical.

What went wrong?

The ratings were low and the match was filled with poor ads. Suffering poor quality of play, the games gathered only about 1 million viewers. The pandemic forced the XFL to finish the season early. The league simply failed a second time.

The initial high expectation at a 2018 press conference was racked by the coronavirus and poor management. Vince Mcmahon could not revive the XFL despite making an alliance with Dick Ebersol, a man with experience making NFL broadcasts.

Reopening

Despite a poor 2020 session, it was announced at a conference call that the XFL will return in 2022. The desire to bring it back to life stems from an attempt to improve competition in the industry. The window of opportunity on the $15 million purchase is closing fast.

For a successful third incarnation of the sports league, major investments must be made. The final product should not be a direct competitor to the NFL. Instead, it should offer variety and choice for the football fans.

Current situation

XFL is coming back for the third time in 2022. Its initial launch in 2001 was a failure due to poor ratings and mediocre teams. Its second launch in 2020 failed because of the global pandemic. After filing for bankruptcy, the league was bought for $15 million.

And is said to return for the third time next year. With a working site, it promises to make another return. Hopefully, it will not be filled with free agency players and have decent head coaches for the games.

A glance at the XFL situation

Take the following summary as a brief rundown of the events:

1. First XFL failed in 2001 season because of poor reception
2. XFL was initially considered unprofessional and too aggressive
3. Received poor viewership base and bad press
4. Made significant innovations in television coverage
5. Second XFL failed the 2020 season due to the pandemic
6. Finally filed for bankruptcy in 2020
7. Was bought for $15 million
8. Third XFL is promised to return in 2022

Why does the XFL keep failing?

Competing with the NFL and the MLB is nearly impossible. The cases of AAF and the first XFL have proven it. Instead, focusing on providing some off-season entertainment to the fans with fewer rules variations is required.

With athletes such as Tommy Maddox playing for Los Angeles Xtreme in 2001, the league could not do any better. Oliver Luck was the CEO of the league until 2020 and will be replaced by a new figure. Tacky team names like the Las Vegas outlaws constantly pulled down the XFL ratings.

Why did XFL shut down?

The first time XFL shut down due to poor reception and lack of viewers. The second time XFL went bankrupt because of the pandemic. XFL made two aggressive attempts for an off-season game. Football fans generally did not like it.

Football league failures

The play was too aggressive, head coaches were poor, and NBC was too adamant to get revenge on the NFL. The initial 2001 failure was due to major rules changes and a focus on aggression. The play was judged mediocre at best.

Athletes frequently got injured during play, and the games were more like college football than professional league tournaments. Although some fans liked it, the viewership dropped rapidly from the initial high 50 million + base.

Poor response from viewers

At the last press conference, it was said that the XFL league is getting sold for a meager 15 million. The new owners will try to improve the game and get better athletes to participate. In 2001, most players were simply pro-league dropouts.

Dropping the coin toss for a sprint towards a football was a poor idea. The "he hate me" syndrome was prevalent amongst all athletes. Aside from Getty images, not many stations would broadcast the games.

Names such as Las Vegas outlaws and Los Angeles wildcats seemed too tacky for the audience. One could say that each game was mediocre at best.

Others did it better

According to a good source, the NFL took the game of football more seriously. For one, they focused on in-game professionalism and had good coverage. The game was not so physical and athletes did not get injured as frequently.

Professional football is very competitive, and the XFL almost had to give cookies out to bring the fans in. The second incarnation did it better, with a San Antonio Commanders completing the 8-team league. But the pandemic simply killed the league for a second time.

Just like the ABA

Oliver Luck, the commissioner of the XFL simply couldn't bring out the best of the players. XFL is just like the ABA basketball league of the 1970s. According to a closed source, the game requires a little too much to simply enter the market and expect success.

The initial motivation of NBC was to steal some pro football market share from their competitors. For one, their alliance with WWE was born out of frustration than sound business practice.

Why will the XFL fail for the third time?

Whether it is pulling athletes from Las Vegas or other cities, the league is likely to fail for the third time. It has had a poor history and a string of bad luck. Lack of professionalism and pointless innovations have hurt it the first time.

The second time, it was simply brought to a halt by the pandemic. If it is not bad luck, then what is? XFL is a highly unlikely candidate for success in the future. And 2022 will simply prove that football is too competitive for small-time leagues.

How many times has XFL failed?

XFL has had two colossal failures in its history. One in 2001 and one in 2020. Their initial performance was poor. In 2001, after the first game, the viewership steadily declined to null. In 2020, the league was simply torpedoed by the coronavirus.

The first failure

For one, football is about tactics and strategy. Not about raw strength and fighting. The initial 2001 debut of the league showed XFL to simply be a revamped version of college football. With mediocre players receiving injuries almost every instant.

Despite strong technological innovations, the games had to be ended before the season finished. One could say that too much physical aggression simply destroyed it. With quarterbacks continuously getting injured, not everybody wanted to fill up the roster.

The second failure

The second time, the league was ground to a halt by the pandemic. A string of bad luck brought XFL to bankruptcy and forced it to terminate games. Starting off-season did not help attract a lot of fans to the match either.

The third try

The XFL was bought out for $15 million by the Rock and is now on track for another debut in 2022. With certain changes, the games could begin next year. However, the past history of XFL sheds light on how the next year's performance will be.

It is probable that the alternative football league will fail again. And be terminated for eternity. Does he hate me or is the performance of XFL simply poor and completely undeserving of praise?