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The XFL

            Ah, Mid-Winter. Short, gray days, sub-zero weather and lots of snow. If there’s one thing this time of year makes me think of, it’s football. Well, not really. But if Vince McMahon has his way, the XFL will become the new haven for sports fans that are disenfranchised by the winter blahs.
            And I am certainly one of them. I just can’t get psyched up about basketball and hockey, pro or college, the way that I enjoy football and baseball. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy basketball and hockey, but, and I can’t quite put my finger on it, I am just left wanting more at this time of year. The XFL may or may not be the antidote, but I think it has a good chance, and here are some reasons why:
            1) It occurs at precisely the right moment. Its ten-week season is the perfect fit for the vast wasteland that exists between Super Bowl Sunday and Opening Day on the baseball diamond. Surely this is the time where most sports-fan suicides occur. Even basketball and hockey are still weeks away from the playoffs and golf is months out from the first major. The XFL is the best hope yet to spice up this horrible time.
            2) The new league promises to deliver a good spectacle. There have been modifications to the rules to spice up the action, sideline reporters ask tough questions in the heat of the moment, and cameras cover the field from all possible angles. And of course the push-up bra-clad cheerleader/exotic dancers are a nice touch, too.
            3) The XFL is fun and accessible. Regular Joes can enjoy a game at home or, if they live nearby, score tickets to a game. Fans of certain professional teams that shall remain nameless have to pay hundreds of dollars per seat or languish away on waiting lists for millennia. If I wanted to go to a Chicago Enforcers game, I get in the car and I’m there. But I also say that it’s fun because the pay structure of the league encourages its players to get out there and bust some ass to win games. It’s fun to watch regular guys live out their, and our, football fantasies while they play hard and have fun. There’s something pure about that that you can’t find in the NFL. Last week, a reporter asked members of one team what they would do if they won that day’s game and earned their $2,500 bonus check. “Pay bills,” said one tailback. When do you think is the last time Green Bay Packers wideout Antonio Freeman thought about paying a bill, let alone playing hard because he loves the game?
            4) The XFL has limitless possibilities for translating to other sports as well. Imagine, XLB. No force outs and no walks!
Seriously, in it’s first few weeks; the quality of play has proven to be low. Lower, in fact, than most Division 1 College games. It is my hope that it will improve, and that it won’t drop so low that it drives out the league. Time will tell. But I really don’t think the XFL is about top-notch football performance – we have five months of the NFL for that. I look at it like this – sometimes you want no-brainer fun over high-minded quality. Sometimes you’d rather watch “PCU” instead of “Shine,” or you’d rather listen to Hootie and the Blowfish instead of Beethoven. I think the XFL will be right at home occupying that kind of niche in the sports world.

            But I know some of you don’t agree and to you I say – BRING IT ON!!!!!

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The XFL Ah, Mid-Winter. Short, gray days, sub-zero weather and lots of snow. If there’s one thing this time of year makes me think of, it’s football. Well, not really. But if Vince McMahon has his way, the XFL will become the new haven for sports fans that are disenfranchised by the winter blahs. And I am certainly one of them. I just can’t get psyched up about basketball and hockey, pro or college, the way that I enjoy football and baseball. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy basketball and hockey, but, and I can’t quite put my finger on it, I am just left wanting more at this time of year. The XFL may or may not be the antidote, but I think it has a good chance, and here are some reasons why: 1) It occurs at precisely the right moment. Its ten-week season is the perfect fit for the vast wasteland that exists between Super Bowl Sunday and Opening Day on the baseball diamond. Surely this is the time where most sports-fan suicides occur. Even basketball and hockey are still weeks away from the playoffs and golf is months out from the first major. The XFL is the best hope yet to spice up this horrible time. 2) The new league promises to deliver a good spectacle. There have been modifications to the rules to spice up the action, sideline reporters ask tough questions in the heat of the moment, and cameras cover the field from all possible angles. And of course the push-up bra-clad cheerleader/exotic dancers are a nice touch, too. 3) The XFL is fun and accessible. Regular Joes can enjoy a game at home or, if they live nearby, score tickets to a game. Fans of certain professional teams that shall remain nameless have to pay hundreds of dollars per seat or languish away on waiting lists for millennia. If I wanted to go to a Chicago Enforcers game, I get in the car and I’m there. But I also say that it’s fun because the pay structure of the league encourages its players to get out there and bust some ass to win games. It’s fun to watch regular guys live out their, and our, football fantasies while they play hard and have fun. There’s something pure about that that you can’t find in the NFL. Last week, a reporter asked members of one team what they would do if they won that day’s game and earned their $2,500 bonus check. “Pay bills,” said one tailback. When do you think is the last time Green Bay Packers wideout Antonio Freeman thought about paying a bill, let alone playing hard because he loves the game? 4) The XFL has limitless possibilities for translating to other sports as well. Imagine, XLB. No force outs and no walks! Seriously, in it’s first few weeks; the quality of play has proven to be low. Lower, in fact, than most Division 1 College games. It is my hope that it will improve, and that it won’t drop so low that it drives out the league. Time will tell. But I really don’t think the XFL is about top-notch football performance – we have five months of the NFL for that. I look at it like this – sometimes you want no-brainer fun over high-minded quality. Sometimes you’d rather watch “PCU” instead of “Shine,” or you’d rather listen to Hootie and the Blowfish instead of Beethoven. I think the XFL will be right at home occupying that kind of niche in the sports world. But I know some of you don’t agree and to you I say – BRING IT ON!!!!!