Did you hear Football fans? The XFL, that’s right, the X F L, is BACK! The league that gave you the sky cam, Tommy Maddox, and of course, He Hate Me, has been reborn. But trust me, this isn’t your dad’s XFL. Oh no. This is a new, revamped, reenergized, reimagined brand of football.
If you can remember, because it feels like it’s been years ago now, back in January of 2018, WWE CEO Vince McMahon announced that the XFL would make it’s grand return in 2020. Well, fast forward 2 years later, and we are now just 2 weeks away from kick-off. Time flies doesn’t it? But back when it was announced, McMahon kept stating that the XFL would be “Football reimagined”. However, at the time, he didn’t give us any details as to what he meant. So we were just left wondering at what he could possibly do to change the game of football.
Well, one way to begin this process was to bring in XFL Commissioner and former NFL quarterback Oliver Luck. Luck, who previously ran NFL Europe, as well as work with the NCAA, was unquestionably the right guy for the job. Everyone was ecstatic upon hearing this news and couldn’t wait to see what Luck would bring to the new league. Especially, since he was given 2 years to prepare for the launch date of the XFL. But with Luck now in the fold, fans were certainly optimistic.
We began to hear rumblings of some of the rule changes they were proposing, and they were intriguing to say the least. But it was the first coaching hire that really sent the message that they were for real. Legendary Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops was hired as the Head Coach/GM of the Dallas XFL franchise, and this sent shock waves throughout the sports world. No one thought the league could swoop up a coach of Stoops pedigree, but they did just that. That ladies and gentlemen, is the Oliver Luck effect. It didn’t stop there, Pep Hamilton, June Jones, Winston Moss, Marc Trestman, Jonathan Hayes, Kevin Gilbride, and even legendary Seahawks quarterback, Jim Zorn, have all been brought on as Head Coaches. Quality coaches, and quality players have filled the XFL camps, and ultimately rosters leading up to February 8, 2020. Players such as Cardale Jones, Sammy Coates, Kenny Robinson, Josh Johnson, just to name a few, have come in and set the league on fire before a ball has even been snapped.
But let’s really he honest here. What has us the most excited about the new XFL? It’s these freakin’ awesome rules baybay! Talk about reimagining the game! Don’t worry, they didn’t change the game of football. They didn’t gimmick up the sport. No no no. They just enhanced it, and made it FUN AGAIN. That’s the thing. The XFL has a chance to make football fun again. Let me be completely honest here. I didn’t watch a single snap of the Super Bowl last year. That’s right. I didn’t make a typo. Not a single snap, and I’m just going to be completely honest here, I don’t plan on watching this year either. No, I don’t hate football. But it would be completely fair to say that I have kind of grown tired of the NFL. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still watch a game here or there, but realistically, only if it’s my hometown Houston Texans. I only watch the NFL, because I have a home team to support, but the NFL as a product, not much of a fan anymore. The games are WAY to long, it takes an eternity in between plays, and don’t even get me started on replays and challenges. It’s just become, for lack of a better word, boring. If I didn’t have the Texans, I’m not so sure I even watch a single game. You see, that’s where the XFL is different. Of course, I’m going to root for my hometown Houston Roughnecks, but I want to watch every XFL game, because the product as a whole, lends itself to be exciting. 1, 2, 3 point after conversions. Making kick-offs and punts relevant again. Running play clocks. And who would have thought, you can actually fix overtime.
These new innovations have me excited for football again. Why not start fresh? We love new things, especially when they enhance something that was already great. I’m excited for the new XFL, and February 8 couldn’t get here fast enough!
