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XFL: The sequel

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Hermanator

Hermanator 7127

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The NFL gets ratings. This isn't the NFL. Being football they also have the largest rosters to have to pay, transport, and maintain. 

Plus history shows Americans need a break from football. Spring leagues are overload. 

If The Rock wants to sink millions into keeping this afloat then so be it, but I don't see how this ever turns a profit. 

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Continental Op
Continental Op

This made me think of this for some reason:  

Al_4_ISU
Al_4_ISU

Would it kill a minor league to just have decent names for once?  Something plural and local will always be better than Blaze or Crew or Wind or whatever bullshit they usually concoct.

Lat22
Lat22

Roughnecks is better than the stupid Texans.

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Longboard Horn

Longboard Horn 40419

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@Hermanator to answer your questions: this is a league for guys who didn't get drafted because the were overlooked(went to a G5 or D2 or D3 and fell through the cracks) to get a chance to show what they can do. Also, having washed up or NFL practice squad busts that people are familiar with can help the league with viewership. If anything, some of these guys playing in the XFL will never get the the NFL or get back in and even though they're not making the millions, they're in the league because they just wanna keep playing. If anything, the XFL will become the retirement home league for older NFL players. Give it a few years when Tom Brady comes out of retirement (because you know he will), we'll see the XFL make an announcement like, now starting at QB for the Orlando Guardians, Tom Brady! 

Also, with not seeing how this turns a profit, lighten up and give it a fucking chance. It's the first year back where they will finish a full season. At least when it came back in 2020 they got it right this time. None of those scripted pro wrestling type gimmicks with shithole football like the original league in 2001. 

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Hermanator

Hermanator 7127

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19 minutes ago, Longboard Horn said:

@Hermanator to answer your questions: this is a league for guys who didn't get drafted because the were overlooked(went to a G5 or D2 or D3 and fell through the cracks) to get a chance to show what they can do. Also, having washed up or NFL practice squad busts that people are familiar with can help the league with viewership. If anything, some of these guys playing in the XFL will never get the the NFL or get back in and even though they're not making the millions, they're in the league because they just wanna keep playing. If anything, the XFL will become the retirement home league for older NFL players. Give it a few years when Tom Brady comes out of retirement (because you know he will), we'll see the XFL make an announcement like, now starting at QB for the Orlando Guardians, Tom Brady! 

Also, with not seeing how this turns a profit, lighten up and give it a fucking chance. It's the first year back where they will finish a full season. At least when it came back in 2020 they got it right this time. None of those scripted pro wrestling type gimmicks with shithole football like the original league in 2001. 

I know why players want to play in it. I have no idea why people keep starting these leagues. There's nothing to lighten up. The costs are too high to sustain without the big money of the NFL propping the league up as a minor leagues, and the NFL won't do that because teams don't want their prospects under contract getting the wear and tear.

As long as college football exists these football minor leagues have no market. 

Edited by Hermanator
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Longboard Horn

Longboard Horn 40419

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49 minutes ago, Hermanator said:

I know why players want to play in it. I have no idea why people keep starting these leagues. There's nothing to lighten up. The costs are too high to sustain without the big money of the NFL propping the league up as a minor leagues, and the NFL won't do that because teams don't want their prospects under contract getting the wear and tear.

As long as college football exists these football minor leagues have no market. 

Look at how the USFL has been promoted by NFL. With how many players from their were taken by the NFL, it seems like they're going to make the USFL their true minor league. XFL we'll have to see. I for one like the minor leagues. Get to see old players from college that I had forgotten about. Best thing, no Johnny Manziel in any of them. 

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4741

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The issue for a winter league is can they survive March Madness. The spring schedule after the final four is likely better for ratings, small as they may be they will outdraw anything else.

I grew up with the WFL and USFL but those were big money ventures with big stars poached from the NFL. I don’t see these getting the eyeballs they will need but I will watch as I have zero interest in other sports.

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Longboard Horn

Longboard Horn 40419

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1 hour ago, Texzilla58 said:

The issue for a winter league is can they survive March Madness. The spring schedule after the final four is likely better for ratings, small as they may be they will outdraw anything else.

I grew up with the WFL and USFL but those were big money ventures with big stars poached from the NFL. I don’t see these getting the eyeballs they will need but I will watch as I have zero interest in other sports.

Watch the USFL. A good handful of those guys from this past season got poached by NFL teams. Smart thing about the USFL is that they start the weekend after Easter so it doesn't conflict with March Madness. 

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Longboard Horn

Longboard Horn 40419

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13 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

I guess I was trying to say the USFL schedule is better for ratings than the XFL. I believe last time the AAFL ratings tanked during March madness then got hit with Covid.

USFL is smart for starting after Easter and avoiding March Madness. LOL when they start the XFL will have to compete with them for ratings for a few weeks. 

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47098

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Haven't and won't watch a game but I saw videos of the XFL's kickoff. I kind of like it. Football has tried to make the kickoff non-existent as it is pretty dangerous when all players are flying full speed down the field and start hitting and colliding. So they tried to persuade teams to take a knee and bring it out to the 25 instead of the 20. Kickoffs are now from the 35 instead of the 30. XFL's version is pretty much like a play from scrimmage and much safer as they are only 5-10 yards apart and can't move until the receiver catches the ball. Not sure if the NFL will ever think about this method. I'd rather see it than seemingly 90% of the kicks just booted out of the endzone/players taking a knee. I know the MLB experiments in their minor leagues before implementing at the highest level. Kickoffs in the NFL are pointless now. And I totally get and agree with what they did because they are so dangerous. XFL's method would bring some life back to them. And with implementing this, move the kickoff spot back to the 30 and only moving it out the 20 for a touchback.

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Blotto

Blotto 23560

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https://sportsnaut.com/xfl-tv-ratings-2023/

Quote

 

Week 1 XFL TV ratings – 2020

DC Defenders vs Seattle Dragons – 3.3 million avg. viewers – ABC

Houston Renegades vs Los Angeles Wildcats -3.29 million avg. viewers – FOX

New York Guardians vs Tampa Bay Vipers – 3.39 million avg. viewers – FOX

Dallas Renegades vs St. Louis Battle Hawks – 2.495 million avg. viewers – ESPN

Week 1 XFL TV ratings – 2023

Arlington Renegades vs Vegas Vipers – 1.54 million avg. viewers – ABC

Houston Roughnecks vs Orlando Guardians – 1.14 million avg. viewers – ESPN & FX

San Antonio Brahmas vs St. Louis Battlehawks – 1.57 million avg. viewers – ABC

D.C. Defenders vs Seattle Sea Dragons – 918,000 avg. viewers – ESPN

 

Off to a rip-roaring start. Obviously ratings declined rapidly in 2020 after week 1, as people checking it out initially lost interest. This seasons week 1 viewership is about equal to the 2020 seasons week 4. 

TLDR - nobody's gonna watch this crap. 

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Hermanator

Hermanator 7127

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53 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Watching SA game.

This is dogshit football.  However, its more entertaining than what the NBA tries to currently pass off as, “basketball”.

This is true. The NBA is pure garbage now. A shell of the 80s through 2000s

The Orlando QB telling his lineman to shut the fuck up and listen when he's calling the play was funny

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Longboard Horn

Longboard Horn 40419

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15 hours ago, Incredulity said:

Watching SA game.

This is dogshit football.  However, its more entertaining than what the NBA tries to currently pass off as, “basketball”.

True it's dogshit football, but it's somewhat entertaining because of how bad the teams are. Orlando Guardians are the worst. Definitely a skid mark on the underwear of the league. 

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12475

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I think if you just had one minor football league with NFL backing and teams playing in their actual markets, it would work.  Just merge the XFL and USFL and get rid of the USFL's idiotic insistence on not playing home games, and have the best players from both leagues in one place.

That would be watchable.  Keep it on the USFL schedule too.  Start after March Madness.  Let a little football thirst get rolling.

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Longboard Horn

Longboard Horn 40419

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18 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I think if you just had one minor football league with NFL backing and teams playing in their actual markets, it would work.  Just merge the XFL and USFL and get rid of the USFL's idiotic insistence on not playing home games, and have the best players from both leagues in one place.

That would be watchable.  Keep it on the USFL schedule too.  Start after March Madness.  Let a little football thirst get rolling.

I like the way you think Al. That could work. A few examples: Roughnecks would be the feeder for Texans, Renegades for Cowboys, Guardians for either Jaguars or Bucs, Sea Dragons for Seahawks. 

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Incredulity

Incredulity 11681

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It might be antithetical to a NFL feeder league scenario, but I would be way more interested if the league/teams would be out scouring small colleges, junior colleges and even HS coaching for people that are running innovative, exciting offenses.  Like Gus Malzahn versus Chip Kelly circa 2006.    Watching teams flail around running the same old shit gets real boring real fast.

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Hermanator

Hermanator 7127

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The NFL won't ever want their draft picks playing in these leagues. It's too damaging of a sport to expose your pipeline talent like that. 

Even if they did that would mean they'd have to start the league in May after the draft and there's not enough time before training camp. And the NFL already has all their mini camps and OTAs during that time. There's zero incentive to waste money backing these leagues. CFB is the NFL minor leagues and the NFL knows that. That's why they have the 3 year out of HS draft rule. 

If they are going to seriously give this a go they should definitely consolidate leagues and financial responsibility. 1 is very improbable to succeed but 2 is insane. 

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12475

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3 hours ago, Hermanator said:

The NFL won't ever want their draft picks playing in these leagues. It's too damaging of a sport to expose your pipeline talent like that. 

Even if they did that would mean they'd have to start the league in May after the draft and there's not enough time before training camp. And the NFL already has all their mini camps and OTAs during that time. There's zero incentive to waste money backing these leagues. CFB is the NFL minor leagues and the NFL knows that. That's why they have the 3 year out of HS draft rule. 

If they are going to seriously give this a go they should definitely consolidate leagues and financial responsibility. 1 is very improbable to succeed but 2 is insane. 

I think it's an opportunity for the NFL to find guys like Kurt Warner that bloom later in life as opposed to a place to develop draft picks.

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'stache

'stache 21827

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The only way this would work is if backup and 3rd string nfl qbs could use it for playing time and experience, but as mentioned above, it’s not feasible with the size of the contracts and the risk of injury. Insurance could help but not enough. The qb play will continue to be horrible and makes most of the game hard to watch/

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Blotto

Blotto 23560

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2 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I think it's an opportunity for the NFL to find guys like Kurt Warner that bloom later in life as opposed to a place to develop draft picks.

Kurt Warner is a great story, but how many Kurt Warner's are there really....players with "NFL franchise changing" impact that got a brief look after college before having to make their way back through the arena leagues/NFL Europe/USFL/XFL. Now balance that return with the additional expense to the owners of supporting a true minor league and I don't see a compelling ROI.

Colleges are doing a better and better job of preparing players for the NFL, and now that these colleges have duped their fans into picking up additional  hundreds of million in "salary" through NIL, the owners want no part of picking up that tab. CFB is the minor leagues, and it consists of dozens of teams worth far more money than any minor league baseball, basketball, or hockey franchises. 

The NFL is a license to print money, but there's only 32 seats at that table. It seems to me that the actual "need" being addressed in all of these leagues is rich people trying to get richer as franchise owners, not necessarily a large number of people clamoring to see football in the spring.  "There's nothing wrong with more football" is easy to say, but fans actually need to spend their own money and time on these startup leagues. The couple of times I checked in on a game there is little star power, usually not much atmosphere, just a bunch of guys refusing to accept they have to get a regular job, running around the field for about $60K a season. Its not a particularly compelling offering, and I usually last about 15 minutes. Judging by the consistent pattern of dwindling TV ratings by the 3rd or 4th week for every league, I'm not the only one. 

 

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Longboard Horn

Longboard Horn 40419

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On 2/28/2023 at 9:42 AM, 'stache said:

The only way this would work is if backup and 3rd string nfl qbs could use it for playing time and experience

This! So many NFL qbs that were a bust in the past could have definitely benefitted from having a minor league like the XFL or USFL to help develop. Then they wouldn't have been baptized by fire in the big leagues. 

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Deej

Deej 76875

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11 minutes ago, Longboard Horn said:

This! So many NFL qbs that were a bust in the past could have definitely benefitted from having a minor league like the XFL or USFL to help develop. Then they wouldn't have been baptized by fire in the big leagues. 

Nfl Draft Salute GIF by SB Nation

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YoungCounty

YoungCounty 165

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My son, his friend, and I were watching because of the spread. Good on them to put that up where they put the score. 
 

None of us bet the game, but we were following the over/under. Part way through the 3rd, we were discussing how we should have bet the under. Then the rest of the game happened. 
 

I probably will never bet one of these games, but it did give us a “reason” to watch. I like that they put the point spread and over/under up there all game. Without it, I probably would not have watched more than a few plays. 

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TheAuditor

TheAuditor 1038

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Sorry if already discussed,  but a quick scan of the XFL rosters on CBSSports.com reveals a total of.....1 Texas Longhorn - one Ben Davis,  LB.  I don't even remember a Ben Davis LB.  Fascinating that more ex-players aren't involved.  One could say it's the value of a Texas degree that you don't have to go kill yourself in the minors,  but my guess is it's due to our team depth being the Suck for the last 5 years.  (I know it has sucked for longer,  but over 5 years out and don't think you're playing minors)

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Blotto

Blotto 23560

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On 3/6/2023 at 9:05 AM, Helobious said:

50% drop in ratings from week 1 to week 2. More drastic than expected, will surely climb some over the weeks but yeah. League doesn’t look very viable.

I doubt it, but they realize they need to get the games off FX. At least if your game is on ESPN, it will likely be on by default at most bars with TV. 

Quote

ESPN is elevating three upcoming XFL telecasts to more traditional networks as viewership continues to hover in the six figures.

ESPN announced Tuesday that two XFL games originally scheduled for FX have been rescheduled for ESPN or ESPN2, and a third game set for ESPN will move up to ABC. The first of those games is Houston-Seattle a week from Thursday, which moves from 9 PM ET on FX to 10:30 PM on ESPN. Seattle-Orlando on March 25 moves from 1:30 on ESPN to 1:00 on ABC. Finally, Houston-D.C. on March 27 moves from FX to ESPN2, with game time remaining at 7 PM ET. [Related: XFL TV schedule.]

The moves come on the heels of a weekend in which FX carried three of four XFL games. Week 3 of the season averaged 571,000 viewers across FX and ESPN2, down 13% from Week 2 on FX, ESPN and ESPN2 (665K). Sunday’s St. Louis-D.C. game was the most-watched of the week with a 0.36 rating and 665,000 viewers on FX, making it the network’s most-watched game this season.

 

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'stache

'stache 21827

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I have Houston v DC on in the background and a Houston DB just got a personal foul for "squirting a water bottle on the down judge," announced with specificity. The DC crowd started chanting "Houston Sucks! Houston Sucks!" This league might make it after all, lol. That was entertaining (but the football quality still sucks shit).

Edit: And minutes later another personal foul on Houston, lol. Wade Phillips still looks senile as fuck.

Edited by 'stache
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