ARLINGTON, Texas _ The 2.0 version of the XFL is on, but there will be less emphasis on the "X" and more on the "F" in this next-gen re-boot. The gimmicks have been downplayed. The focus is on the football.
The only question is if people want spring football between teams they don't know.
Historically, spring football has been a loser. The USFL made it three years in the '80s. The World League of American Football/NFL Europe made it 16 years, only because the NFL funded it until it was sick of losing millions. The Alliance of American Football lasted less than one season, in 2019. The XFL's first attempt lasted but one year, in 2001.
The startup league has told everyone that it is fully funded for three seasons. It can lose cash by the Brinks and be OK. The XFL wants to see a return, and positive momentum, by 2022.
No spring league outside of NFL Europe has ever been funded by so much wealth; WWE, which owns and operates the XFL, is currently trading at $45 per share, and founder Vince McMahon is worth more than $2 billion.
McMahon was publicly embarrassed with his first venture into football. When I interviewed McMahon in January of 2015, he mentioned the XFL actually had some success, and sounded like a guy who wanted to give it another go.
Curious fans, and those who are simply addicted to the sport, and gambling, will have their first look at the new XFL when the 10-week season begins in eight cities this weekend. The Dallas Renegades will host the St. Louis BattleHawks at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
"People should expect good football," Renegades coach Bob Stoops said. "There are a lot of good players in this league."
This is what people should expect: A small number of names you may recognize from their college days, and football you know it with a handful of tweaks, all designed for a shorter attention span.
