From the Ashes of the AAF, the XFL Rises

This past weekend, the nation enjoyed the first games of the brand new XFL league. The XFL is proving itself as a strong football league and a very realistic option for a good longterm spring football league.The XFL comes just a year after the utter failure of the Alliance of American Football, otherwise known as the AAF. The AAF went bankrupt just a little over halfway through their regular season slate. The AAF was so bankrupt that they weren’t even able to fly their players back to their homes after they called it quits. Skeptics predict that the XFL will meet a similar demise. However, the XFL will not meet that fate. In fact, it won’t be seeing an end any time soon. The XFL will last longer then the AAF, and here’s why. For starters, the XFL has an impressive networking plan. The AAF had a great opening weekend. Over 20,000 fans attended their games, and they had 3.3 million TV viewers. However, after that first weekend, there was an insane drop off in interest.The AAF never reached half those numbers again in their short tenure. Although we are only a week into the XFL, and we haven’t had the chance to see if their success is consistent, the XFL is simply set up better to succeed. The XFL averaged 4.4 million viewers on opening weekend and capped at 5 million. Those numbers are already better than the AAF’s. The AAF dropped off because their games moved from major markets, CBS, to unknown and obscure networks like Bleacher Report Live and FS1. The XFL premiered on Fox, ABC, and ESPN, the three biggest football television markets, and unlike the AAF, they will stay on these networks. This means that the games are easy to watch. You don’t have to look for them. You can just flip to ABC at 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon and boom, you have quality football to enjoy.

Another reason the XFL will succeed is the fact that the football quality is just better than the AAF. The AAF certainly offered us some great highlights, but overall, the AAF didn’t have the amazing gameplay we, as fans, look for in a football game. On week one of the AAFs existence, three out of the eight teams failed to score over ten points, and four other teams couldn’t cap twenty points. The AAF football games were simply not exciting and interesting. In fact, the Memphis Express didn’t even score a point until well into the second game of the season. The XFL didn’t have that problem. In the first game the season, the Seattle Dragons and DC Defenders combined scored six touchdowns including the Defenders scoring the first defensive touchdown of the XFL. The Houston Roughnecks put on a passing clinic with 272 passing yards and four touchdowns. For defense lovers, the defensive line for the New York Guardians lived in the Viper backfield logging five sacks.

On top of better gameplay, the XFL features better officiating than most fans believe the NFL offers. The National Football League received a lot of scrutiny about its officials and their in-game decisions. The NFL put a new review system in place to appease angry fans after a botched pass interference no-call in the 2018 NFC Championship game. Despite the review system, the officials rarely changed their position – even on blatantly incorrect calls - causing fans to distrust the referees even more. Many fans even chalk the outcome of the 2020 Super Bowl to poor officiating. The XFL made a great effort to fix that problem by offering multiple solutions. One of those solutions is the addition of the sky judge on top of the replay official. The XFL has one referee who sits in the box, away from the pressures and influences of the game, that watches the same replays the fans do and is in communication with the referees to give an unbiased secondary opinion. On top of the sky judge, the XFL mic’ed up the refs. The fans can hear the conversation the officials are having and can see how they reach the eventual ruling. Being able to hear the officials discuss what they saw doesn’t only clear up controversy; it adds an entertainment factor for fans. Whereas the NFL shows commercials during breaks and commentator discussions, the XFL is opposed to commercials and puts a greater focus on commentator rulings.

As previously mentioned, the XFL made serious strides in making the television experience fun to watch. They added things like player interviews during the game. We get to hear from the players right after they score a touchdown, miss a field goal, or commit a drive ending penalty. We get to feel the emotions of the players. We get to see them at their best and worst. This not only adds to the entertainment factor, but it also helps fans get to know the players in a league where the players are mostly unknown. It adds player reputation. It connects the players with the fans, and reminds those fans that the players are people too, not just outputs of entertainment.

On top of getting to hear from the players, we are constantly hearing from the coaches. The coaches’ calls and discussions with their players are played while a team is on offense. You can hear the coaches making adjustments, motivating players, and even chewing the players out. We also get to hear from the coaches during halftime. We go inside the locker room and hear what changes the teams are going to make. Overall, it’s just more entertaining for the fans. You get an in-depth experience like none before. You feel like you are on the team.

The XFL may be a spring football league, but it is not just another spring football league. This league has so much potential, and it has the funding. There is no doubt that any league will ever be able to credibly challenge the NFL for many many years, but if any league has ever had a chance it would be this one. The NFL would be smart to try and work with the XFL more, rather than treat them as another failed league that won’t see the light of day. This league is here for the long-run, and, if the NFL is not careful, they could be seeing competition one day. Every football fan in America should be excited and back this new league. It has so much to offer. So get together with your friends and family and enjoy 12 more weeks of hard hitting, in-depth, fast-paced, enjoyable football because this league is here to stay.