Behind the scenes look is interesting, but is it sustainable?
XFL 2020 season
Likes: Behind the scenes look into how a game actually runs is fascinating to a football nerd. New rules are exciting and solve some long time NFL issues.
Dislikes: Uneven level of play and perhaps flash in the pan interest from viewers like me.
Bottom Line: For now, I’ll stay tuned. Who’s to say how long that will last?
3 out of 5. ◆◆◆◇◇
By Jacob Schermerhorn
Ah yes, football in springtime, the white whale of broadcast stations everywhere. Unless you like to go on deep dives of the combine and draft talk, spring is a dead zone for football fans with more interesting action going on with March Madness.
“If only we could harness the 16.5 million National Football League viewers who tune in during fall,” television executives say, “Imagine the profits we could rake in year-round with this sport!”
Although many alternatives to the big bad NFL have been floated over the years (Arena Football, the Alliance of American Football, the XFL in 2001) none have lasted long or achieved major success. Factors like botched money management, a lack of endorsement deals, a dearth of talent, or just no viewership have sunk these leagues each time.
With that being said, surprisingly, I want this iteration of the XFL to stay around and I think it has the greatest potential to.
The XFL is the brainchild of WWE head honcho Vince McMahon which originally failed 19 years ago. Similar to that time, its draw is as a counter to the NFL which is portrayed as a stuffy, rules-heavy, “No Fun” League. The XFL, which doesn’t stand for anything as far as I can tell, is very consciously branded as being fan-first, ultra-accessible, and extreme. Slogans like “Less stall, more ball” power the marketing of this upstart football league.
And I was ready to hate it. I really was. Everything from the try-hard and in your face marketing campaign to McMahon’s personality, which I cannot stand, made me think the XFL was something I would deride. I was wrong.
One of the gimmicks of the XFL is the access the broadcast team has to the players and coaches. Cameras follow along on the sidelines for up to the minute interviews, locker room speeches, and (most interesting to me) coaches playcalling. This reality television version of football has a lot of DNA leftover from the WWE which itself achieves an energetic behind the scenes look and feel. While WWE competition is planned out in advance of the event, the XFL is live.
As a football nerd who spent many hours learning the sport from video games, hearing a coach bark out a play like “Z slide, trips right, 21 ace dancer” and then get an explanation from Greg McElroy in real time was a real treat. Seeing the process of a play going from the offensive coordinator down to a quarterback who must communicate to his entire squad put the chaotic energy of a game into perspective. Football is a complicated game and this presentation of it really made me see how easy it is for players and coaches to make mistakes.
While many coaches were not prepared for how much access the broadcast had to their comms, it is an invaluable look into the inner workings of a team for an unabashed football nerd like me. I am interested to see if players and coaches will change their style for the XFL as time progresses.
An additional factor that might cause coaches and players to change their style are the new rule changes. Most of them are interesting wrinkles that, at least to me, have sped the game’s pace. The play clock is shorter, defenders can get away with rougher tactics, kickoffs are mostly returned and the 1, 2, or 3-point options after scoring a touchdown keeps the scoring interesting.
As effusive as this review has turned out to be so far however, I am still cautious about crowning the XFL the new king of football. Much of its draw comes from its novelty which, as with all leagues, will erode eventually. I am reserving judgement until the end of the season and we can fully jump into viewership numbers, but truthfully, I am dubious. I could be wrong though; stranger things have happened in sports and life.
(Hey though, how about the hubris of naming a blog “Movie Thoughts” huh? I kind of knew that someday I’d want to write about something else, there is plenty of television out there that I have thoughts on. Maybe I should have gone with “Entertainment Thoughts” instead. Oh well. If you’re reading this far, then it means you’ve accepted it. So I thank you for your understanding dear reader.)
UPDATE: As of April 13, 2020, the XFL’s parent company filed for Title 11 bankruptcy. With players, coaches, employees and related companies likely to not recieve any payout from this action, it’s a sad story all around. Covid-19 hit at the exact wrong time and shutdown what could have developed into an interesting feature of the football world. My sympathy goes out to the city of St. Louis in particular as they have had multiple franchises pulled from their locale. Maybe next time!
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