I'll argue that the XFL was a good idea.
You know, I live half way around the world from most of the people on this forum. This can make it really tough to not only co-ordinate time zones but also opinions. I mean, no one over here plays American Football/Gridiron. It just not that common. It's a confusing game to me, I mean, you have an offensive and a defensive side? With over 50 players on each team? You can pass it forward? All very confusing. Luckily enough, I'm a wrestling fan, and I had a inkling of what the XFL was, so I decided for this debate I would research the Vince McMahon brainchild a bit further and say, it was indeed a good idea. Good luck to Ricky.
First of all, it is pretty clear that the XFL itself failed. Any sports league that folds after its first season cannot be called a success. The fact that it only had 8 teams in the league, the stigma it recieved from being created by a "rasslin guy", and hence the reason why good NFL players didn't sign up for the XFL. All these factors led to the demise of the XFL one year after its debut. Oh and Mike Adamle commentary. That must have been bad.
But we're not talking about the end product. If we were discussing the end product, I think there would be little debate of the verdict, it didn't work. However what about the idea behind the XFL? This in itself was a good concept. A complement to the regular NFL, during the off-season to let players gain more exposure and money, while playing a slightly intensified version of the game. The idea was basically a mix of pro-wresting and football. Rougher games with less penalties, with more drama, attributed to trash talking by teams and cameras in the locker rooms for fans to see the half time discussion. Now I'm not sure about your idea of entertainment, but that sounds pretty good to me. It would backlash against the league however, with pundits saying everything was too familiar to pro-wrestling and that everygame was rigged, which tarnished the XFL.
to put the concept in your head, can you just imagine Superbowl XLII. This was actually a pretty big deal, seeing as we heard about it in Australia. The Patriots were going undefeated into the game against the serious underdogs of the Giants. How much more build can you get, and with the Rey Mysterio-Big Show upset, it was just as good as any finish at Wrestlemania. Now can you imagine how big that was, with all the build, but with all the features of the XFL? To build a massive feud between the teams and have a roughhouse game? Now can you imagine if every big game was like that? With the sort of build you only have in cases of Austin/Rock? With two teams going at it the whole season and finally clashing in a huge match at the end of the season, replete with coach promos and all? Sounds like a good idea to me.
But this stigma was too much to overcome. Sports Broadcasters just could not be convinced that games were not rigged. It was a recognizable game of football, yet Vince McMahons name brought down. Shame too, because booking Patriots/Giants II in a HIAC would have been great.
