XFL Football Boom or Bust?

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A failed league makes its nationwide return, The XFL season is now two weeks in and the league seems to have hit the ground running, viewership is at an all time high and the level of talent is better than many expected. The league has brought in many smart businessmen including Oliver Luck to run the day to day operations for the league. The XFL had a brief stint in 2001, WWE CEO Vince McMahon and other investors invested nearly $35 million into the league. The league only lasted one season and was later labeled a "colossal failure" by McMahon himself. The league was criticized by many for being more about "sports entertainment" than actual football, there was also a very low level of talent in the league. The first few games of the 2001 XFL season had a very high number in views however, things eventually took a turn for the worse and viewership nosedived. So the question now is, will the XFL be a successful alternative to players who are trying to make it to the NFL? Or, will the league be the one year bust it was before?

According to ESPN the XFL brought in a total of 12 million viewers through its four games.  Following the first week of the XFL season Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd was very impressed with the level of play in the XFL. He stated that the XFL "Hit it out of the park" in the first week of the season. Viewership is not the only thing working for the XFL, the league has also done a good job selling tickets. Per TickPick ticket sales, ticket purchase orders for Weeks 1 and 2 of the XFL are a massive 1,427% higher than the first two weeks of last year’s AAF. Per NBC sports a total of 76,285 fans attended the four games league wide during week 2, with the Seattle Dragons leading the way with 29,172 fans attending their game. With all of the excitement buzzing around the league it seems that ticket sales are only going up. 

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Former NFL players have been the biggest stars in the XFL so far, one of the biggest is former Carolina Panthers running back Cameron Artis-Payne. Artis-Payne was on the Panthers' 2016 roster that made it to the Super Bowl. He was drafted by the Dallas Renegades with the 20th pick overall in the XFL Draft. In week 2 Artis-Payne ran for 99 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries, he also caught 5 passes for 32 yards. He is currently the single game leader in rushing yards. There are also many other former NFL players who are starting on XFL teams such as quarterback Cardale Jones, quarterback Landry Jones, running back Elijah Hood, and most notably former Pro Bowl punter Marquette King. These players were all very capable and accomplished college football players however, they just weren't able to cut it as a first stringer in the NFL. The quality of football has proven to be better than college, however it is nowhere close to the quality of the NFL.

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The biggest change Vince McMahon made when recreating the XFL is taking a more laid back approach and bringing in Oliver Luck to run the daily operations. Oliver Luck has implemented many changes that are not considered to be apart of traditional football. For example, teams don't kick an extra point after scoring a touchdown. When going for a point after attempt or PAT teams can decided to go for either one point from the two yard line, two points from the five yard line, or three points from the 10 yard line. Sunday the first successful three point attempt was converted when Josh Johnson connected with Adonis Jennings in the end zone. When asked about the changes Oliver Luck said "What we did is listen to fans, and what they told us is that they love this game, but they would like it at a little more of a faster pace and with a little more excitement. They thought there is too much idle time. We tried to listen to what they didn't want, also. They didn't want gimmicks or things that were inauthentic. They also didn't want to be complicit when it comes to player safety. So what we wanted to do is take a great game and make it a little better." The new PAT rules have added a new level of difficulty and excitement to the game.

The league that once failed to last longer than a season is back and seems to be getting the attention of football fans. The quality of football and the names that have been brought into the league have been nothing shy of good and competitive. With players such as Cameron Artis-Payne and Cardale Jones leading the way, it is certain that the high level of football isn't going anywhere. Smart businessmen such as Oliver Luck have listened to the fans and have brought some new excitement to the game of football. The league seems to have a solid foundation and has seem to have found the resources to do well. The question still remains, Will the XFL be able to flourish as a league? Or, will history repeat itself and be a "colossal failure"?