XFL 2020 Season

[ozzyman314]

That's probably because back then it was just seen as "Attitude Era" Football. 

 

Vince seems to be taking it more seriously this time(rather than his "guns blazing", "whatever sticks" that he did previously). Plus, The XFL has had time to become a cult classic, which always helps.  

[dfwabel]

27 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

When the original XFL came out, it was almost universally reviled by anyone not a WWE fan. It kind of feels like a different sentiment this time around; a lot of people are laughing it off, but there also seems to be a more legitimate curiosity on how it will actually go.

 

Maybe it's because everyone needs Content now, but I'm surprised the reaction hasn't been more negative.

Well, there's much more websites/blogs out in 2018, but also the number of those who actually care is down. The baby boomers in 2001 are dead or won't pay/care for new football when NFL is on their TV set before "60 Minutes" and they can watch better players on their NCAA team.

 

They're like the underrated, but on real life death row, Cool C...they gotta habit.

 

$hitty football isn't part of the habit. FXFL is the last real proof.

 

[JayMac]

11 hours ago, Kaz said:

Maybe more like RC Cola 

 

12 hours ago, GFB said:

 

Oh, of course not. Vince McMahon’s ambition is to make this NFL-Lite. The Pepsi to the NFL’s Coke.

RC Cola is much more like it. Many people prefer Pepsi to Coke but the analogy still works. 

[BBTV]

11 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

Time to get a little morbid...

 

If Vince dies between now and January of 2020, do you think the rest of the McMahon family would care enough about XFL 2.0 to proceed debuting the league without him?

 

There seem to be much easier ways to make money with a $100M investment than starting a football league.  He had to show that it can make money in order to get investors (or is this 100% self funded?) but this seems to be more of a personal project than a money-making venture.  If / when he leaves us to go party with Randy Savage, Bobby Heenan, and Gorilla Monsoon, I can't imagine anyone else wanting to pursue this.  

 

Say this about VKM - he's as determined as anyone in the business world, and will do anything it takes to fight through obstacles and make something out of nothing.  It will be hard for even him to pull this off - I can't imagine anyone else being able to.

[Mac the Knife]

I agree in that it's a personal quest for him.  As I think I mentioned earlier - he's trying to build his legacy; WWF/WWE, for as big as he made it, for as much as it'll be mentioned in the first line of his obituary, wasn't something he built.  His father (or grandfather, I'm not sure which) did.  He wants something that he envisioned to survive him.  Making money is important down the road to be sure, but this is about pursuing a dream for him first and foremost.

 

But I disagree in that if he dies there'd be no one else to take the reins, at least once it gets past a certain point.  There are literally tens of thousands of wanna-be sports team owners out there, some of whom actually have the financial resources capable of operating at Vince's level on their own, if not with a few partners.  David Dixon launched the USFL with a combination of billionaires and (comparative) paupers in his stable back in the early 80's.  If McMahon were to get XFL anywhere near close to break-even?  Selling out, either single entity or via franchising, would be remarkably easy.

[IceCap]

13 minutes ago, Mac the Knife said:

I agree in that it's a personal quest for him.  As I think I mentioned earlier - he's trying to build his legacy; WWF/WWE, for as big as he made it, for as much as it'll be mentioned in the first line of his obituary, wasn't something he built.  His father (or grandfather, I'm not sure which) did.

The fact that you don’t know for sure is more than enough proof that Vince’s legacy will always be tied to the WWF/E. That he essentially made the company what it is today and will be for the foreseeable future. And that he will (rightfully) be remembered as the man who made wrestling “mainstream.”

 

Jess McMahon and Vince Sr. are important from a wrestling history perspective, but they’re not even in Vince Jr.’s league when it comes to an impact on worldwide pop culture. 

[Mac the Knife]

No, there's no doubt even to Vince what he'll ultimately be remembered for.  But it's not 'his' creation.  That's the distinction.  It's like the kid who grows up in his father's garment business; he's literally bred to take it over when his father dies.  The son takes the reins, the father steps aside, and even though the son builds it far beyond what the father ever envisioned?  The son will never consider it his, because he didn't build the foundation.

[BBTV]

There's not a reasonable human alive that considers WWE to be Vince Sr.'s.  WWWF?  OK, but WWF/WWE are for all intents and purposes VKM's.  I cannot imagine that he has any feelings otherwise, and I doubt this is his attempt to prove he can build something from scratch to step out of Sr's shadow.

[Kevin W.]

The WWE won't be Vince's legacy alone? That's insane. He took it from humble beginnings and made it into a multimedia empire. Just because he didn't start it doesn't mean that he didn't make it into what it is today. That is solidly his, just like (please for the love of God don't take this as any kind of political argument) how President Trump's businesses will forever be associated with him despite the fact that he got his start thanks to money from his father. McMahon and Trump both took something that someone else provided the foundation for and made them bigger.

[C-Squared]

I haven't read this thread, so I'm not sure if this was discussed already, but ESPN tried and failed to highlight a few scenarios where the XFL could actually compete with the NFL.

 

One ESPN mannequin clumsily compared the XFL to the USFL. Due to the corporate structure of the company, the league will not throw money around like the USFL to sign marquee players. The USFL had the benefit of multiple billionaires issuing annuities left and right. The XFL is owned by one centralized entity that does not have the money to compete with NFL contracts.

 

Here is how the XFL changes the sports world and succeeds: waiving the NFL's three-years-out-of-high-school rule. LaVarr Ball of all people is testing these waters right now... I'm surprised a private company hasn't tried to poach NCAA football players sooner.

[dfwabel]

I'm with Mac on this.

 

Shane left in part because he desired to start something on his own.

 

That's why second (or third) generation wealth tries to get into sports teams at expansion. To call it their own.

[dfwabel]

20 minutes ago, C-Squared said:

The one angle I haven't seen anyone touch on yet is the idea that the XFL could reduce (or remove altogether) collegiate requirements prior to joining the league. Shifting competition away from the NFL and towards the black-eyed NCAA could be a goldmine and make a small XFL contract seem huge.

If you've dreamed of playing for "School X" since you were six with the possibility to play in the NFL, you're not going to change that dream for $50-65K and now having your own expenses, especially with full cost of attendance now in play.

 

*Nice to see you exited your comment.

[dfwabel]

27 minutes ago, C-Squared said:

I haven't read this thread, so I'm not sure if this was discussed already, but ESPN tried and failed to highlight a few scenarios where the XFL could actually compete with the NFL.

 

One ESPN mannequin clumsily compared the XFL to the USFL. Due to the corporate structure of the company, the league will not throw money around like the USFL to sign marquee players. The USFL had the benefit of multiple billionaires issuing annuities left and right. The XFL is owned by one centralized entity that does not have the money to compete with NFL contracts.

 

Here is how the XFL changes the sports world and succeeds: waiving the NFL's three-years-out-of-high-school rule. LaVarr Ball of all people is testing these waters right now... I'm surprised a private company hasn't tried to poach NCAA football players sooner.

This is what I wrote on Thursday.

 

[BBTV]

MOD EDIT

 

As for the expenses thing, the league could arrange to provide shared housing for players (if they want it) and maybe a low per deim roughly equal to a meal plan. 

 

I hate that college players cant make any money and remain eligible, so I’d encourage every legit NFL prospect to go to the XFL (lesser quality players should at least try to get a degree). 

 

If ever there was a time to challenge the NCAA, it’s now. Note - they still WON’T BE COMPETING with the nfl or ncaa for viewers (we don’t even know if they plan to play in fall) but they could at least try to compete with NCAA for talent. 

[BBTV]

I get that using the p word maybe wasn’t cool

 

 

[The_Admiral]

I hope we don't have to start linking to EatDatMODEDIT videos.

[GDAWG]

Heard "The Smarks" podcast talk about this.  Their picks of cities for the XFL though is stupid and includes places like Denver, Las Vegas, Seattle, New Orleans and Nashville, all cities with NFL teams.

[C-Squared]

4 hours ago, dfwabel said:

If you've dreamed of playing for "School X" since you were six with the possibility to play in the NFL, you're not going to change that dream for $50-65K and now having your own expenses, especially with full cost of attendance now in play.

 

*Nice to see you exited your comment.

 

In its only year of existence (while perceived as a sideshow), the XFL proved to be a viable developmental platform for future NFL/CFL/AFL players. There are tens of thousands of non-scholarship NCAA players - including some D1, many D2, and all D3 players - who will walk out of college with $30-70K of student loan debt... or they could play in the XFL for one season and earn $30-ish-K, with the potential for ever more.

 

Nobody is claiming the XFL will take down the NCAA, but opening the option would definitely flesh out rosters and give the XFL some much-needed positive publicity.

[sc49erfan15]

9 minutes ago, C-Squared said:

 

There are tens of thousands of non-scholarship NCAA players. I could realistically see D2/D3 players making XFL camps. A decent shot at $250K over four years vs $60K in student loan debt and a one-in-a-million shot at a 3-year NFL career at the rookie minimum... an easy choice.

 

...but who is going to pay to watch a bunch of D2/D3 players? Where is the demand for this? I don't see it.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with D2/D3/NAIA/JuCo football. The players are obviously talented, and a handful make it onto NFL rosters and some to NFL stardom. If your argument is that a league built on D2/D3 talent is going to become nationally successful, I think that argument is DOA. The talent gap between the NFL and XFL would be a mile wide.

[C-Squared]

21 minutes ago, sc49erfan15 said:

 

...but who is going to pay to watch a bunch of D2/D3 players? Where is the demand for this? I don't see it.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with D2/D3/NAIA/JuCo football. The players are obviously talented, and a handful make it onto NFL rosters and some to NFL stardom. If your argument is that a league built on D2/D3 talent is going to become nationally successful, I think that argument is DOA. The talent gap between the NFL and XFL would be a mile wide.

 

Supplemented by, not built on... and the press would be glowing. Besides, Maurice Clarett was a blue-chipper and jumped ship with no alternative... the XFL could be that alternative.

 

I guess this is a better way to phrase it: what would the XFL gain by NOT expanding their talent pool, whether kids make the rosters or not?