XFL 2020 Season

[DCarp1231]

4 hours ago, GDAWG said:

17,640 for the Guardians game, which isn't good due to the size of Met Life.

For reference, the Defenders game brought in 17,163 to a 20,000 capacity Audi Field. Downsizing to smaller MLS specific venues, would be ideal for the league moving forward.

[4_tattoos]

It's been my understanding that the ownership of Red Bull Arena (which I'm going to assume without Googling is the Red Bull company) simply does not want American football to be played in their stadium. Like somebody else pointed out RBA has hosted rugby events. In addition to that, the Premier Lacrosse League held 2 events at RBA last year (5 total LAX games). So there is willingness to allow some other sports to "ruin the pitch", just not American football. Go fig *shrug*

[kmccarthy27]

https://twitter.com/espnpr/status/1226659765914304514?s=21

[GDAWG]

I would assume that Globe Life Park was the only option for the Renegades to play in.  That's just a guess though.  I don't think Toyota Stadium, SMU, TCU or North Texas were in play.  

[infrared41]

3 hours ago, DDR said:

From what I saw of the BattleHawks game, the quality of the football was hit or miss. But the presentation of the game was a lot of fun and there are at least a few things I wouldn't mind if the NFL stole.

 

I watched at least some of every game this weekend. I'd say that the quality of play was similar to watching 2nd and 3rd stringers in an NFL preseason game. It wasn't awful, but it's pretty clear why these players are in the XFL. That being said, it was mostly entertaining. The coach being allowed to talk so much during plays got old quick. I have to think that would get annoying if you were on the field. And probably more than a little confusing. For the first week, I think the XFL did OK. It should get better as we go. 

[DDR]

2 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

I watched at least some of every game this weekend. I'd say that the quality of play was similar to watching 2nd and 3rd stringers in an NFL preseason game. It wasn't awful, but it's pretty clear why these players are in the XFL.  

 

I don't disagree. We definitely saw some guys who will be in NFL camps this summer, but by and large the talent level if noticeably lower. It also felt more like college speed than NFL speed. That said, like you said, we should see improvement.

 

 

 

[Chawls]

14 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

I watched at least some of every game this weekend. I'd say that the quality of play was similar to watching 2nd and 3rd stringers in an NFL preseason game. It wasn't awful, but it's pretty clear why these players are in the XFL. That being said, it was mostly entertaining. The coach being allowed to talk so much during plays got old quick. I have to think that would get annoying if you were on the field. And probably more than a little confusing. For the first week, I think the XFL did OK. It should get better as we go. 

 
In terms of college football, what would you compare the level of competitive play to? Maybe a good MAC game?

[Chawls]

Yulman Stadium holds 30,000. It’d be perfect for an XFL squad, especially since New Orleans is a football first market. We supported the VooDoo twice. I hope to see New Orleans, San Diego, and San Antonio get teams in the near future. 

[GDAWG]

23 minutes ago, Chawls said:

 
In terms of college football, what would you compare the level of competitive play to? Maybe a good MAC game?

 

MAC or Sun Belt

[DG_ThenNowForever]

You know how people say a great NCAA team could beat a bad NFL team? Those people are wrong.

 

However, I might take my chances with LSU against the best XFL team this week. Certainly against the Tampa Vipers.

[GDAWG]

 

[GDAWG]

 

[IceCap]

15 hours ago, Olmec said:

For those of you who listen to local sports talk radio, how's the opinion been? I got a little annoyed today when Tampa's afternoon show had a Viper's player on and one of the hosts sarcastically asked "So has your check cleared?" Then they proceeded to do a (unfunny) skit about Vince firing Trestman. 

Seems like good-natured ribbing considering the nature of the XFL, its history, and the general shakiness of spring football finances, historically speaking.

Don't see what there is to get "annoyed" about.

 

12 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

It's been my understanding that the ownership of Red Bull Arena (which I'm going to assume without Googling is the Red Bull company)

Hudson County owns Red Bull Arena.

 

Additionally do we know they're even adverse to hosting the XFL? Did the XFL even enquire? I have to guess Hudson County would be open to it, with the right offer, considering they're ok with rugby and lacrosse. Lacrosse, rugby, and football are all wear and tear on the field. What's the difference at the end of the day if they're paid to fill dates?

17,000+ isn't bad for minor league spring football, but it looks awful in MetLife Stadium. Downsizing to Red Bull Arena could be huge for the Guardians, given the fun atmosphere we saw in Washington for the Defenders game. 

 

10 hours ago, infrared41 said:

 

I watched at least some of every game this weekend. I'd say that the quality of play was similar to watching 2nd and 3rd stringers in an NFL preseason game. It wasn't awful, but it's pretty clear why these players are in the XFL. That being said, it was mostly entertaining. The coach being allowed to talk so much during plays got old quick. I have to think that would get annoying if you were on the field. And probably more than a little confusing. For the first week, I think the XFL did OK. It should get better as we go. 

Honestly? The football quality was about on par with the AAF last year. Which is just a bit below the CFL.

I'll repeat what I said last year, because it still holds true. I expect the play to tighten up if the league survives. It's only going to get better as the teams gel. It's not NFL-quality football, but it could find a stable niche as a minor league if the finances hold out long enough to make it.

[kmccarthy27]

With them pulling a 3.3M on ABC for the DC game, I had a question, does that account for all the bars and restaurants that have the TV's on ABC at the time. I was thinking what bars and restaurants that have TV dont have ESPN  on one of them all the time, that the TV  rating is just a fraction of the eyes actually watching it. 

[Red Comet]

12 minutes ago, kmccarthy27 said:

With them pulling a 3.3M on ABC for the DC game, I had a question, does that account for all the bars and restaurants that have the TV's on ABC at the time. I was thinking what bars and restaurants that have TV dont have ESPN  on one of them all the time, that the TV  rating is just a fraction of the eyes actually watching it. 

 

You could easily say the same about anything on TV that gets Neilsen Ratings. What the XFL pulled isn't too bad all things considered and after a relatively good reception and reliable TV broadcasts, that number shouldn't drop by much. 

 

Of course, like with the AAF, I'll be keeping track of TV ratings for all XFL broadcasts. 

[leopard88]

7 minutes ago, kmccarthy27 said:

With them pulling a 3.3M on ABC for the DC game, I had a question, does that account for all the bars and restaurants that have the TV's on ABC at the time. I was thinking what bars and restaurants that have TV dont have ESPN  on one of them all the time, that the TV  rating is just a fraction of the eyes actually watching it. 

 

I watched the first quarter or so in a barber shop.  Let's count that too.

 

Obviously, curiosity is always a factor in Week One of these leagues.  What is impressive to me is that they pulled a 3.3 in the middle of a Saturday afternoon.  XFL 1.0 and the AAF both premiered on Saturday night.

 

WIth regard to the overall experience, one of my coworkers was at the Defenders game.*  He said it was fun and that there were a lot of drunken 20-30 somethings in the crowd . . . which is how it appeared from the TV crowd shots.

 

* -- He is the uncle of this viral Barstool sensation.

 

[infrared41]

10 hours ago, Chawls said:

 
In terms of college football, what would you compare the level of competitive play to? Maybe a good MAC game?

 

That's a great comparison. 

[Sport]

21 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

That's a great comparison. 

 

As someone who watches a lot of MAC football, this was slightly better. I watched both the DC-Seattle game and the Houston-LA game and I felt more like I was watching a Purdue-Illinois or Oregon State-Colorado. It wasn't bad, but it's clear why these guys aren't in the NFL. Especially noticeable in QB play, but you have to suspect they'll get their timing with receivers better as the season goes on. Funny to see some names pop out that you recognize. Like Kermit Whitfield was always the next breakout star return guy for the Bengals in Bengals Online fan circles. Never put it together. Now he's an LA Wildcat. 

 

I was laying tile in my bathroom all weekend and it was a nice thing to have on in the background. The extra access stuff was cool. The transparency of the officials, especially the replay official is something the NFL should 100% steal. 

 

I'll definitely tune in for more. 

 

 

 

[Jer15]

32 minutes ago, Sport said:

I was laying tile in my bathroom all weekend 

I read that as "I was laying on the tile in my bathroom all weekend". I was going to say "rough Friday night?". 

I watched parts of all games. This really felt a lot less gimmicky than XFL 1.0 (and I say that as a positive). The level of competition was what I expect. I enjoyed hearing the video review calls. I enjoyed hearing some of the play calling (I think they could tone this down a little but it is something cool). 

 

All in all, I'll be coming back for more. 

[Sport]

2 minutes ago, Jer15 said:

I read that as "I was laying on the tile in my bathroom all weekend". I was going to say "rough Friday night?". 

I watched parts of all games. This really felt a lot less gimmicky than XFL 1.0 (and I say that as a positive). The level of competition was what I expect. I enjoyed hearing the video review calls. I enjoyed hearing some of the play calling (I think they could tone this down a little but it is something cool). 

 

All in all, I'll be coming back for more. 

 

Definitely. Among the many ways XFL 1 missed the mark was they tried to WWF Football with explosions and "GUYS LIKE CHEERLEADERS" and dumb rules and silly names and nicknames on the jerseys. People tuned in to check it out, saw that it was stupid and never came back. I was in sixth grade at the time so I should've been all in on the XFL and even I was like, "this is dumb".