Grish Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Just wondering why people feel these leagues failed?Quality of play?Time of year?or ________ ?I have read many takes on why these leagues failed, but what is the real reason. Even the NFL has failed in their attempts to bring about a "spring" league.. "Try not to have a good time ... This is supposed to be educational."- Charles Schulz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG_ThenNowForever Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I don't know about USFL -- I'm assuming it's because it ran out of money.I think the XFL failed for a couple of reasons. The first is that Vince McMahon -- for the first couple of weeks -- gave into his worst excesses. The cheerleader thing, he and the Rock screaming in the middle of Las Vegas for the inaugural game, and other over-the-topness made it easy to question the integrity of the league. However, what killed it, was the perpetual lack of respect it got in mainstream media and ESPN. I'm fairly certain that if XFL had debuted on ESPN or ABC, it would have been treated far better on SportsCenter. However, given that it wasn't a Disney product, it was laughed off the air -- completely unfairly in my opinion. ESPN is the bully pulpit for sports; had they wanted the XFL to have a fighting chance, they might have legitimized it a bit more. As it was (and who's the say the NFL wasn't involved?), without ESPN's blessing, it never had a chance.I always hated that the XFL failed. Sure, it was lower quality than the NFL, but that was the expectation all along. It gave rise to the NFL careers of Rod Smart and Tommy Maddox, and introduced the camera on a cable that we see in modern NFL coverage. The XFL had a lot going for it, but a combination of low ratings exacerbated by terrible press and Vince McMahon hubris sealed its fate. 1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said: and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAD! Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 It gave rise to the NFL careers of Rod Smart HE HATE ME and Tommy Maddox,Fixed and introduced the camera on a cable that we see in modern NFL coverage.It was a great addition to the overall football viewing experience and we should be grateful for that. I saw, I came, I left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDuffy26 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 The USFL failed because it tried to directly compete with the NFL by moving to a fall schedule. The reason that it worked for 3 years is because it was football when there was no football. I'm not even going to touch the XFL topic, as there was a crap load of things wrong with that league.The WLAF was nothing more than a minor league of the NFL that went away for 2 years because the NFL owners didn't want their backups injured during the season. The league was basically run by the NFl, and it turned into a full fledged minor league when it became NFL Europe (or europa). Interesting Baseball fact: In 1960: Baltimore, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh had 2 AAA affiliates, while Los Angeles had 3 teams...and the New York Yankees had the Kansas City Athletics.Interesting Hockey fact: In 1974, the Buffalo Sabres draft Taro Tsujimoto of the Toyko Katanas with th 183 pick in the draft. It was later revealed that Taro didn't exist, but Taro is still listed as an offical draftee of the Buffalo Sabres in their Media Guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quantum Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 The USFL was a failure because they strayed away from their business plan. They started overspending trying to lure NFL talent to their rosters. A few stars here and there would have been OK, but they didn't have the finances to compete on the scale they did with the NFL.The WLAF failed because it was marketed as a minor league from the start. Outdoor football in spring is a tough sell. There are better things to do than watch a second-rate product.The XFL had to compete against indoor football and NFL Europe for talent, but the worst thing about it was Vince McMahon. McMahon's association with pro wrestling diminishes his credibility. To bring the circus-like antics similar to wrestling to a legitimate sport instantly turns people off. He would have been better off investing in the league, but have football people run the show. They needed to act like a pro league to earn respect, and it just wasn't in the cards. "One of my concerns is shysters show up and take advantage of people's good will and generosity". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infrared41 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I always hated that the XFL failed. Sure, it was lower quality than the NFL, but that was the expectation all along. It gave rise to the NFL careers of Rod Smart and Tommy Maddox, and introduced the camera on a cable that we see in modern NFL coverage. The XFL had a lot going for it, but a combination of low ratings exacerbated by terrible press and Vince McMahon hubris sealed its fate.The "skycam" was around before that but I don't recall if it was in use in any major sports. The XFL may have been the first to use it extensively but they didn't invent the idea or anything. As a league the XFL suffered from being "half-pregnant." I think WWF fans expected it to be more like wrestling and football fans figured it was going to be too much like wrestling. The XFL was doomed from the start because no one was going to take seriously a league run by Vince McMahon. The USFL had the TV deals it needed to survive. What it didn't have was the money. Then they committed suicide by moving to the fall. The WLAF in it's many incarnations didn't work because it was based in Europe which was the equivalent of MLS over here; a sport no one cares about competing with sports people are interested in. Â Â Â Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapshot Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 The XFl overestimated its fan interest. It wasn't strictly a spring football league. It was a late winter league. It started in February.Do fans really want to venture out in the dead of winter in the harshest of conditions to see outdoor football? In cities like New York and Chicago, it was too much to expect a big crowd that time of year to watch glorified minor-league football.Rules were changed mid-season. Bump-and-run coverage was added and two and three-point conversions were allowed. There might have been more rule changes as well. It's tough to keep credibility if rules are changed on-the-fly like that.But there was too much emphasis on the WWE ownership in the league. WWE announcers were used for play-by-play. I remember one game where the announcer (might have been Dick Butkus) actually went over the PA system berating the visiting coach for making a bonehead move. Very hard to take a league seriously that allows biased criticism from the commentators to the game personnel while the game is going on.Could the concept have worked? Sure. If it accepted itself as a minor league, or even a feeder league to the NFL, and moved down the calendar to warmer months, I think there definitely could have been a place for it. Back-to-Back Fatal Forty Champion 2015 & 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPF Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Which one had helmet-cam? Europe or XFL? http://i.imgur.com/4ahMZxD.png koizim said: And...and ya know what we gotta do? We gotta go kick him in da penis. He'll be injured. Injured bad. COYS and Go Sox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaltimoreFan Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I think part of the problem with the XFL, was that people were expecting The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin (and other pro wrestlers) to suit up and play. When they saw it was a bunch of scrubs instead, people stopped watching.For the USFL, they screwed up when they wanted to go directly against the NFL. They wanted to switch from spring to fall, then sue the NFL. They won their case against the NFL, but didn't recieve the money they wanted/needed. They became bankrupt and ceased operations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HedleyLamarr Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 When your "coinflip" is a one-on-one sprint to the 50 to get the ball, do you honestly think they would play more than one season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshawaggie Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 So now that NFLE is gone, is the NFL gonna do something again here in the states? @josh_j12 CFA- Fargo Bobcats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz615 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I remember one game where the announcer (might have been Dick Butkus) actually went over the PA system berating the visiting coach for making a bonehead move.It was Jesse "The Body" Ventura that did that.Which one had helmet-cam? Europe or XFL?World League of American Football did that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDuffy26 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 So now that NFLE is gone, is the NFL gonna do something again here in the states?Sort of. There's a new football league starting up called the All-American Football League during the spring. Currently, the only work they're doing with the NFL is with the referee's, but they are suspecting it becomes another NFL Europe type thing. Interesting Baseball fact: In 1960: Baltimore, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh had 2 AAA affiliates, while Los Angeles had 3 teams...and the New York Yankees had the Kansas City Athletics.Interesting Hockey fact: In 1974, the Buffalo Sabres draft Taro Tsujimoto of the Toyko Katanas with th 183 pick in the draft. It was later revealed that Taro didn't exist, but Taro is still listed as an offical draftee of the Buffalo Sabres in their Media Guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH42XCC Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 USFL failed because they attempted to play the league in the fall.I'm not sure why the WLAF flopped in the U.S. (yet became a succes in Europe, where it became NFL Europe, and later NFL Europa, until it folded earlier this year) but I know one thing about why the XFL kicked the bucket... NO ONE WAS WATCHING THE XFL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island_Style Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I'll tell you why the XFL failed. You ever seen the movie Idiocracy? That league was made for those people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac the Knife Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 USFL.INFO. You can thank me later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred T. Jane Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 USFL.INFO. You can thank me later.I was waiting for that plug. [Croatia National Team Manager Slavan] Bilic then went on to explain how Croatia's success can partially be put down to his progressive man-management techniques. "Sometimes I lie in the bed with my players. I go to the room of Vedran Corluka and Luka Modric when I see they have a problem and I lie in bed with them and we talk for 10 minutes." Maybe Capello could try getting through to his players this way too? Although how far he'd get with Joe Cole jumping up and down on the mattress and Rooney demanding to be read his favourite page from The Very Hungry Caterpillar is open to question. --The Guardian's Fiver, 08 September 2008 Attention: In order to obtain maximum enjoyment from your stay at the CCSLC, the reader is advised that the above post may contain large amounts of sarcasm, dry humour, or statements which should not be taken in any true sort of seriousness. As a result, the above poster absolves himself of any and all blame in the event that a forum user responds to the aforementioned post without taking the previous notice into account. Thank you for your cooperation, and enjoy your stay at the CCSLC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac the Knife Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 USFL.INFO. You can thank me later.I was waiting for that plug. Ask and ye shall receive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoneranger Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 They may have failed but they left some interesting logos behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shizznick Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 So now that NFLE is gone, is the NFL gonna do something again here in the states?Sort of. There's a new football league starting up called the All-American Football League during the spring. Currently, the only work they're doing with the NFL is with the referee's, but they are suspecting it becomes another NFL Europe type thing.The AAFL looks like they are selling themselves as college football 2.0 and trying for die-hard college football fans instead of trying to compete with the NFL. That angle may work for them. realclearpolitics.com "Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." - Robert A. Heinlein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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