This past weekend, the “Xtreme Football League” (XFL) made its return for the first time since being shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company was recently sold by Vince McMahon to a Dwayne Johnson-led ownership team as they look to develop a spring football league.
The talk of having a spring league is nothing new, and after many unsuccessful attempts, it looks like this league has the funding as well as talent to become a prosperous league. The XFL first launched in 2001 with the idea of having a league run upon the completion of the NFL season, bridging the long gap from February to September without American football. One of the major distinctions between the two leagues was the conduct of play. In the original version of the XFL, fewer rules were implemented against players, hoping to encourage a rougher style of play. The first season didn’t go as expected, as many fans complained that the overall quality of the product was lacking in comparison to their NFL counterpart. NBC would soon pull out of their deal, and the league was not resumed after the first season was complete.
Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ownership of the league saw the same opportunity to bring this brand of football to American households. The league was resumed for the first time in nearly 20 years, but would soon be shut down again as the pandemic raged across the world. That brings us to 2023, as the XFL is making their third official attempt to develop their league. With the recent emergence in sports gambling, sports fans across the world have been calling for a spring football league, and the XFL decided to answer those calls and give it a go. Eight teams split into two divisions will be facing off over a ten week season. The cities that have teams for this season will be; Washington D.C., Seattle, St. Louis, Vegas, Arlington, Houston, Orlando, and San Antonio. One of the problems with the early editions of the league was the lack of talent, which won’t be an issue in this year’s attempt with the XFL. Players such as Josh Gordon, Paxton Lynch, Martavis Bryant, Vic Beasly, and many other former stars fill the rosters as they look to get a second chance at the NFL. That, paired with the new management team of Dwayne Johnson and company, has many football fans excited for the future of the XFL.
The new owner of the league Dwayne Johnson was recently featured on ESPN’s morning show Get Up, where he discussed why he purchased the company and his vision for this venture.
“We want to create a league of culture, a league of innovation. At the end of the day, I got involved with the XFL and became an XFL owner with Dany to help players’ dreams come true. It is to make players’ dreams come true, and to grow the game of football” said Johsnon.
Dwayne’s vision of the XFL is different from previous editions because he is focused on making this league more of a developmental league for players rather than a league that exists to compete with the NFL. Many of the players on rosters this season are great talents, but did not have success their first time in the NFL for one reason or another. The XFL will give those players a chance to showcase their skills, hopefully one day being signed on an active NFL roster.
Regardless of one’s stance on the league, it will be exciting to see Dwayne Johnson take over this company that has extreme potential. Johnson is highly intelligent, and he has a chance to make this league great, but it’s also proved to be an extremely difficult mountain to climb as shown by former owner Vince McMahon. This first season under new management will be interesting to watch, as the company’s early moves could dictate the success of the league. With someone like Johsnon in charge, it leaves many fans optimistic that we might finally have year round football.
