XFL Football
From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.
The XFL, or XTREME FOOTBALL LEAGUE (caps intentional), was a widely popular but ultimately short-lived experiment in combining the worlds of professional football and professional wrestling. Started (and ended) in 2001 and funded with money from the Minnesota state government, the XFL had an enormous impact on televised sports despite its short existence.
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Founding Of The XFL
The XFL is considered the brainchild of two people: Vince McMahon and Jeffrey Zucker. McMahon was faced with massive debt due to the high number of large, dumb brutes employed by his professional wrestling organization, the WWF WWE. Zucker, unable to wrestle Monday Night Football away from ABC, wanted to air more sports programming on NBC to replace the network's lineup of second-rate shows such as Seinfeld and Friends. In an impressive display of synergy, Zucker and McMahon decided to solve each other's problems by starting their own football league, the XFL. The idea was to gainfully employ McMahon's army of thugs while filling up the NBC Winter 2001 schedule.
With help from a generous grant from Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, teams were formed, stadiums rented and air time set aside. The XFL had only one minor problem: a lack of a formal set of rules by which to play their brand of football. Nonetheless, on February 3rd, 2001, McMahon walked into the sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York City and said those deathless words, "This!! Is!!! The XFL!!!!"
Rise Of Popularity
Despite the high number of professional wrestlers in the league, the XFL started out very slowly, with only modest ratings at first. Soon, however, audiences began to connect with the idea of huge, semi-naked brutes attempting to play "football" under "xtreme" conditions. By the season's third week, NBC was preempting Saturday Night Live in order to show a "multiple overtime" game between the Los Angeles and Chicago teams. The protests of SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels and that week's would-be host Jennifer Lopez fell on deaf ears as the XFL's ratings continued to rise.
Controversy
Despite the league's popularity, major problems soon arose that ultimately would foretell doom for the XFL. The league's "mandatory steroid" policy, which required all players to have huge muscles, was criticized by doctors who complained that some of the athletes were allergic to the "supplements". In addition, the lack of structure and rules began to cause problems. By Week 6, four separate sets of "league standings" had been published with contradictory data in each of them. In addition, while the NBC broadcasts were fine, some of the announcing teams on the league's sister networks (the UPN and the TNN, which was an early version of Spike TV) were questionable at best. During Week 8 an attempt was made to pair up two monkeys as a "broadcast team" on TNN.
End Of The XFL
Despite the league's popularity, by Week 9 it was obvious that the XFL was in danger of total collapse. In an interview with People Magazine, Zucker complained about McMahon, saying that "He hate me" (sic) and that the league would soon fold. McMahon replied on Entertainment Tonight that "He hate me too" and that Zucker was "a brainless numbskull and a moron".
By the last week of the XFL season, matters had come to a head. McMahon and Zucker each took personal control of the two teams of finalists {Los Angeles and San Francisco). In a brutal contest, the two teams were forced to brawl until injury and exhaustion overcame all the combatants. In a final bit of irony, the XFL championship trophy was stolen by McMahon's arch-rival Ted Turner. The sole XFL season ended without a champion being crowned.
Attempts were made to launch a second XFL season in 2002. At one point, the Detroit Red Wings were contacted and asked to join the league. There was even an attempt to replace the human players with bears. However, the XFL had run its course and was officially cancelled soon after the title game.
XFL Trivia
- By league rules, every XFL team name was required to contain at least two X's.
- The name XTREME FOOTBALL LEAGUE is always written in all capital letters due to copyright requirements.
- While steroids are no longer popular with human athletes, they are often used in horse races such as the Kentucky Derby.
