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As National Football League Ratings Fall, Could the "XFL" Make a Return?

posted by martyb on Saturday January 27 2018, @05:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the Rollerball-was-set-in-2018... dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

The XFL American football league, which played a single season in 2001, could return in 2020:

Television ratings for the N.F.L. have fallen 17 percent over the past two seasons. The league is embroiled in a continuing crisis over concussions, and youth participation rates are falling.

All of this suggests a difficult future for the sport, yet the N.F.L.'s most notorious competitor, Vince McMahon's X.F.L., has a comeback in the works. McMahon, the chairman and chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, announced on Thursday that he would take a second crack at professional football, with play scheduled to start in early 2020.

McMahon first tried to reimagine pro football 17 years ago. The old X.F.L. was a joint venture between the World Wrestling Federation (W.W.E.'s former name) and NBC, which had lost rights to broadcast N.F.L. games. Violence was amped up: An opening scramble replaced the coin toss and fair catches were banned. So was the sex appeal, with cheerleaders who were even more scantily clad than the ones in the N.F.L., and advertising that included innuendo about them.

[...] Other than the name, this version will have little in common with the old X.F.L., he said. There will be no cheerleaders, McMahon said. Players with criminal records will not be welcome. Political statements, such as kneeling during the national anthem, will be prohibited.

Also at ESPN and USA Today.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday January 27 2018, @06:11PM (2 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday January 27 2018, @06:11PM (#629011) Homepage

    It's probably just another jab at the nfl and other sports leagues, because the big leagues still keep thugs like Michael "Ron Mexico" Vick and all of the other purple drank-drinking girlfriend-beating hoodlums.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 29 2018, @03:00PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 29 2018, @03:00PM (#629819)

    Your example is horrible. Mike Vick paid his price and did his time. He even showed contrition. He didn't whine and bitch about his situation. His is the poster child for exactly how it should be done.

    • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday February 03 2018, @12:50AM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday February 03 2018, @12:50AM (#632277) Homepage

      Horseshit. His only regret was being caught, and of course he's going to do whatever the hell they tell him to do (or suggest he do) to keep making those multimillions per year.

      Valtrex ain't cheap, ya know.