XFL Facts that One Might Have Forgotten About

XFL was created in 2000 when Vince McMahon decided to partner with NBC, after enjoying massive success in WWE. The XFL was supposed to be a football league that would emerge as a direct competitor to the NFL or the National Football League. A year after the league was created, it played its first game. Though things were fine in the beginning, things went sideways quickly afterwards, leading the league to fold entirely. Things might have indeed gone wrong, but there were several ways in which the XFL changed the face of professional American football, much of which we have forgotten. In this article, we shall see how the XFL affected American football and also learn about a few facts that might have been lost throughout the league’s journey to this day.

Vince McMahon Had Initially Planned to Buy the CFL:

The first thing that we have decided to talk about in this article is how Vince McMahon had originally decided to buy the CFL. The Canadian Football League has been a popular place where footballers who cannot make it to the NFL go. Plus, the CFL has also suffered extended periods of financial doldrums. The league, as history would tell us, had approached Vince McMahon when they started looking for new owners for some of their franchises. And though Vince never had the slightest interest in sponsoring these franchises, in 1999, he came back with the intention of purchasing the entire league. However, this idea was rejected by the CFL Board of Governors, and Vince McMahon ended up pairing with NBC, who had the plans of developing their own league.

The ‘X’ in XFL Did Not Particularly Stand for Anything:

One might think that the ‘X’ in XFL stands for ‘eXtreme’. However, it turns out that there was a league called the Extreme Football League already in place. Therefore, that was not what the XFL was going after. However, Vince McMahon did try to get the idea of the XFL standing for Extra Fun League across. But in all honesty, there was no meaning to this acronym. Years later, WWE also used this same concept and claimed that the acronym did not stand for World Wrestling Entertainment anymore. It, in fact, represented the company’s interests in diverse areas outside the domain of wrestling.  

The Rules of the XFL Kept Changing throughout the Season:

Now since the very beginning, the XFL stated that they were different from the NFL. Therefore, there was an obvious difference in the rules of the game. However, in the initial days, the rules of the league were not clearly structured and kept changing throughout the season. Punters who would bet on the league on sites like Slotsformoney.com/casinos/pai-gow-poker/  would always find themselves confused about the rules and the continuous changes they went through. This killed much of the fun of the league in its opening weeks, and players also took advantage of the changing rules as they used the same to their benefit. In fact, the rules were so bizarre that the games would end abruptly if they run into the start time of the SNL.

The XFL Enjoyed a Great Live Audience:

Though the television ratings of the league did not really perform well, the league did enjoy a great live audience. The ever-changing rules of the game led to much of the confusion at the beginning of the league. However, with the necessary modifications later in the season, the football improved and gained much traction. More and more people started watching the league, and the game became easier and easier. The decision to place the team in areas that did not have their own NFL franchises was a brilliant move that attracted more audience for the league. This turned in more and more local audience, and led to the popularity of the league.

Summing Up:

One shall always find several facts about the XFL with a bit of reading and research, most of which we might have even forgotten. The XFL had a major role in the making of American football as we know it today. Therefore, understanding the XFL and learning about its history becomes imperative on our journey towards understanding American football. The aforementioned facts might jog your memory about the XFL and help you remember why you loved the league in the first place.