Earlier today, the news broke that the developmental The Spring League will be playing in a bubble in Vegas. This is great news for football hopefuls who participate in the league, and it raises interesting questions for the rest of the sports world as organizations scramble to put games on schedules.
This will be the first bubble of american football, but the bubble system has been used effectively in the NBA and NHL for their 2020 playoffs. This is in stark contrast to the chaos that has been the MLB/NFL/NCAA circus lately.
TSL Fall 2020 will take place in #LasVegas from October 7th – 28th.
— The Spring League 🏈 (@TheSpringLeague) August 11, 2020
Any #BigTen #MAC #MountainWest players looking to get a jump on preparing for the #NFLDraft, email us: info at thespringleague dot com https://t.co/eq53hgM0Fz
The MLB has opted to continue as per usual without fans, and we’ve seen outbreaks and game cancellations as a result. The NFL seemingly has no solid plans and looks poised to plow ahead like the MLB. Last, the NCAA is in chaos and is either shutting down or trying to play in the spring on a conference by conference basis.
The bubble clearly seems like the safer, if more laborious option. Finding a host city was a great move for The Spring League, and Vegas is a fantastic market that could attract them some more attention.
TSL has 4 teams, and only plays a 3 week season but their method could serve as a blueprint for the XFL to play in a bubble.
More and more voices are pouring in, asking Dwayne the Rock Johnson and Dany Garcia to air XFL games as soon as possible, but as I outlined here, it would take two months of rapid action to make something happen.
At this point I’d say its improbable that the XFL plays in the fall, but news of NCAA conferences pushing games back to the spring seriously affects the XFL’s market.
Either way, I’d highly recommend checking out The Spring League, they’re a really cool developmental project, helping guys get their footing in the pros.
They partnered with the XFL in the past to help test out rules, and I think the future of the collaboration between the two is bright. Football is seriously lacking a developmental minors aspect, and I think it would be great if players could have a 3-tiered minors like we see in baseball.
We have the NCAA to get players out of high school, and develop their game, but Class-A, AA and AAA options would be great for everyone, if these leagues develop further.
Arena and Indoor Football could serve as Class-A for rawer prospects and guys just trying to get their foot in the door. The Spring League, at the AA level is a great springboard with a focus on player growth, and the XFL would be a souped-up version of AAA ball as a proving ground, and a bridge to the NFL and CFL.
But I digress. The Spring League will be playing in Vegas come October, and at the very least they could pave the way for other football leagues to bubble up.
This fall is going to be a wild ride, best buckle up.
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