Ever since it was announced that the XFL will be returning in early 2020, people have been wondering and thinking about what part of the original XFL will be coming back as well. Several fans have been making their presence felt in social media and all over the internet that they want to see Rod “He Hate Me” Smart come back for the new XFL.
Rod Smart In XFL
Rod Smart first played professional football when he was with the Las Vegas Outlaws during the original XFL days. Rod joined the Las Vegas Outlaws in the Spring of 2001 and that is where he got the nickname “He Hate Me” which he wore on the back of his jersey. He finished the season by ranking second in the league in rushing with 555 yards. He also finished third in average rushing yards (3.8 yards per carry), and scored three touchdowns over the course of the one and only XFL season. He led the Outlaws in rushing and was second on the team in receiving with 27 catches for 245 yards.
Of the over 300 players to don an XFL uniform during its lone 2001 season, league executives noted that while most saw the league solely as a way to further their own careers in hopes of returning to the NFL, Smart fully embraced the league’s approach to football and sports entertainment. In the documentary This Was the XFL, Smart stated that he had the league survived for a second season and that he was certain to have returned and had no intention of trying out for an NFL or CFL position before the XFL collapsed.
He Hate Me Is Born
“He Hate Me” was a phrase Smart chose to place on the back of his Las Vegas Outlaws football jersey. Even though most sports organizations allow only a surname or first initial and surname to be placed on the back of a jersey, XFL rules permitted players’ jerseys to be stitched with whatever words they wanted. The Outlaws happened to be playing in the league’s first nationally televised game (the one that would, ultimately, be the most widely watched game, as the league’s viewership plummeted after that point), and the league’s choice of camera angles more akin to video games meant that Smart’s jersey was prominently featured on the telecasts. His jersey was the XFL’s best seller.
What Is Behind The Name He Hate Me
Smart later explained that the origin of the phrase “He Hate Me” came from his belief that basically, his opponent is going to hate him. After I win, he’s gonna hate me. It is what it is. It’s a saying I was saying when I’d feel something wasn’t going my way. For example, (when) I was on the squad in Vegas and coach was putting other guys in, (if) I felt I’m better than them, you know, hey, ‘he hate me.’ See what I’m saying? Give me a chance. That’s all I ask. It came from the heart. Within. The way I felt. I feel as if everyone hates me, from my mom to my dad and even my brothers and sisters everyone “Hates Me”. My buddy Greg Kates always used to use it, so I took it from him.
Was Going To Change The Name
Smart then said that he originally planned to use a different nickname on the back of his jersey every week of the season but abandoned that plan when “He Hate Me” became a national sensation. He and his agent also credit the nickname with getting NFL scouts to notice him after the XFL collapsed. When Smart and the Outlaws played divisional rival the Los Angeles Xtreme, two Xtreme players put “I Hate He” and “I Hate He Too” on the back of their jerseys to express their disdain for Smart. In a later game between those two teams, those two players changed their nicknames to “Still Hate He” and “Still Hate He Too”. Rod Smart’s future Carolina Panthers teammate Jake Delhomme even named one of his horses “She Hate Me.”
