Why you should and should not invest your time in the XFL
By Brian Miller
The XFL is the newest professional football league that wants you to be a fan and today, the first weekend of football kicks off.
At 2:00 this afternoon, the XFL will kick off its inaugural season and the biggest question is whether or not you should invest your time and watch it. It is a hard question to answer and really comes down to how much you crave football after the NFL folded the 2019 season and is preparing for 2020.
The XFL has eight teams playing and one team that is made up of “farm players”. The “9th team” is intended to be used as a filler team to the other eight as injuries happen. They won’t actually play games.
The eight teams that are hoping to stick around longer than a season or two are located around the country. The Seattle Dragons, Houston Roughnecks, Dallas Renegades, Tampa Bay Vipers, Los Angeles Wildcats, Washington D.C. Defenders, St. Louis Battlehawks, and New York Guardians make up the league.
So the question is, should you invest your time. If history has shown us anything, professional football leagues don’t last. Whether playing in an arena or on a field, the NFL is simply too big to overcome or for that matter stand beside. The NFL is not backing the XFL, they are not a farm league but players could come from the XFL to the NFL because players from the NFL are playing in the XFL.
For now, the XFL seems like a place where players who couldn’t make an NFL roster are trying to make their football dreams come true while other NFL players who made rosters but couldn’t stick are holding on to theirs.
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If you live in one of the XFL cities then maybe there is a reason to cheer or even simply support the team but if you are outside of those cities is there really a draw to be a fan? Not right now. After investing interest in leagues over the last decades or so, we have not seen a sustainable league of any kind. That makes it difficult to hold interest.
With games kicking off today, it will be interesting to see how much attention is paid to the league. Each week will have four games played it would make sense that if the league sees some increase in popularity and support, it could increase in 2021 but for now, I might watch simply to see what exactly it is but I’m not sure it is getting my full attention just yet. It probably shouldn’t get yours yet either. Personally, I don’t think I could convince my wife why I’m skipping my projects now that the NFL is over for the year.
Making it more difficult, at least for Dolphins fans, the lack of a team in Miami. The closest team is in Tampa Bay and we typically don’t root for anything up there.
On the other hand, it is football or at least some resemblance to football. If you are a junkie of the game, then why not give this a try. The players may not eventually land in the NFL but some of them should receive tryouts after their season is over and it is a playground for those seeking to get a shot at the big leagues.
The XFL is promising to be a far more fan-friendly league that listens to what the fans want rather than the NFL who really could care less. This could be a fun extension to the NFL and help with the dreadful off-season that NFL fans get mired in. If you don’t know who to follow don’t choose to watch the games and let the league decide for you.