XFL to return in 2020

Dobba

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WWE chief Vince McMahon says he is reviving the XFL, a professional football league that flamed out quickly nearly two decades ago in a previous incarnation.

The league will begin play in 2020, and McMahon insisted that the two-year run-up will enable the re-born XFL to “get it right.”

Plans call for eight teams with 40 players each, and four teams in the postseason. The season will begin in late January or early February and run for 10 weeks, through the springtime.

No broadcast or streaming deals are in place as yet.

Before McMahon’s news conference, a short sizzle reel played, with a theme song and on-screen graphics emphasizing some themes that were not in the mix during the XFL’s initially ill-fated first run, including “safety” and “fantasy.”

McMahon said the NFL’s recent troubles, from kneeling anthem protests to TV ratings woes, did not factor into his decision to revive the league. “I’ve always had this plan to relaunch,” he said.

While the earlier incarnation featured hard-hitting action that occasionally veered into brutality, safety will be a centrepiece of the new effort.

Vince says he wants no players with any sort of criminal record. Even if you had a DUI, you will not be welcome to play in the XFL.
 

altodevil

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Already banned kneeling so off to a good start...

Will watch if online streaming available, and Tebow is on a team.
 

cyberman

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Is it that bad of an idea?
For such a huge sport they have few teams for players to aim for. The amount of middle of the road talent out there must be ridiculous.
 

VancouverUtdFan

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That is insane.
It’s actually 2.5 hours which is the same as an NHL game and NBA game. But NFL games are more likely to take longer just because of the nature of the game and how things can get prolonged.
 

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They need to bring the USFL back. It would be a great complement to the NFL during the off months.
 

ha_rooney

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He should get JR to do their version of RedZone. Trump can sing the anthem for them.
 

Skills

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It’s actually 2.5 hours which is the same as an NHL game and NBA game. But NFL games are more likely to take longer just because of the nature of the game and how things can get prolonged.
The fourth quarter is longer than the other 3 combined.
 

Dan

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Vinnie Mac is looking old, looks like he’s lost a lot of weight.
 

JustAFan

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Is it that bad of an idea?
For such a huge sport they have few teams for players to aim for. The amount of middle of the road talent out there must be ridiculous.
But who wants to watch middle of the road talent (if they are even that good). There will be a small handful who could be marginal talents in the NFL. The rest will be players nowhere near good enough. The CFL and several indoor leagues scoop up a lot of the lesser talent, though the XFL might be able to steal some of that away with better pay.

It was crap last time and will be crap this time.
 

Damien

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Commercials bloat it. NFL games are required to have 20 ad breaks per game.

American football is a 60 minute game so imagine if it ever happened in football, a 90 minute game? 25-30 ad breaks per United match?
That is what I thought - supposed to be split into quarters right? I'll never understand it.
It’s actually 2.5 hours which is the same as an NHL game and NBA game. But NFL games are more likely to take longer just because of the nature of the game and how things can get prolonged.
Just mental to me how a game that is supposed to be an hour can be bloated that much with adverts and stoppages.
 

JustAFan

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They need to bring the USFL back. It would be a great complement to the NFL during the off months.
At this time not sure there'd be enough money to do a USFL like before. Where they competed with the NFL for talent. They might have made it work the first time out but a certain group of owners (Trump led) got greedy and hope they could use the USFL as a backdoor to gaining NFL franchises (I believe they hoped for a merger).
 

Raoul

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That is what I thought - supposed to be split into quarters right? I'll never understand it.


Just mental to me how a game that is supposed to be an hour can be bloated that much with adverts and stoppages.
You get used to it pretty quickly. Unlike proper football which is continuous, sports like NFL football, Baseball, Tennis and others are all episodical, which can at time vastly extend their run times.
 

Raoul

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At this time not sure there'd be enough money to do a USFL like before. Where they competed with the NFL for talent. They might have made it work the first time out but a certain group of owners (Trump led) got greedy and hope they could use the USFL as a backdoor to gaining NFL franchises (I believe they hoped for a merger).
If the NFL were smart, owners would each get a USFL team and use them sort of like a AAA baseball affiliate during the offseason. That way there would be no competition and 2nd tier players would have a chance to show their stuff and get NFL season recalls.
 

JustAFan

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Seen too many attempts at forming new American Football leagues and they all failed. Even several that were just hoping to be development leagues. If this new XFL succeeds, great. I am going with the assumption it won't.
 

Castia

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Sounds like they’re going for a full on professional setup this time, no WWE link and Vince taking a backseat.

I’m interested to see what they do at least he knows where it went wrong last time and is looking to fix that.
 

JustAFan

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If the NFL were smart, owners would each get a USFL team and use them sort of like a AAA baseball affiliate during the offseason. That way there would be no competition and 2nd tier players would have a chance to show their stuff and get NFL season recalls.
That'd be too many teams. They'd have to run it as a very short season to allow for any promising players to come into the NFL training camps. Still don't think it would draw enough interest to make it financially viable unless the NFL teams funded the whole thing and not sure they'd be willing to give up the money to do that.

With ratings and attendance dropping for a number of seasons now, the fan interest might not be there.

Like I say I have seen many attempts at other outdoor football leagues and they all failed.
 

Yagami

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Vince wants to make Roman Reigns look like a success by comparison.
 

Raoul

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That'd be too many teams. They'd have to run it as a very short season to allow for any promising players to come into the NFL training camps. Still don't think it would draw enough interest to make it financially viable unless the NFL teams funded the whole thing and not sure they'd be willing to give up the money to do that.

With ratings and attendance dropping for a number of seasons now, the fan interest might not be there.

Like I say I have seen many attempts at other outdoor football leagues and they all failed.
Yeah it would be like a 3 month season - 10 games with a 4 team playoffs. It can be done from March through May. Right now, a lot of players who are currently out of work would be able to show their stuff in the 2nd league. I followed the USFL in the 80s and thought it was great. In this case, creating a 2nd tier league where each NFL team has an affiliate team would allow many more players to participate and not be forced to go to Canada or the like.
 

Zen

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How long does an NFL game last for?
Not as long as the final minute in a NBA game......either way, all but the MLB seemingly take the piss milking advertising due to "timeouts" or "breaks".
 

JustAFan

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Yeah it would be like a 3 month season - 10 games with a 4 team playoffs. It can be done from March through May. Right now, a lot of players who are currently out of work would be able to show their stuff in the 2nd league. I followed the USFL in the 80s and thought it was great. In this case, creating a 2nd tier league where each NFL team has an affiliate team would allow many more players to participate and not be forced to go to Canada or the like.
So you are really not looking to bring the USFL back. Because the USFL was a competitor to the NFL not a development league.

Filling 32 teams with marginal at best talent would not draw a lot of interest. It probably would be a level below Div 1 football in terms of quality. I have my doubts it would succeed.

Right now there is probably very little if any reason for the NFL owners to sink cash into a league like that. The only reason you could sell them would be to put the XFL out of business. In which case in a few years they then have no reason to continue.

Like I say been seeing attempts since the 70's and they all fail.
 

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So you are really not looking to bring the USFL back. Because the USFL was a competitor to the NFL not a development league.

Filling 32 teams with marginal at best talent would not draw a lot of interest. It probably would be a level below Div 1 football in terms of quality. I have my doubts it would succeed.
Correct. I'm interested in a USFL type league that plays during the NFL's off season, where each team would be a subsidiary of an NFL team; a bit like a minor league baseball farm system.
 

rcoobc

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Why would anyone watch this rather than NFL / college football?
 

Raoul

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Why would anyone watch this rather than NFL / college football?
Who knows. There is a growing sentiment that the NFL is increasingly bureaucratic and dysfunctional, involving everything from deflate gate, to Goodell's tenure as commissioner, to CTC, to kneeling before the anthem. So maybe McMahon thinks now is the time to strike while fans are annoyed.
 

rcoobc

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Who knows. There is a growing sentiment that the NFL is increasingly bureaucratic and dysfunctional, involving everything from deflate gate, to Goodell's tenure as commissioner, to CTC, to kneeling before the anthem. So maybe McMahon thinks now is the time to strike while fans are annoyed.
He should make a new sport. NFL on ice.

I'd watch that
 

altodevil

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Why would anyone watch this rather than NFL / college football?
Because it'll likely be on during the NFL offseason? Surely they aren't retarded enough to try an compete. A summer league could work well, especially as sport is usually pretty bad.
 

paulscholes18

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As it was such a great success last time. Bet it doesn’t last longer than 1 season again