It was announced on Friday, that the XFL would be laying off employees and folding, therefore questioning the second stint of the XFL. The league later filed for bankruptcy, ending the league's second attempt to fill the "spring football void."
This development could be disastrous for football, but it could have also saved a certain league in particular.
The main reason that this is going to hurt the football world is that the XFL was innovative. It took to taking on a timing system that was similar to the Canadian Football League timing, which was not done in the mainstream in any regard in the American version of the gridiron. They pushed to make the final portions of each half more exciting, permitting for less time to be taken off of the clock in between plays and allotting more space for teams to make plays, score, and most importantly, make the games tighter and more interesting. Those are things that any football fan wants. It also forces teams to be more skilled and better conditioned, as they will play more at the end of a game, when it really counts.
Another thing that The XFL did was change the kickoff, and they did it in a novel way that seems to appease all sides. They managed to keep the kick portion, the element of a return and the possibility of a kickoff return, all while keeping players safe. This was a win-win for all in football, except the ultra-purists of football. As a self-proclaimed football purists (not of the ultra-version though), I saw this as a very valuable thing to implement in the game and loved seeing the XFL do something that could change the game of football as a whole.
The XFL even went so far as to let the fans see inside the video review booth during the reviews. This is an incredibly smart move. It keeps the officials accountable to the fans, players, and coaches. If they mess up, fans know it right away, but more importantly, they can see the thought process that the review official is going through and see what he sees. This helps the fan be on his side. With the National Football League and the CFL keeping fans out of their review booth, it keeps them in the dark as to what standard they are applying and what process they are going through, it separates the fans from the game, which they should not want.
There were a few things that the XFL did that were weird, but they seemed to work. The rarely used three-point PAT was a gimmick in my opinion. It was just a way to pull people in. It was novel, but that's all it was. Who knows, maybe it could have evolved, but it won't get that chance and therefore will be nothing more than a gimmick to the general populous. The other weird thing was the second forward pass, which made more sense. It took the guesswork out of the backwards pass and made it easier to referee. This pass had to be completed behind the line of scrimmage and couldn't be more than two forward passes. It kept the essence of a backwards pass, but made it easier to police and cause less confusion, something that any sport can benefit from.
Seeing the good of the XFL for the game, its fold did save another league, the CFL. The CFL has, for years, been the second-best league for gridiron football in the world. The XFL, in my opinion, had a legitimate shot at taking that spot. Why leave the country to play football when there is a high-quality league a couple states over you can play in? That's what I saw many NFL rejects saying about the CFL with the XFL around. The CFL can now resume taking the NFL rejects (at least the ones who can pick up the Canadian game, as not all can), but they have no more competition in another league. In Canada, the football year begins in late June, and when that time of year comes around, we're ready for it, but by then, hardcore football fans have been without football since February, leaving a four and a half month gap since the last game we could have watched, and we're okay with that. There has almost never been a market for spring football, although the closest though was blown up by Donald J. Trump in the 1980s by moving it to the fall. Who knows, maybe the United States Football League could have worked and killed the CFL, but it didn't, and neither did the XFL, but this time, the CFL should be thanking COVID-19 for its life.
The Canadian Football League may be better off because of what COVID-19 did to the XFL, but football as a whole may be worse off because of it. Only time will tell.
La Cheeserie, Littles
Fight On, Sleepers
Stay Safe
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