Back in December, right after freelance journalist Brad Shepard tweeted out that WWE chairman Vince McMahon would make it known on January 25th that he was bringing back the XFL, we discussed how the football landscape was ready for another professional football league. Many members of the sports media thought this just might be a ploy by McMahon to get publicity for the WWE, the professional wrestling corporation that McMahon has built into a billion-dollar corporation, and that there wouldn’t be an announcement at all in regards to the XFL return. But credit Shepard and his contacts, he was dead on. Vince McMahon is re-launching the XFL.
The Details of Vince McMahon’s Relaunched XFL
McMahon is re-launching the XFL and the announcement was streamed live by Alpha Entertainment, the company that McMahon created to back the revamped XFL, social media sites. The announcement itself makes it appear that he has learned from his mistakes from the first version of the XFL. In 2000, when he announced the first creation of the XFL that he partnered with NBC on, it was a more of an “in your face” style a press conference, held in a big ballroom with a roomful of reporters and other media outlets. This time around, McMahon took phone calls from reporters, making sure to call each reporter by name and saying hello. Known for his over the top presence, McMahon chose a more low key professional approach, giving the impression that the new XFL will be more professional and more prepared this time around.
If McMahon and the XFL were looking to create buzz, he certainly did just that. Since the announcement, major sports media and even mainstream outlets have been discussing the re-boot of the XFL. It just isn’t the idea that another professional football league is starting, but it’s what McMahon said, and how he said it, that is creating the buzz.
McMahon’s announcement made sure to hit on some major points which give the impression that he has learned from his mistakes and points that will draw fans to the league. Here are the major points that McMahon discussed and why they should help draw in fans.
The Fans Will Be the Driving Force Behind the League
McMahon made sure to let everyone know that the XFL will listen to the fans. He made sure to let everyone listening that the fans will be listened to and most importantly, the XFL will lean on the fans to help create a game that they want to see. It was a crucial point that McMahon wanted to get across, not to just the fans, but the media. In recent years, some of the fans of the NFL have felt like their voice hasn’t been listened to, something that McMahon obviously has noticed.
The Pace of the Game
With McMahon stating that it will be up to the fans on how the game will be directed, he made a point to discuss the length of the game. He hinted about games without halftimes and even trying to get games to be finished in a two-hour span. Although that might be a hard time to achieve, it does show that McMahon and the XFL are willing to cut down on all the commercials and other things that have bogged down NFL games.
Football, Not Pro Wrestling
As many remember from the first version, there was a strong presence of the WWE. McMahon cross-marketed the XFL with the WWE, with having wrestling personalities as announcers and other wrestling personalities as a part of the XFL broadcast. In his announcement, McMahon made sure to let everyone know that the WWE will have no affiliation with the XFL. Again, this illustrates that McMahon has learned from past mistakes. As McMahon stated, this will be a football league, no wrestling gimmicks, just football.
McMahon Will Be in the Shadows
If you are a fan of the WWE, you know that McMahon is a huge part of the day to day operations of the WWE and has been since he took over from his father back in the late 1970’s. McMahon made his presence known with XFL 1.0 as well, but it appears that won’t be the case with XFL 2.0. McMahon discussed that this time around that he will be in the shadows, well, as much as he can be. He said that this time around that the XFL will be run by people who are from the professional football industry. Although he didn’t make any announcements on who that will be, there is no doubt that he has put some thought into this. Don’t be fooled though. McMahon has made his billions with being a part of what he develops, but it seems like this time, with running a professional football league, he will lean on people who know football.
Football, Not Politics
As discussed back in December, there wasn’t much doubt that McMahon would take advantage of the NFL’s national anthem kneeling controversy. The NFL took some major blows this season from fans when a large group of its players took a knee during the national anthem in protest. McMahon and the new XFL hopes to benefit from that and you can’t blame him. This time around, McMahon isn’t taking shots at the NFL, but is stating that players will stand for the national anthem and that they can protest on their own personal time. In so doing, he is making it known that to those fans that had an issue with the players’ protests that they won’t have to deal with it in the XFL.
Ex-Cons Need not Apply
You want further proof that McMahon might have changed his ways? Then look no further to the statement McMahon made about if a player has a DUI on his record. McMahon stated that if a potential player has a DUI, he will not be allowed to be a part of the XFL. That goes against what the XFL was all about in 2001 when the league was based on “shock and awe.” To go along with the “no politics” mantra, the XFL is giving the appearance they want to be considered more of a pure football league than just another reality TV show. Curiously, if McMahon sticks to his guns about not allowing a player with an arrest record in the league, it would eliminate possibly one of the biggest football names available in former NFL first-round pick and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel hasn’t played in a professional football league since he ran into trouble with the law. Manziel might have interest in the XFL, but the feelings might not be mutual.
Eight Teams, 10 Game Regular Season Schedule
McMahon stated that the XFL will start off with eight teams playing a 10 game schedule. Although McMahon said that cities haven’t been determined as of yet, Steve McGuire of LWOS recently wrote a piece talking about possible locations for franchises. All of the teams that will join the XFL will be owned by McMahon, giving him full control. In our piece published in December, it was discussed that the XFL would be best off staying away from cities that already have an NFL franchise. But McMahon said that he wouldn’t avoid those cities, believing if professional football is already supported in those areas, there still would be room for an XFL franchise.
Unlike the first go around, McMahon is giving himself some time to get the XFL up and running. Teams won’t take the field until 2020, giving themselves more time to set up shop. The last time the XFL took the field, teams were given less than a year to get things rolling and it was pretty obvious that the play on the field suffered due to this. With giving themselves two years to prepare, McMahon is going to make sure this time around that the players are ready. It also allows for more people to get interested in the XFL, something McMahon as a marketing genius understands.
It will be an interesting two years leading up to the opening kickoff. McMahon appears to have learned from his mistakes, now he just needs to prove it.
