XFL (2020)
|
|
| sport | American football |
| League foundation | 2018 |
| League dissolution | 2020 |
| Teams | 8th |
| Country countries |
 United States
|
| TV partner | FOX , ESPN , ABC , Fox Sports |
| Website | xfl.com |
The XFL was an American football league organized by Vince McMahon's company Alpha Entertainment LLC and headquartered in Stamford , Connecticut . It was the successor to the League, also called XFL , which was launched in 2001 by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ) and the NBC television channel and only existed for one year.
The league had a structure similar to the original XFL: it consisted of eight teams, all owned by the XFL, centrally administered, and distributed across the United States . The teams should initially compete in a regular season with ten game days, which began on the weekend after the Super Bowl . This should be followed by a two-week postseason in which the champions should be determined in the semifinals and finals. Due to the global coronavirus pandemic , the season ended prematurely in March 2020 after only five match days without a champions, before the league completely ceased operations in April.
history
On January 25, 2018, Vince McMahon announced the restart of the XFL. This time he is the only one who is investing in the establishment of his newly founded company Alpha Entertainment LLC . In an exclusive interview with the American sports television broadcaster ESPN , he named the reason for going it alone “so that I can look in the mirror and either say to myself, 'I screwed it up.' Or 'You made this a success.' “When asked whether he had consulted with his wife Linda McMahon about it, he answered with“ no ”. His investments are said to have amounted to around 100 million US dollars, which he received from the sale of WWE shares - as much seed capital as when it was first founded in 2001. McMahon announced that he wanted to get opinions from fans, business , Medical and sports experts to ensure a successful start. There should be no crossover with the WWE. McMahon wants to "give football back to the fans". The XFL will take place during the NFL off-season and will be broadcast on streaming platforms and regular television channels.
Players with a criminal past should be excluded from participating in the game. In addition, political matters or protests, such as kneeling while playing the national anthem, are not welcome and are severely sanctioned. Because of McMahon's relationship with US President Donald Trump and the aforementioned ban on political actions, the British newspaper The Independent described the XFL as a "league for Trump supporters". McMahon denied the allegations in an interview with ESPN . The decision to ban political protests was made regardless of the relationship between Trump and the McMahons.
Fans can have a say in the design of games and leagues. So you will decide whether the half-time break, the fair catch rule or some commercial breaks will be omitted. In addition, the fans should decide on trades and contracts. The total length of a game should not be longer than two hours.
Before the start of the first season, the XFL hosted a Player Draft, which took place in October 2019. Each team was allowed to select 70 players from a pool of talents who had previously signed a contract with the XFL. Commissioner Oliver Luck sent invitations to players who got the chance to participate in the draft. The first player to be confirmed for the draft was quarterback Landry Jones .
The first game day took place on February 8, 2020, a week after Super Bowl LIV . The games will be broadcast live on the channels FOX , ABC , ESPN and FOX Sports .
On March 13, it was announced that the season would end prematurely after five match days due to the coronavirus. The players still receive their full salary.
On April 10, the league ceased operations completely and laid off almost all employees. There are no plans for the previously announced 2021 season.
On August 4th, actor and former wrestler Dwayne Johnson bought the rights to the XFL.
XFL rule changes
In late July 2018, the new XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck met with former NFL coaches and players, as well as a concussion expert Kevin Guskiewicz , sports technology guru Bill Squadron, and McKinsey & Co. advisor Jason Wright. Among other things, it was discussed how to shorten the playing time and thus keep an important promise McMahon made. Technologies in the field were also discussed. Commissioner Luck said: “How do the coaches communicate with the players? It was a one-way street in terms of communication with the quarterback. This has been the case for 30 years. The question arises as to whether this system should not work in both directions. There are many possibilities and technologies with which we ultimately help the players. "[Quote roughly translated, summarized]
Teams
On December 5, 2018, through Commissioner Luck and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, the XFL announced the eight cities and stadiums that will be part of the XFL. Seven of the eight cities already have at least one NFL franchise, Los Angeles and New York City even have two. Only in St. Louis has there been no NFL team since the Rams moved to Los Angeles. With New York and Los Angeles, two game cities from the original 2001 XFL return.
On August 21, 2019, XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck together with TV and radio presenters Colin Cowherd (FOX) and Laura Rutledge (ESPN) gave a live stream on the XFL's social media channels, as well as ESPN.com and FOX.com , known as the eight team names of the league's franchises.
| team | City / State | Stadion | capacity | Head coach | First season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Conference | |||||
| Dallas Renegades | Arlington , Texas | Globe Life Park | 25,000 | Bob Stoops | 2020 |
| Houston Roughnecks | Houston , Texas | TDECU Stadium | 40,000 | June Jones | |
| Los Angeles Wildcats | Carson , California | Dignity Health Sports Park | 27,000 | Winston Moss | |
| Seattle Dragons | Seattle , Washington | CenturyLink Field | 37,722 * | Jim anger | |
| East Conference | |||||
| DC Defenders | Washington, DC | Audi Field | 20,000 | Pep Hamilton | 2020 |
| New York Guardians | East Rutherford , New Jersey | MetLife Stadium | 33,346 * | Kevin Gilbride | |
| St. Louis BattleHawks | St. Louis , Missouri | The Dome at America's Center | 28,352 * | Jonathan Hayes | |
| Tampa Bay Vipers | Tampa , Florida | Raymond James Stadium | 44,441 * | Mark Trestman | |
* reduced capacity
Cancel
- On August 2, 2018, the administration team at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA announced that due to scheduling clashes with MLB team Oakland Athletics games and problems with maintaining the quality of the turf under a double load, there would be no option for an XFL -Team to make the stadium available. In addition, the situation of the Oakland Raiders has not yet been clearly clarified. It is not known whether the Raiders will still spend 2020 in Oakland, as a new football stadium is planned for the move to Las Vegas . This rules out a return of the previous XFL San Francisco Demons franchise for the time being.
- At the NeuLion Sports Media & Technology conference on October 16, Commissioner Oliver Luck announced that none of the 2001 teams would be returning.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ ESPN: WWE's Vince McMahon announces he wants to relaunch XFL in 2020. Press conference. In: Youtube. January 25, 2018, accessed January 28, 2018 .
- ↑ McMahon: Gimmick-free XFL to return in 2020. In: ESPN.com. January 28, 2018, accessed January 28, 2018 .
- ↑ The XFL is basically an NFL for Trump supporters, its creation is a naked attempt at monetizing a divided America. In: The Independent. January 26, 2018, accessed February 1, 2019 .
- ↑ COMMISSIONER'S INVITATIONS START XFL PLAYER RECRUITMENT PROCESS - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ XFL TO AIR ON ABC, ESPN, FOX SPORTS AND FS1 - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ XFL - Coronavirus: Football League XFL stops playing. March 13, 2020, accessed March 13, 2020 .
- ↑ Sport1.de: XFL: WWE boss Vince McMahon closes his NFL opponent. Retrieved April 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Sport1.de: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson buys XFL from WWE boss. Retrieved August 10, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Bill KIng: At the new XFL, commissioner Oliver Luck must 're-imagine' football. bizjournals.com, August 2, 2018, accessed February 1, 2019 .
- ↑ XFL: XFL Cities and Stadiums: Official Announcement. Retrieved December 29, 2018 .
- ↑ XFL REVEALS TEAM NAMES AND LOGOS - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ The XFL team name and logo reveal. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ BOB STOOPS NAMED XFL HEAD COACH IN DALLAS - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ XFL NAMES JUNE JONES HOUSTON HEAD COACH - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ XFL NAMES WINSTON MOSS LOS ANGELES HEAD COACH - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ JIM ZORN NAMED XFL HEAD COACH IN SEATTLE - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ PEP HAMILTON NAMED XFL HEAD COACH IN WASHINGTON, DC - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ KEVIN GILBRIDE NAMED XFL NEW YORK HEAD COACH - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ JONATHAN HAYES NAMED XFL ST. LOUIS HEAD COACH - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ MARC TRESTMAN NAMED XFL TAMPA BAY HEAD COACH - XFL.com - Official home of the XFL. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ^ Oakland bows out of the new XFL football league . In: The Mercury News . August 2, 2018 ( mercurynews.com [accessed August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Eight XFL franchises to be announced by the end of year . In: SI.com . ( si.com [accessed October 29, 2018]).