XFL X-terminated

New League Folds After Just One Season

May 10, 2001

Related Resources • NFL Draft Results • Got Tickets? • 2001 NFL Schedule • 2001 NFL Calendar Special • XFL Headquarters • XFL Cheerleader Join the Discussion "I'll say it here: As a league, I prefered the XFL over the NFL. Lousy officiating, teams benefitting from soft scheduling and mounting injuries have turned me off to the NFL a little. I prefer most of the XFL rules, now that they've tweaked them. I loved hearing the coaches and players talking and the on-field cameras. " • Jean-Francois Fournier

In a somewhat surprising move, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment and NBC announced Thursday that the XFL, a joint venture between the two, would cease all operations.

The following message appeared on XFL.com today:

"While we believe that it is an extraordinary accomplishment to have created a new professional football league in what amounts to less than a year's time, we feel that it is in the best interests of our shareholders and our partners to discontinue the XFL," said Vince McMahon, WWFE Chairman. "I would personally like to thank the employees of the XFL and WWFE, the XFL fans, our partner NBC and especially Dick Ebersol and his team for their perseverance, support and enthusiasm that did not waiver throughout the season. We are all proud of the creative innovations that we introduced in the production of the game as well as in the rule changes that were implemented to increase the excitement and enjoyment of the game and provide a fan-friendly brand of football."

The XFL folded after just one season of poorly planned side shows and scantily clad cheerleaders, trying to promote second rate football to a demographic that wasn't watching television on Saturday nights. And while the games themselves were entertaining at times, fans had a tough time finding a reason to watch.

NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said, "We knew it wasn't going to work (in prime time) from early March on. The launch worked, the people were there, and we didn't answer their expectations, I guess."

The most critical mistake that NBC and WWFE Chairman Vince McMahon made was using wrestling announcers instead of real football analysts. The large number of football fans that did tune in for the opening week of the new league, were quickly turned off by the rantings of Jesse Ventura and the idiotic comments of Jim Ross and Brian Bosworth.

And while you can't place blame for the league's failure solely on the announcers, their "wrasslin" style of announcing gave the mainstream of pro football fans a negative feel toward the new league. The XFL had the chance to show off their innovative product to a huge audience that first week, but instead they made a bad impression.

Ratings quickly went downhill, and near the end of the season, the XFL recorded the worst ratings ever for a prime time network broadcast.

The writing was probably already on the wall by halfway through the season, but many (including myself) believed the XFL would eventually turn into a developmental league, providing players not ready for the NFL a place to get some playing time to hone their skills. I am also shocked that the XFL didn't give it one more go next season just to see if there were any hopes of an improved following, but WWFE and NBC did each lose $35 million. I guess the possible reward was not worth risking the additional investment.

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