Will the new XFL finally find success?

The first game of the new XFL season was played on Saturday, when they made their second attempt to create a rivalry between the American Football League and the NFL.

Many football leagues other than the NFL such as the Alliance of American Football, have struggled to maintain their success in the sports world due to either lack of skills, or their financial state. However, with financial backing from new owner, Vince McMahon, the XFL seems may be able to survive in an extremely competitive world.

Saturday’s game was the first XFL game since their failed debut season in 2001. Although the XFL offers a faster pace of football and innovative rules, in the end, it failed to attract large audiences.

The league has made rule changes for its 2020 season.

They have gotten rid of the extra points system, and implemented a systems where teams gets to choose a one play end zone drive from either the two, five, or the ten yard line, which has received positive feedback from football fans all around the world. This point system gives the losing team an opportunity to catch up, since the maximum points a team can get from one drive increases from 8 to 9. 

The first game of the new XFL was played between the Seattle Dragons and the DC Defenders. With lots of eyes on the game, both teams did not fail to entertain the viewers. From trick plays such as faking a jet sweep and flipping it back to the quarterback, to big runs, the XFL made a successful attempt to show a different aspect of football.

The DC Defenders ended up defeating the Seattle Dragons 31 – 19.

The XFL has also managed to increase the number of TV viewers per game with a simple solution: minor changes to schedules. Since the XFL only has eight teams, they are able to broadcast two games at different times on Saturday and Sunday. Without overlapping games, the league can get more viewers per game.

The XFL displayed a promising start, and now their challenge is to maintain this level of positivity and entertainment.

Will there finally be a rival league to the NFL?

Cover Image: Johnmaxmena2