Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

XFL Football discussion.
User avatar
FootballYoda
Quarterback
Posts: 289
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2019 5:46 am

Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by FootballYoda »

With some sort of CFL merger talks going on, the XFL has declared their previously announced 2022 season was on “pause.” Does anyone think this may be temporary, and depending on the results of the talks with the CFL the XFL will resume their 2022 plans?
Tank55
MVP
Posts: 2804
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2019 3:57 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by Tank55 »

I think if they thought it was going to be temporary, they wouldn't have announced it at all. I agree with those who think this probably means there won't be a 2022 XFL season. I do think there's still a chance the CFL talks fall apart (or go even better than expected) or a TV network comes to them, etc., that would cause them to change course and get on the field. But as always with alternative football, it is best to keep expectations low.
2020 East Division Champions
2021 February Monthly T-Shirt Giveaway Champion
User avatar
Firecop
Coach
Posts: 777
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2019 10:10 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by Firecop »

Tank sums it up fairly well, I'd say... There are so many variables, so many unknowns, and so little communication, that is is virtually impossible to predict anything at this point. My excitement has dulled to ambivalence, my expectations to next to none, and my hope to nonchalance. If it happens, I any form, it happens and if not - eh! There are plenty of other FB things to occupy my time as I now indifferently wait this out. The buzz is on life support.
Direct from the Dragon's Lair
4th&long
MVP
Posts: 6475
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2019 2:27 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by 4th&long »

Firecop wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 12:28 pm Tank sums it up fairly well, I'd say... There are so many variables, so many unknowns, and so little communication, that is is virtually impossible to predict anything at this point. My excitement has dulled to ambivalence, my expectations to next to none, and my hope to nonchalance. If it happens, I any form, it happens and if not - eh! There are plenty of other FB things to occupy my time as I now indifferently wait this out. The buzz is on life support.
That's Gold ! I gotta use that elsewhere, and its not limited to XFL at all!
User avatar
MarkNelson
UFLBoard Correspondent
Posts: 1638
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:09 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by MarkNelson »

FootballYoda wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 8:43 am With some sort of CFL merger talks going on, the XFL has declared their previously announced 2022 season was on “pause.” Does anyone think this may be temporary, and depending on the results of the talks with the CFL the XFL will resume their 2022 plans?
I hope it’s temporary, but I’m afraid the writing is already on the wall. The promise of XFL2022 is broken.

Well, at least The Rock has a wall of football helmets.
XFLBoard https://xflboard.com/news/author/mnelson/
XFLXtra https://xflboard.com/xfl-xtra/
Author: “XFL 2020: Rise and Fall” https://xfl2020book.com
Coming soon: “XFL 2023: Rise”
Favourite Leagues: XFL and CFL | Fan of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
MGB01
MVP
Posts: 3314
Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:42 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by MGB01 »

Well unless something totally out of the blue happens in the next week (or I'll even go to Wrestlemania, just a date of reference since it's after MLB Opening Day and the NCAA tourneys) it's safe to say overpromise and underdeliver. Especially since there's another consideration here they might have thought about, but thought it a)wouldn't apply to them and/or b)weren't/aren't prepared for what comes next.

No one is dropping coin for a secondary league, and if they do, the expectation is that they're going to be some sort of competitor, recall the original rumors of NBC forming a competitor to the NFL with Turner in '98 (which ultimately led to...........). Or see USFL, say what you want about Trump but they were dead nearly a full year before he came down the escalator. David Dixon didn't build them to start signing star college underclassmen (which weren't available to the NFL at the time) or compete with the NFL for college stars. But ESPN used it as their big foray into the NFL (with ABC acting as effectively ESPN on ABC nearly a quarter century earlier, remember they weren't officially joined until the CC merger in '85).

Or one only needs to look at AEW (being this is officially #DeathofWCW20 week). Turner didn't merely just drop coin to get "back in the wrasslin business", they did it get back in the Monday Night Wars--sure when NXT moves to Tuesday next month AEW'll finally get back over the million mark, but Monday Night Dynamite will come along at some point. Now being Turner is the only big group that's not involved with the NFL (even then they made some overtures for TNF or MNF), they're the only ones that could do it and "go big" as Johnson and Garcia desire. But then, they'll be looking for a semi-competitor with the NFL, and they're not anywhere close to doing that.

So anything happening with the CFL is truly a need on both sides. The CFL's on the floor right now, the XFL can't exist the way the group wants unless they go full scorched earth (historically not great plan, at least in the last 55 years).

Should never have made that public, or shall we say, said it out loud.
GDAWG
MVP
Posts: 2886
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:15 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by GDAWG »

MGB01 wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 8:08 pm Well unless something totally out of the blue happens in the next week (or I'll even go to Wrestlemania, just a date of reference since it's after MLB Opening Day and the NCAA tourneys) it's safe to say overpromise and underdeliver. Especially since there's another consideration here they might have thought about, but thought it a)wouldn't apply to them and/or b)weren't/aren't prepared for what comes next.

No one is dropping coin for a secondary league, and if they do, the expectation is that they're going to be some sort of competitor, recall the original rumors of NBC forming a competitor to the NFL with Turner in '98 (which ultimately led to...........). Or see USFL, say what you want about Trump but they were dead nearly a full year before he came down the escalator. David Dixon didn't build them to start signing star college underclassmen (which weren't available to the NFL at the time) or compete with the NFL for college stars. But ESPN used it as their big foray into the NFL (with ABC acting as effectively ESPN on ABC nearly a quarter century earlier, remember they weren't officially joined until the CC merger in '85).

Or one only needs to look at AEW (being this is officially #DeathofWCW20 week). Turner didn't merely just drop coin to get "back in the wrasslin business", they did it get back in the Monday Night Wars--sure when NXT moves to Tuesday next month AEW'll finally get back over the million mark, but Monday Night Dynamite will come along at some point. Now being Turner is the only big group that's not involved with the NFL (even then they made some overtures for TNF or MNF), they're the only ones that could do it and "go big" as Johnson and Garcia desire. But then, they'll be looking for a semi-competitor with the NFL, and they're not anywhere close to doing that.

So anything happening with the CFL is truly a need on both sides. The CFL's on the floor right now, the XFL can't exist the way the group wants unless they go full scorched earth (historically not great plan, at least in the last 55 years).

Should never have made that public, or shall we say, said it out loud.
That's not happening. Tony Khan isn't competing against the NFL.
MGB01
MVP
Posts: 3314
Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:42 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by MGB01 »

GDAWG wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 11:50 pm That's not happening. Tony Khan isn't competing against the NFL.

Um, no. Did Tony Khan buy Turner Broadcasting and I missed it?

What I'm saying is Turner has no connection with the NFL (other than, and a very loose one at that, Khan being the public face of his father's attempts to tank the Jaguars all the way to London), thus they would potentially be a buyer and effectively recast the XFL a way that RBG is neither ready for nor wants, just as they've basically made AEW the next big attempt to recreate WCW.
Tank55
MVP
Posts: 2804
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2019 3:57 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by Tank55 »

I think doing a "competition" angle would be a death sentence. We saw XFL 2001 try that tactic and it totally backfired. I really liked the tone XFL 2020 was striking -- not development, not competition. We're just doing our own thing.
2020 East Division Champions
2021 February Monthly T-Shirt Giveaway Champion
4th&long
MVP
Posts: 6475
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2019 2:27 pm

Re: Will the XFL lift their finger from the pause button?

Post by 4th&long »

Tank55 wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:59 am I think doing a "competition" angle would be a death sentence. We saw XFL 2001 try that tactic and it totally backfired. I really liked the tone XFL 2020 was striking -- not development, not competition. We're just doing our own thing.
Agreed. First, regardless of antitrust law, the networks don't want to PO the NFL for fear of losing out. If they back a competitor league that could happen.

Saying Dev league may turn off some viewers who don't want to watch 'minor league' FB.

So saying 'we are our own thing' trying to bring a high level of FB to fans in a traditional off season (NFL/NCAAFB) is the most attractive way to go.

On a related note - the TSL, which is a true dev 'league' (more like academy) makes sense to market as a dev league as it justifies its one city cost (major) savings and its likely low attendance made for TV approach.
Post Reply