Doom and gloomers out in full force

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XFLGUY
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Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by XFLGUY »

They’re all just waiting for the XFL to fail.
These are just a small sample of what’s out there. I hope they’re proved wrong but other then the XFL continuing into year 2 I’m not sure what it’s going to take to quell these types of articles/videos from being produced and bandied about every single day.

Is the XFL losing steam?
https://youtu.be/GlnwoawCB2w


The XFL’s Legacy May Outlive Its Existence
https://fordhamram.com/75158/sports/75158/
GregParks
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by GregParks »

The best thing for the league would be for Luck or McMahon or whomever to officially announce, as soon as possible, that they'll for-sure be returning for year two. Maybe then the ratings dips won't be the big news story as people won't be worried about yet another one-and-done league, which until they prove otherwise, many seem to assume it will be.
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MidwestJimmy
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by MidwestJimmy »

The first XFL lasted only one season, so a lot of people expect the same to automatically happen again. Add to that the AAF crash and burn, and it's no surprise that skeptics abound.
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MarkNelson
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by MarkNelson »

We are very careful not to carry the negative torch at XFLBoard. It's not that we ignore any bad news, I just feel that the XFL does not need any else talking about it in a negative light.

Media and reporters who proclaim the doom of the XFL are largely doing it for clicks. Another reason to ignore the pessimistic bunch. I do not even click.

Also, there seems to be a following for XFL television ratings right now, which can be read as negative, or positive, depending on how you spin it. People seem to want to side on the negative spin in this case.

I must sound like a broken record sometimes, but this all reminds me so much of XFL 2001. The exact same thing happened then. The difference is, this XFL is far more capable than the XFL 2001 version. Not to mention, the television deal this time is way stronger.
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MGB01
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by MGB01 »

Keep in mind it's not just the original X and the AAF, but also the Arena League (which I thought should have died many times over in the 2010s before Leonsis rode to the rescue, and even that was limited).

It all will be about money in the end anyway, and if ESPN, FOX, advertisers, etc are on board then, I'm not gonna say there's no problem but it's definitely exaggerated.
Sounder
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by Sounder »

Is there a reason why the mainstream seems to not want Vince as part of the club simply because he's WWE and anything he creates is related to that and can't be taken seriously? If he sought an NFL club would they let him buy one?
The first time around it was different.....just the way it was produced said "smackdown" style football and while the play was legit, elements of the "show".....were obviously scripted. But this is real good football being played right now, and if these pundits can't see past their blind pessimism, whether it's directed at Vince or not.....too bad for them. I'm having fun.
4th&long
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by 4th&long »

That's all click bait, and naysers will always whine for attention.

The XFL has had a strong 4 weeks with better than targeted ratings. Now that could balance out by seasons end but so far so good. And that's with a mild winter to contend with, if it was 15degrees or blizzards in the NE/Midlantic ratings would be higher for a captive audience.

LA is having a corona alert so who knows what impact that has on viewers/attendance.
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by 4th&long »

MGB01 wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:15 pm Keep in mind it's not just the original X and the AAF, but also the Arena League (which I thought should have died many times over in the 2010s before Leonsis rode to the rescue, and even that was limited).

It all will be about money in the end anyway, and if ESPN, FOX, advertisers, etc are on board then, I'm not gonna say there's no problem but it's definitely exaggerated.
Leonis killed it (AFL).
MGB01
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by MGB01 »

4th&long wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:46 pm
MGB01 wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:15 pm Keep in mind it's not just the original X and the AAF, but also the Arena League (which I thought should have died many times over in the 2010s before Leonsis rode to the rescue, and even that was limited).

It all will be about money in the end anyway, and if ESPN, FOX, advertisers, etc are on board then, I'm not gonna say there's no problem but it's definitely exaggerated.
Leonis killed it (AFL).

In 2016 the league was dead (again?) with all the banner teams gone (TB/Orl), not to mention the teams that won all the titles (Spo/Jac/Ari/SJ) in the relaunch. So it probably was a deal like 'I'll fund this for three years and then I'm out if we aren't going anywhere', then end of three years, they're minimally better off than they were three years ago but hardly enough to justify anything, then BOOM.

Jerry Kurz really destroyed the league with his post-2010 plans, part of them was really lousy ownership, from David Staral (fraud) to Matt Shaner (the Olive Garden incident); part of it was trying to transition back into an AFL model when it just wasn't there. Oddly enough, Kurz now works for the revived Shock (IFL), one of the mid market teams that his plan dumped all over--along with Tulsa and Iowa.

Not to mention the whole labor crap in 2012 totally set them back. NFLN essentially threw them off, first with tape delays then forcing them into a 9:30 p.m. local time slot for ArenaBowl XXV in New Orleans following Tebow's Jets debut.

But back to Leonsis, it's like saying Dundon killed the AAF when he was, instead of being the lead investor, he was basically charged with running the league, and he didn't come in for that. Leonsis did, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest that the top scenario is what happened.
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ozzies09tc
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Re: Doom and gloomers out in full force

Post by ozzies09tc »

See I'm not sure how the XFL is perceived outside of St Louis (minus you all) but in StL it is HUGE. Non-football fans watched a game with me, and said it was entertaining.

They liked the rule changes and the facts that the players are treated like people (allowed to drink beer on tv) and not like robots.

They like if you beat your wife/kid you are banned from the league (and joked they'd then get an nfl contract for millions)

They loved the kickoffs. They loved hearing the stl crowd scream "BOOM" everytime marquette king punted.

But mostly, the 4 guys I watched with that are non-football fans all said the same thing. They were entertained. It wasn't slow like the nfl where its one play, 4 commercials, one play, 4 commercials, rinse and repeat.

These naysayers in the OP can eat a dick.

I'd never heard of the arena league that Leonsis was involved in? I only know who Ted Leonsis is as I'm a capitals fan...
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