Second chance for XFL might not be so crazy
Opinion // Brian T. Smith
After ill-fated, one-season stint 17 years ago, the XFL is coming back - and maybe it makes sense this time
Brian T. Smith , Houston Chronicle Jan. 25, 2018 Updated: Jan. 25, 2018 9:51 p.m.
1of5With flashes of memories from a past life in 2001 pictured below, the XFL is returning in 2020, or so says Vince McMahon, above, chairman and chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, who thinks the time is right to try again.Photo: JESSE DITTMAR, STR
2of5Johnny Manziel #2 of the Cleveland Browns reacts after receiving his Aggie Ring during half time of the Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium on September 27, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images
3of5With flashes of memories from a past life in 2001 pictured below, the XFL is returning in 2020, or so says Vince McMahon, above, chairman and chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, who thinks the time is right to try again.
I laughed. Out loud.
Then Vince McMahon actually started making sense.
That sentence, by itself, is utterly ridiculous.
McMahon is the showboating wrestling guy who once had his head shaved on TV by the current president of the United States.
McMahon also dreamt up one of the worst ideas in modern sports - aka the XFL - which went up in flames in one year. It was as classy as one of those steel-cage wrestling matches where the participants employ glass and barbed wire, and it featured a player intentionally named He Hate Me.
"This. Is. The. XFL!" an overly macho McMahon screamed in 2001, when reality TV stars were confined to television sets and didn't become president.
Times obviously change. And on Thursday, the man who turned something fake (wrestling) into a national must-see event - my childhood may have peaked while watching the early WrestleManias on VHS tapes during long summers at my grandmother's house - announced he's bringing back the league that nobody wanted the first time.
"The new XFL will kick off in 2020 and, quite frankly, we're going to give the game of football back to fans," said McMahon, standing on a stage that would have fit right in on one of those lame, cheesy prime-time game shows. "I'm sure everyone has a lot of questions for me, but I also have a lot of questions for you."
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If the XFL is still alive in 2023, McMahon's new (but old) football startup will have taken a monumental leap forward.
And that's where I'll stop taking jabs at the guy who once magically brought Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan together.
For all of its billions and the impenetrability of its ever-present shield, the God-like NFL is ripe for the picking.
Ratings are down. Frustration is up.
Concussions, protests, penalties, the endless confusion about what counts as a catch, King Roger Goodell, Patriots fatigue, constant video reviews, 31/2-hour games stuffed with bad commercials, the Texans never sniffing the Super Bowl … pick your poison, America.
We love football. But this is the angriest we've been at the NFL since the 1987 strike, and football was still battling with baseball back then.
Talking our language
Now, the NFL rules the world. Which is why the XFL's new fact sheet began with this: "Football is by far the most popular sport in the U.S., with 70 million fans driving a $14 billion marketplace."
And why one of the biggest "Look at me!" guys on the planet was actually worth rooting for Thursday.
Fan-focused. Shorter, faster-paced games. Family-friendly environment. Players paid to play, and paid more to win. No politics, pure football.
Who knew McMahon was so similar to some of you?
I've read your emails and messages the last few years. I know you couldn't help but watch both games during the NFL championship weekend, but you also complained about pro football's mounting problems the entire time.
"As far as our league is concerned, it will have nothing to do with politics and nothing to do with social issues, either," McMahon said. "We're there to play football. We want really good football, and that's what the fans want, too."
You're right: That's what we all want, Vince. And that is all that's going to matter when the XFL supposedly returns in 2020.
Johnny Manziel will be 27 by then. If the kid who threw his career away can sling it again, adding the money man to McMahon's revamped marquee should be a no-brainer.
Then again, the wrestling mogul complicated that Thursday, stressing the XFL will only accept "quality" human beings who toe the company line.
Tim Tebow's a shoo-in, then.
But what about Colin Kaepernick, who would be must-see TV and drive the ratings McMahon has long lived off of?
If the XFL is going to be for real, it must open its arms to everyone and rival the NFL on the field.
MIA: common sense
Since the AFL and NFL officially merged in 1970, pro football has taken over our sporting landscape like kudzu, becoming so overwhelming that simply trying to restore common sense to the league is like an ant storming a castle.
"We urge restraint among those who attempt to make medical diagnoses based upon the broadcast video alone. … Each of these medical professionals is committed to the best care of our NFL players and is not influenced by game situation or the player's role on the field. To suggest otherwise is irresponsible and not supported by the medical facts," the NFL said in a strident statement this week, seemingly attacking all the little people who watched a clearly concussed Tom Savage and his shaking hands replayed on TV.
All we want is for pro football to be a great game again.
Maybe McMahon is the man who can truly challenge the NFL in round two.
I wouldn't laugh just yet. He made us believe in wrestling.
Brian T. Smith
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Brian T. Smith is a sports columnist for the Houston Chronicle. He has won multiple Associated Press Sports Editors awards and been honored by numerous journalism organizations. Smith was a Houston Texans beat writer for the Chronicle from 2013-15 and an Astros beat writer from 2012-13. The New Orleans-area native previously covered the NBA's Utah Jazz (The Salt Lake Tribune) and Portland Trail Blazers (The Columbian), among other beats. He is the author of the book Liftoff, which documented the Astros' rebuild and 2017 World Series championship.
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