The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

The XFL 2020 schedule, a 79-day sprint from kickoff to the championship game, starts on Saturday, Feb. 8 when the DC Defenders host the Seattle Dragons at 2 p.m. ET (ABC). The debut is followed by the Los Angeles Wildcats at the Houston Roughnecks at 5 p.m. ET (FOX).

The opening weekend of the 10-week regular season continues on Sunday, Feb. 9, when the New York Guardians host the Tampa Bay Vipers at 2 p.m. ET (FOX) and concludes later that day when the St. Louis BattleHawks travel to face the Dallas Renegades at 5 p.m. ET (ESPN).

My boy Quinton Flowers from USF plays for the Florida team, which plays Sunday at 2pm.  I'm showing my support, go Vipers Hssssssss!

big .. huge .. massive .. meh

I'm with you there buddy!!!  GO VIPERS!!!


Would you feel the same way if Miami had a team?   I'm happy that football season isn't over

Yes....moreso.  At least this way, I don't really have to see or hear about it because it won't be in the local market.

Football season isn't over...it just segues into the offseason team-building phase.

I've tried to watch some of the "wanna-be" leagues (including the XFL) that have popped up over the years, but it always seems like I am watching division 2 schools with no discipline going at each other.  I'd rather just focus on the NFL stuff that is going on so I'm ready for next season.

I'll watch but it will need to stick around for a while before anyone actually cares about it. I see these leagues as similar to minor league baseball teams.

Just my opinion, but I'd put minor league baseball teams above this type of upstart football league, if for no other reason that with minor league baseball, I get to follow the development of star players who will eventually be playing for the major league club.

Plus...I digs me some minor league baseball...possibly more than MLB even. ;)

Check out the Lowell Spinners 'Stroke! But I have no intention of watching this second go round of XFL just like I didn't watch the first version. The only off shoot pro football league I watched was AAF because they played real football. Not that crazy WWE version of football.

XFL is trying to be more legit this go around.  Rules are a little different, like only one foot in bounds on catches, but they're getting away from the whole "he hate me" thing

I used to do a lot of work throughout the state and both enjoyed Spring Training and the minor league teams left behind. As a kid we used to have the Orlando Twins which we supported. As an adult I think some of my favorite minor league teams were games at Dodgertown in Vero Beach. 

Can't say that I blame you there.   Tickets are much less expensive as are concessions and the atmosphere is smaller and much more cozy.   Plus, like you said, you can ID future MLB stars.   My local MiLB team, the Bradenton Marauders (Single A Pirates) has a really nice stadium.   Tickets can be as low as $9 if you play your cards right.   And they even have a five game all you can eat plan for $80.   That's super cheap compared to the Tampa Bay Rays.  


Plus they have contracts with multiple major TV networks.  That way the NFL can't swoop in and buy out the TV contracts like they did in 2000.

All you can eat ballpark chow for five games...for $80?  They'd lose so much money on me...   >:D

Only burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, soda, and bottled water.   The soda I could handle by sneaking a flask of bourbon in.

https://www.milb.com/bradenton/tickets/ayce

First game isn't too bad. Playing much better than I thought they would. I was thinking it would have been a shit show.

Yeah it reminded me of top 10 college football.

I like the new rules.   Particularly with conversions, new style of kickoff, and the TV technology that lets you listen to locker room speeches and sideline communications.   But MAAAAAAAAANNNNN.   Trestman was garbage in the NFL and he's going to be garbage in this league.  He proved that today.   And our QB is just like Jameis.

Initial reports are pretty positive. Already light years ahead of the last test league. We will have to see if it can hold up.

Maybe the Vipers will bench Aaron Murray who is terrible for my boy Quentin Flowers this week.  Vipers had no offense until Flower went in, they drove down the field to the goal line, then they pull him and have to settle for a FG.  SMH.

He didn't do much better.   The fucked up thing is we had the most yards of any team total offense in week 1.  And only 3 points to show for it.

He did do much better, they actually moved the ball when he was on the field.

I was in DC on a business trip  so i figured i would catch a game. I was not disappointed.  The crowd was in it, and it was damn good foot ball. Not like the gimmick back in 2001.  Game is a lot faster,  and yes we all know that this isnt NFL -level talent but it was great to see guys get theor 2nd, 3rd or even last chance for the game they enjoy to play.   Whats an option when the NFL doesn't work,  Canada or arena.  With the NBA, they got the g-league. MLB has the Minors at many different levels. So why not have football in the spring.  And its great timing. Wont interfere too much with MLB Spring training (Which I dont watch anyways),  NBA still going , March Madness not much interference, and ends right before the NFL draft.  Its a good time to watch.   At least this XLF this time inst  trying to rival the NFL.  This XFL has potential this time around and so far seems to have a stronger financial backing.  

Reports have been positive so far but I don't think any game topped 18,000 in the stands and this was the first game. I don't see it being financially feasible.

McMahon has pledged 375 million to cover the first three years of operation. His hope is that during year three he gets a TV deal, as well as other deals, to start making that money back. That's why he is giving everything away for free right now. It's the easiest way to advertise.

I actually watched a little bit of a couple of the XFL games this weekend, and they definitely seemed like better football than the first version of XFL. I do like a couple of the gimmicks for the league...especially being able to listen to the coach on the sideline sending in the plays.

Not sure how closely I'll follow this league, but I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of play this weekend.

Deals like getting people to buy the teams.   Right now, just like the AAF, he owns all the teams and has employed GMs to handle player and coaching personnel matters.  The difference is, this league has the funding to last three years.    The AAF didn't have the funding to last three weeks.

Go back and read the AAF thread again. Several people talked about how the league was sitting pretty with invested money.

I remember and it turns out they didn't. I believe McMahon has the money he says he is investing.

And if that's the case, why did they have to get a $250 million bailout by week 3 or they weren't going to be able to make payroll?


And that's the difference.  McMahon has money and is willing to throw it at this league.

Then that begs the question. Why did it fail last time?

Because it cared more about gimmicks than football last time.

Don't mistake my point. I hope it does well, I'm just skeptical of a league that folded once, hasless attendance than a hockey game and has a similar story of money on hand as the last league that folded.

McMahon's ego. He wanted to destroy the NFL as opposed to just make a financially successful league that could've lasted over time on a smaller scale. I don't think he thinks that way anymore. He is much better prepared this time by funding the league for 3 years and not being too silly and "Xtreme" like having two people literally fighting over a ball to see who gets it first rather than a coin toss.

Money on hand and willingness to spend it are two different things.   The AAF folded because the chairman wasn't willing to spend anymore.

2001 XFL  Failed due to gimmicky football, fans not buying in to the product, TV deals failed.

Yeah, other than the league name and Vince McMahon, this XFL is nothing like the last XFL. It *is* a lot like the AAF and the myriad of previous spring leagues, though. Plenty of them have seen decent ratings initially, but the willingness to spend money for years has not been present. Time will tell if McMahon is willing to put up for 3 years as reported. It's easy to say he will at this point, but when he's sunk $250 million after two years and those big TV contracts are still nowhere to be found, ponying up another $125 million for season 3 gets a lot harder.

They need some QBs.  I'm not sure how they will survive when you always leave wanting more.

It'll be interesting to see the TV ratings for week 3. Actual game attendance has been up every week, but ratings for week 2 (Daytona 500 competition) was pretty soft. Week 1 can be a major outlier in terms of ratings, but one thing XFL has going for it is that ratings have actually increased from kickoff to the end of the game indicating that people are liking the product (enough not to switch channels). The old XFL was the other way around. Ratings plummeted not only week to week, but also during games.

I think it really helps it have it so accessible. I turned the game on last night just because it was on tv and I didn't have anything else to watch. I think McMahan's plan is pretty smart. We'll have to see if it works out in the long run.

Quentin Flowers has left the Vipers.  He played lights out in the first half last Saturday then got benched despite the crowd chanting for him.   

The coaches for the Vipers are completely clueless and after only three games, fans are already calling for Trestman's head.

I no longer have a reason to watch.

I'll be at tomorrow's game.  Sad to say, I bought tickets before the season started

Vipers got their first win old school style against D.C. pulling off a big upset with a 25-0 victory.   They shut down a very good offense by keeping it off the field with a ground and pound type game.  They rushed for over 200 yards and Taylor Cornelius is looking better every week.   This is a talented team that has been hampered by Trestman's shitty play calling in the first two games, but now that he's handed that over to the OC, this team has looked way better.   Six more games to go.

^ Ratings continue to drop and no one knows where the floor is. I'd love to see a profile on who actually watches these games.

I watched a couple of games the first two weeks, but lost interest pretty quickly after that.

I don't mind  being the I told you so guy.

Rating will drop, that's normal. Every leage goes through it after the initial game.  But the past XFL weekend has pulled way more viewers than the AAF.  Also, this past weekend the XFL rating were a lot better than the NFL combine, MLS, MLB.  only The NCAA and NBA game pulled more viewers than the XFL  this past weekend ( FEB 29 & MAR 1)

So, for sports in season it's in the bottom half  >:D

And just like that, the season is over.  XFL announced they will cancel the remainder of the season due to coronavirus concerns. 

What are the chances Vince cuts his loses?

He was smarter this time around and he had 3 years worth of cash reserves to keep the league afloat. I don't know what this means in regards to canceling the season midway through but he isn't doing it paycheck to paycheck this time around. Besides, he is a very stubborn man, I would be surprised if he called it quits after 20 years of dreaming for a comeback.

Kind of sad. I know lot's of people who are jonesing for sports were looking forward to XFL continuing to play. NASCAR should land some big ratings and bets while everyone else has stopped.

The league just announced that it will absolutely return for the 2021 season, so that's good news.

and now NASCAR is on vacation too. UFC is all that's left I believe.

Bet that changes soon.

And now they have announced they don’t plan to resume in 2021.

Man, I  never saw this coming.

And that's bad news. Like I said earlier, they had enough money to last a few years even if they weren't turning a profit but I think they are just guessing that full arena sports won't be 100% guaranteed for awhile and it might not be worth having all of this overhead for no reason.

Has to be something to it because when it shut down they basically guaranteed they would be back.

The conspiracy guy in me has to mention that Vince is good friends with Donald Trump, so maybe he hinted to him that we may not be back to fully attended games for quite awhile.

If we're still social distancing because of this situation by the time football starts in the fall, then we've got a much bigger problem on our hands than worrying about a secondary football league