GOBILLS78 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 Them some ugly uniforms Why didn't Las Vegas have their star QB there to show off the uniform? He was bagging roadside trash for the community.
RLflutie7 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 Even if they had teams in better markets they still would not have done well. They tried to fix things like putting in a pass interference penalties but it was too little too late. As far as stadium attendance they gave away and heavily discounted tickets so the revenue for stadium attendance just wasn't there. Some of the rules were OK (Like I said no fair catch and live ball for punts after 25 yards plus the extra point was a two point conversion), the promotion was decent the announcing was bad but was the least of the leagues problems. Like I said the league was riddled with problems it wasn't just the media bias and wrong markets (They did have NY,LA, and Chicago). Its execution was terrible you don't start a league with a whole bunch of new rules and only play a few games before hand and have scrimmages with no refs. They should have played six preseason games and made them half price or $5 for tickets. That would have helped. I do think they fixed things too little too late. If they would have given it a couple more years they could have done well as a minor league. Better than the indoor league. They probably could have made a profit although a players union would have wanted more. As far a being on NBC that was a no-go. I think Friday nights would have been a better choice, but not on National TV.
RLflutie7 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 I have no idea where you are going with this. McMahon is a guy who can market soap-opera based, scripted fake-sports, to morons. Good for him. If taking money from stupid people makes someone a genius, then Madonna is one the smartest people in the world. They marketed the game as a "tougher" version of the NFL. But it was bulls#it. The audience came looking for blood, but the product didn't deliver. No legitimate football product can deliver on that. Adding slutty cheerleaders doesn't help the product, either. It was the "lowest common denominator" approach to football. A complete embarrassment, IMO. U didn't watch the last half of the only XFL season. I did. To me, the biggest thing they did right was to bring in better announcers. They did the wrong things early. But they fixed some of those problems. I enjoyed the LA, SF and Vegas teams. And to a smaller degree the Chicago and NY teams.
Cugalabanza Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 Even worse than the uniforms: the ball! Was that a joke? Black laces and a lime green half-stripe? (I probably will check out the games though)
The Dean Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 U didn't watch the last half of the only XFL season. True. What I watched in the beginning was so incredibly bad, and the promotion for the league was so incredibly offensive, that I wrote it off. I also didn't believe a league with Vince in charge could ever be anything but a bad joke. I imagine if it continued, the games would be scripted, the officials dictating the score, etc. That's all Vince knows.
crazyDingo Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 "Hello, JP? It's your agent. Sit down... ya know how we joked things couldn't get any worse?"
RLflutie7 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 True. What I watched in the beginning was so incredibly bad, and the promotion for the league was so incredibly offensive, that I wrote it off. I also didn't believe a league with Vince in charge could ever be anything but a bad joke. I imagine if it continued, the games would be scripted, the officials dictating the score, etc. That's all Vince knows. You're right people couldn't stand Vince. Like I said, the XFL got a bum rap and it was because of Vince. God forbid you have any humor in sports. I thought Jesse the body was pretty good too. When the NY/NJ hitman QB said he'd remain the starter in a sideline interview and the crowd was chanting "Smitty sucks" that was classic. I laughed.
billsfan89 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 U didn't watch the last half of the only XFL season. I did. To me, the biggest thing they did right was to bring in better announcers. They did the wrong things early. But they fixed some of those problems. I enjoyed the LA, SF and Vegas teams. And to a smaller degree the Chicago and NY teams. Whoa it was the New York and NEW JERSEY Hitmen . If the XFL had a few more seasons (They had a cable deal with USA and what would become Spike and a network UPN I think to broadcast a possible second and third season) they might have had a audience as minor league football. But the league lost so much money in its first year that McMahon just didn't feel like taking a chance on a second season even if he had a TV deal already in place. The league simply tried too hard and branded its self the wrong way. You couple that with the teams and coaches not understanding the rules that well due to lack of a long pre-season and scrimmages (With refs) And the league was destined to do poorly. But I think McMahon wanted to compete with the NFL directly which led to the league losing tons of money.
GOBILLS78 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 I just have to say: I can't believe how much some of you know/recall about the XFL. The only thing I remember about the league was an article in ESPN the magazine about its tryouts. They had these 38-year-old former high school jocks trying relive their glory days on the gridiron, only to realize some of them were about 300 pounds past their prime. I can honestly say I never watched a down. It wasn't on purpose -- I just somehow never caught it on TV.
RLflutie7 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 Whoa it was the New York and NEW JERSEY Hitmen . If the XFL had a few more seasons (They had a cable deal with USA and what would become Spike and a network UPN I think to broadcast a possible second and third season) they might have had a audience as minor league football. But the league lost so much money in its first year that McMahon just didn't feel like taking a chance on a second season even if he had a TV deal already in place. The league simply tried too hard and branded its self the wrong way. You couple that with the teams and coaches not understanding the rules that well due to lack of a long pre-season and scrimmages (With refs) And the league was destined to do poorly. But I think McMahon wanted to compete with the NFL directly which led to the league losing tons of money. Competing with the NFL that was his mistake. Not enough teams and in the wrong season. It's baseball season and the NFL draft time when the XFL played. You can't compete with the NFL in the spring. It's too hard. It's considered minor league and that's what it was. They branded the thing right. The uniforms were right. It was a tough man's version and I think the guys played hard. You could tell some guys lacked speed. But what the heck. They played hard. The on-field camera man was cool. I really liked that. The skyview camera was also cool and is used in the NFL. The XFL lost 35 million, what they figured to lose. But the WWF stock price crashed, and I think that sealed the league's fate more than anything. The start up cost were too much for WWF stock holders.
evilbuffalobob Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 I know a Tisker and a Tasker (the touchdown master), but what the hell's a Tusker? ...dudes that hunt elephants for the tusks?
GOBILLS78 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 I know a Tisker and a Tasker (the touchdown master), but what the hell's a Tusker? ...dudes that hunt elephants for the tusks? It's kind of like "Huskers" for "Cornhuskers" in Nebraska. Except in Florida, a "Tusker" is someone who peels tangerines.
billfan63 Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 I guess the first step was to get people talking. Ugly unis, stupid names get pub. Good or bad it gets press.
todd Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 Bruno designed them. I am speechless http://www.ufl-football.com/media/photos
mrags Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 A few things I am thinking reading this post this morning. The guy that designed those should be fired immediately!!! I didnt see JP Losman in the LV photos but I did see alot of Ken Dorsey. Whats up with that? The XFL bombed but Im pretty sure thats due to a few things. Pretty much everyone refused to take it seriously because V. McMahon and his wrestling/entertainment background. Vince was the Commissioner and Owner of every team. If all teams were owned by Vince then why does it matter what team wins? And whats stopping Vince at that point from "fixing" it all just like he does wrestling? This adds to the reason why it wasnt successful, No Gambling because no one was sure that it wasnt fixed. There needed to be more teams, and it needed to be on at the right time of year. Flame away if you will. Its my story and Im stickin to it.
DrFishfinder Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 You won't see 'em around that long, unless you count ebay after the league folds.
Sisyphean Bills Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 This HAS to be a joke, right? The XFL was a disaster and you could tell from the get-go. McMahon has no business being anywhere near a legitimate sport. Apparently not. But, I'm laughing. "Done right" ...
Peevo Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 Whats interesting is a read the whole write up on the XFL from Wikipedia. Yes, I know, its wiki, but it did have some interesting blurbs from former players, saying it was some of the most fun they had playing the game. Vince had decent ideas, the sky/over the field cam was adopted into the NFL. Actually, a lot of ideas from the USFL were implemented into the NFL years later. The 2 Point conversion/coaches challenge system most notably. The thing that killed the league was "Mr. McMahon," the personality. Before any kick off, you see "The Rock" (not Dwayne Johnson) at the time doing his shtick to the fans, and then literally right after that you have Vince in his over dramatic "Mr. McMahon" voice screaming "THIS IS THAAAA X F LLLLLL" (anyone familiar with the voice would know what that sounds like). It just had joke written over it from the start, even if the football itself was halfway decent/legit. Needless to say, I'll watch the UFL outta sheer curiosity and a general love for the game. The coaches are reputable. Some players are former NFL starters. It might not be completely terrible.
Rome Posted August 13, 2009 Posted August 13, 2009 Why is it these "Up-start" leagues doom themselves with horrid marketing I.E. Uniform design, Team Nicknames and circus galleries like this? Los Angeles Las Vegas New York Orlando ? ? These mighty minds of industry come up with "Redwoods", "Locomotives" and "Tuskers", that is just embarassing. I was excited about this league until now, it's a joke.
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