The XFL is officially returning, and this should be good news for football fans everywhere.
WWE founder Vince McMahon announced the news yesterday, and it sounds like he’s forgetting all the dumb gimmicks from the first time around.
This time it sounds like fans will actually be getting real football.
BREAKING: “The new XFL will kick off in 2020, and quite frankly, we’re going to give the game of football back to fans.” – @VinceMcMahon pic.twitter.com/t6B6jm7vgZ
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2018
Vince McMahon’s XFL logo gets a refresh. pic.twitter.com/Asx5HSqXEE
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 25, 2018
This needs to be a success because we have to have something that forces the NFL to get better. Don’t get me wrong. The NFL is already great, but there’s no competition that’s forcing it to the next level. The league was plagued with anthem protests, players getting into trouble and a general sense that the animals were running the circus. Goodell appears to have lost control at times, and that’s not a good thing.
However, the NFL has no real motivation to change because they have a monopoly on pro football, and they know fans will keep coming back. Even after a year of protests, I and everybody I know didn’t stop watching football.
The XFL becoming successful will force the NFL to compete, and it will force the NFL to recognize that it needs to keep getting better. Again, the NFL is already awesome, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get better. Just because Matthew Stafford can launch a ball 80 yards down field doesn’t mean that he can’t work on some stuff here and there.
The XFL is like when the new and young quarterback shows up in camp. Is he going to bounce the starter? Almost certainly not, but he’s going to get lots of camera attention. He’s also going to force the starter to actually give a damn if he thinks his job is in jeopardy.
That’s the role we should all be hoping the XFL plays.