USFL or XFL?

[Hugomarink]

I know I'm in the extreme minority here (as usual) but I was way into these two "alternate" football leagues. The USFL was really exciting and interesting in how they tried to put out an NFL-compatible product and how they signed many solid NFL vets and many of the biggest names coming out of college to their teams. They had some really great players in that league and I always found it very entertaining.

The XFL was a totally different ball of wax since they never stated they were trying to put out an NFL-caliber league. Yes, the level of football in the XFL was rather poor but I loved all the shenanigans that went on, like with the announcers (Jesse Ventura, for instance) ragging on the coaches, the live mikes on the field, and the whole image they were trying project. I thought it was fun and they even had some real entertaining and competitive games. If you actually followed the league and didn't just listen to the bashing it took from the media, you'd know the level of football wasn't as terrible as all that. Unfortunately, their big "Million Dollar Game" was a complete bust because it was a terrible game, which pretty much sealed the XFL's fate. Oh well.

It just seems that whenever a new football league tries to start up that the media buries it from day one and that anybody who shows any interest is immediately ridiculed. Makes me wonder how much influence the powerful NFL has in making sure any new league is uniformly maligned in the press from the get-go, so that public interest is almost non-existent from the start.

[LarryHorseFucker]

The NFL is the most powerful sports league in the world and will never allow another league to be a success again. Besides, why the hell do we need another league, the NFL kicks ass.

[Pussah2]

the media killed the xfl. It also killed itself. if it did Sunday games on upn and spike than tnn, it could have done fine. Going prime time on nbc killed it. The media hated Vince mcmahon and made it sure it died.

The NFL has taken some idea though from the xfl like some of their camera angles like teh camera that goes in the middle of the field.

[Hugomarink]

Originally Posted by LarryHorseFucker

The NFL is the most powerful sports league in the world and will never allow another league to be a success again. Besides, why the hell do we need another league, the NFL kicks ass.

I love the NFL but I've never had a problem with the idea of spring football (Arena football doesn't count). All the "purists" in the media make everybody think that they're somehow not true sports fans if they support a spring football league.

I think the XFL could've survived if they did a few things differently simply because the league really was a different animal than the NFL product. The USFL did try to take on the NFL and they did a pretty damn good job of it until they discovered the NFL truly is a monopoly.

[mrniceguy]

The XFL would have survived if they stuck to Sunday Games, Monday Night Football and didnt try to reinvent how the game was played.

The USFL would have survived if the damn jury that was on the collusion (?) case, where they agreed that The NFL was using its ties to gain a monopoly on football (read Donald Trumps 'the art of the deal' for the whole story...it will blow your mind. trump owned the NY/NJ Generals)...the frigging jury was supposed to give the USFL like 100 million dollars (which would have provided the league with the bankroll it needed at the time to support the league for a few years), but "didnt know how to determine how much money to award" so they gave the USFL $1 thinking the judge would determine the amount the USFL should get...wrong! The USFL got the correct verdict, but only 1 stinking dollar?!?!! One of the greatest court room travesties in history.

Arena football? Awsome fun. I hope the NFL buys it and hypes it more the way only the NFL can. I have been to a dozen arena games...good time. take your family.

[Hugomarink]

Originally Posted by mrniceguy

The XFL would have survived if they stuck to Sunday Games, Monday Night Football and didnt try to reinvent how the game was played.

The USFL would have survived if the damn jury that was on the collusion (?) case, where they agreed that The NFL was using its ties to gain a monopoly on football (read Donald Trumps 'the art of the deal' for the whole story...it will blow your mind. trump owned the NY/NJ Generals)...the frigging jury was supposed to give the USFL like 100 million dollars (which would have provided the league with the bankroll it needed at the time to support the league for a few years), but "didnt know how to determine how much money to award" so they gave the USFL $1 thinking the judge would determine the amount the USFL should get...wrong! The USFL got the correct verdict, but only 1 stinking dollar?!?!! One of the greatest court room travesties in history.

Arena football? Awsome fun. I hope the NFL buys it and hypes it more the way only the NFL can. I have been to a dozen arena games...good time. take your family.

Yeah, I'm aware of the courtroom debacle that befell the USFL. There was another book written on the subject called "The $1 Football League" (or something to that effect). The book is supposedly very informative but is now out of print, is very hard to find, and sells for good money on the collectibles market (look it up on Amazon and see what the used book dealers are selling them for).

[wsuraider]

I used to watch the USFL a lot. I liked that they played in the spring and summer. It's too bad the league failed.

[WhiteBoy]

I used to be a huge USFL fan. My father sold insurance to the Philly Stars. We used to go to every game and I also went to a practice once and was in the locker room after a game.

I still have a lot of USFL stuff - a game used ball, ticket stubs, programs.....

[Douchebag_AZ]

Originally Posted by Pussah2

the media killed the xfl. It also killed itself. if it did Sunday games on upn and spike than tnn, it could have done fine. Going prime time on nbc killed it. The media hated Vince mcmahon and made it sure it died.

The NFL has taken some idea though from the xfl like some of their camera angles like teh camera that goes in the middle of the field.

No way the XFL was just stupid ..

[Hugomarink]

Originally Posted by Douchebag_AZ

No way the XFL was just stupid ..

It was, but sometimes I'm entertained by stupid shit. I guess I just wanted to see it do well because everybody was bagging on it from the get-go.

[Douchebag_AZ]

Originally Posted by Hugomarink

It was, but sometimes I'm entertained by stupid shit. I guess I just wanted to see it do well because everybody was bagging on it from the get-go.

I actually thought it was gonna be cool , I thought it would be a WWF type deal, but hell no it wasnt .. They should have made it more entertaining rather than competetive..

[NotRalph]

Here's some interesting trivia...

What U.S. city has had a professional football team win championships in the USFL, CFL (Canadien Football League) and NFL?

[RockOverBoston]

The XFL lost 91% of its viewing audience between its first and second weeks. I think it's safe to say that it was completely doomed from that point.

Let's not forget the whole "lowest rated program(s) in Prime Time network TV history", "giving away free tickets because so few people were interested in buying them" or "giving away free network advertising slots because absolutely no one was interested in buying them" problems, either. They were all pretty major contributing factors to its demise as well.

[Pussah2]

a national phenomenon

[tim4949]

USFL --rocked it had the best talent and I still say The LA EXPRESS was the fuckin bomb with Steve Young at quarterback

[Hugomarink]

Originally Posted by NotRalph

Here's some interesting trivia...

What U.S. city has had a professional football team win championships in the USFL, CFL (Canadien Football League) and NFL?

Without Googling the answer, I'm going to guess Baltimore. Because, of the three USFL Championship Games that were played, I believe the Baltimore/Philly Stars won 2 of them. And I think the CFL had a team in Baltimore during that brief period they tried to expand into the US.

Am I right?

[Shark58]

[Hugomarink]

Originally Posted by RockOverBoston

The XFL lost 91% of its viewing audience between its first and second weeks. I think it's safe to say that it was completely doomed from that point.

Let's not forget the whole "lowest rated program(s) in Prime Time network TV history", "giving away free tickets because so few people were interested in buying them" or "giving away free network advertising slots because absolutely no one was interested in buying them" problems, either. They were all pretty major contributing factors to its demise as well.

Yeah, but I still think it could've survived if it didn't try to be so mainstream. It should've started small, only been on cable, and aimed for a niche market. Instead they tried to shoot out of the cannon on primetime NBC and the product was a huge disappointment because it didn't come anywhere close to matching the hype.

The Arena Football League survived by starting small, marketing to a small audience, and it's gradually built itself up into a very successful enterprise.

And I don't know what you're talking about with the free tickets. Certainly not in NYC.

[gotham44]

I think an English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French Soccer League is more powerful then the NFL.

[NotRalph]

Originally Posted by Hugomarink

Without Googling the answer, I'm going to guess Baltimore. Because, of the three USFL Championship Games that were played, I believe the Baltimore/Philly Stars won 2 of them. And I think the CFL had a team in Baltimore during that brief period they tried to expand into the US.

Am I right?

You got it.

They won the USFL title as the Stars in the mid 80s. They won the CFL title (Grey Cup) in 1994 and, of course Super Bowl titles as the Colts in 1967 and the Ravens in 2000.