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The XFL is BACK!

It’s been 1,044 days since the XFL shut down due to a global pandemic. It’s been a long 3 years and it almost doesn’t feel real to be hours away from kickoff.

I’ve always been a fan of more football especially when there isn’t any on, and advocated for spring leagues for years. I was a fan of the XFL the first time around because of what it could represent, something innovative, something fresh, something different while executing great play on the field, but the product didn’t have any good quality to match that promise.

In recent years I’ve been a fan of both iterations of spring leagues whether it was the XFL 2.0 or the USFL because they matched in promise and play in my opinion, the quality was substantially better for the former especially compared to the first redition of the league.

That’s what these leagues are all about, they’re providing opportunities to people who may not have had any due to illness, injury, didn’t have the correct mindset or skillset or simply overlooked. Timing is everything and making up for a bad break can mean everything to someone who capitalizes on it.

The XFL has hired the right people to make these players better, whether it’s with skills or mindset, one of the things they’ve also done to give an advantage to these players is hiring the coaches that they have. These coaches are actually former players themselves in most cases, they can relate to these individuals (players) a lot better in my opinion because experience no matter which obstacles in life we face is always going to be the best teacher.

It’s intriguing to see what happens because for some of these former NFL players they’ve hired to coach are doing it for the very first time, not just at a professional level but any level. Whether it’s Hines Ward or Rod Woodson, this coaching experience may even be able to open doors for them in the NFL if they succeed.

Americans are territorial, and we want to protect the idea of what we believe football is. This is why when teams go 0-16 or now 0-17, the stadiums are still full for the most part, because we’re going to be loyal and true to who we support.

As Americans what’s one thing we love? An underdog! A second chance!

The XFL 2.0 proved there was an appetite for football beyond the NFL, allowing other renditions of spring football to be consumed easier by fans making them comfortable with the idea that spring football is a good thing.

Say what you will about Vince McMahon but the man in my opinion is a genius and he deserves a lot of credit for investing so much money and energy for the first and second renditions of this football league.

So much of the operation was already in place to be successful because of McMahon, now Danny Garcia and Dwayne Johnson have to capitalize on that.

XFL SCHEDULE FOR WEEK 1 FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Here’s hoping the XFL 3.0 which starts today can deliver and sustain that promise and quality of good football and provide all players with a greater opportunity in the NFL. What are your thoughts on the future of the XFL? Are you a fan of the new rules? Who are you wanting to see be a breakout star in this league?

The one thing the XFL truly needs to work on is marketing, I have seen little to if any advertising online or TV spots. Social media is going to be key in this rendition of the XFL as it was in the previous one to be successful.