AHC: Make the XFL a success

The XFL was, of course, the WWE's failed attempt at a football league during the winter of 2001. It was plagued by bad play, dwindling fan interest, poor planning, huge egos, and a blatant lack of knowledge about how to run a football league.

However, it started off to excellent ratings and a few cultural icons such as "He Hate Me." So with a few things working for it, could the XFL have succeeded, and if so, how successful could it have been?
 
Simply a NFL player's union strike. XFL would become a valid successor. You would need PODs goin back to the 70s where the NFL union is more like the MLB's.
 
I don't think the $ was there so an nfl strike is pointless.

Success would be to make it a more colorful experimental minor league system feeding into the NFL like minor league baseball
 
I don't think the $ was there so an nfl strike is pointless.

Success would be to make it a more colorful experimental minor league system feeding into the NFL like minor league baseball

I could see that. It would have to be non-concurrent with the NFL season a la NFL Europe.
 

Bulldoggus

Banned
Well, the late-season XFL games were awesome, but the marquee first game was boring AF because they never had a preseason. Maybe if they'd have had a preseason, it could have been bigger.
 
A new league will take a few seasons to find its footing. Maybe have a cable network pick it up after NBC drops them. Cut the budget accordingly and then sit back and let the league grow on its own accord over the next few seasons
 
What if the NFL and XFL combined so that they could do a Promotion-Relegation type thing.

So the worst team in the AFC and the NFC are replaced by the two best teams in the XFL

So in 2001 the LA Xtreme and the San Fran Demons would switch places with the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers

Or there could be a playoff, The "I don't want to Go Bowl" where the two worst teams in each conference have a one game playoff to see who is relegated

It would make a team think twice before they decided to tank on purpose

I know each league has different rules but to the ones moving up its part of the price you pay and to those being relegated its learning new rules is part of the punishment

Just played out 2001 so the Bills beat the Chargers and the Lions beat the Panthers so The Xtreme and Demons go to the NFL in their place

How do the XFL teams fare in the NFL? How do Carolina and San Diego fare in the XFL??
 
A preseason would be immensely useful, the first games were a terrible excuse for a football league and McMahon and Co literally started changing rules in the middle of the season once they actually figured out how their differences from the NFL affected the game.

The main thing against the XFL was the fact that the ratings plummeted after the first games because the games were trash and the players didn't know the rules. Iron those out and we might get a respectable football game and people might actually watch it.
 
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