7 Reminders of How Ridiculous the XFL Was

The XFL was only around for one year but these are seven reasons why as ridiculous as it was, we'll never forget it.

NFL XFL Rules Poster 2001
Getty

general view of an anti-NFL sign shown in poor taste by a fan of the XFL during the game between the Los Angeles Xtreme and the Chicago Enforcers at the L.A. Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The Xtreme defeated the Enforcers 39-32.

NFL XFL Rules Poster 2001

Remember the XFL? Of course you do. Especially now that ESPN has a 30 For 30 on the fabled football league coming down the pipeline early this year. 

Headed by Vince McMahon, and fashioned after his WWE outfit, the XFL was of course a huge flop on just about every front when it debuted in 2001. It lost $50 million, was named the third-worst TV show of all time by TV Guide, and was the subject of widespread ridicule just about everywhere it went. From the cover of Sports Illustrated to the couch on “The Simpsons,” the XFL was never really taken seriously.

Although the league may have lasted for just one season, its legacy continues to live on—through its website, which is inexplicably somehow still in existence. While the site is no longer updated and acknowledges the league's demise, it remains largely untouched from the era of XFL play.

Scavenging through this site is kind of like exploring a vacant Blockbuster that still had all of its VHS tapes and Nintendo 64 games. Only instead of VHS tapes and Nintendo 64 games, it features bad football and hilarious original content. The site even still runs advertising, so WWE and NBC—or whoever owns the website now—might even still make some money off of it.

If you haven’t gone on the XFL’s website, trust me: You’re not missing much. But there were some things on there that are funny in retrospect, and couldn't help but remind us of how crazy and over the top and ridiculous the league was during that one season. So here's a refresher for all you closet XFL fans who rooted like crazy for He Hate Me, Deathblow, and a cast of thousands that are now largely forgotten. 

 

 

If you wanted to play, all you had to do was fill out a questionnaire.

XFL Xtreme Demons Line of Scrimmage

No, really. The XFL’s website had a section called the “X-Zone” featuring Lucas Swineford, the site’s resident hot-takes guy who looks like he just rented “Mission: Impossible II” on VHS. 

In a Q&A piece on the website, in which he pretty much just whines about how nobody takes the XFL seriously, he answers questions about the league that his friends keep asking him: 


Q: CAN I PLAY?

A: MAYBE

I can’t give you a definite answer to this question because I don’t know you. For all my friends and family who have asked me, the answer is "definitely not," but you may be a different story. If you’re over 18 and have a football background (high school, college), I suggest you go fill out our player questionnaire. However, if the last time you tossed around the pigskin was at your grandmother’s house on Thanksgiving or you think you’d make a great linebacker because you’d "drop a mean People’s Elbow on the quarterback," then odds are you should stick to being a fan.

The fact that this question even needs to be answered should tell you everything you need to know about the XFL. 

They loved promoting violence.

XFL Rob Murphy Chicago Enforcers 2001

Three-point conversions were a thing.

XFL Three Point Conversions

From the site:


Also, to raise public awareness of the "Million Dollar Game" and the April 14-15 playoff weekend, as well as to reintroduce fans to the XFL, the league has embarked on an advertising campaign encompassing national and local market electronic and print media.


In addition, the league has modified its point after touchdown rule by adding two and three-point conversions to its existing one-point effort. Beginning with the two playoff games, teams will choose whether to go for one point from the one-yard-line, two points from the five or three points from the 10.

This actually doesn’t sound like the worst idea. Maybe with the way kickers have been struggling to hit extra points this year, Roger Goodell and the NFL will call up McMahon to see if he has any ideas for spicing up the PAT. 

They practically invented fake news.

AT&T Park XFL 2001

Good news, XFL fans: Any rumors about the league failing are not true!

At least that’s what a press release on the San Francisco Demons’ website said. The Demons touted their attendance at what is now the Giants’ AT&T Park, which the team nicknamed the “Hell Hole.” I guess nobody told them that “Hell hole” is typically used pejoratively.

Anyways, the XFL folded less than two months after this press release came out. Guess the lamestream media was right about this one. 

The P.C. Police weren’t too happy with the Memphis Maniax’s name or logo.

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

About 12 people actually cared about the XFL and of those 12, it looks like two of them were mental health advocates ticked off about the Memphis Maniax’s team name.

"The name and logo of the Memphis Maniax is demeaning to the 54 million Americans and their families who are affected by mental illness each year," Michael M. Faenza, the president of the National Mental Health Association told the AP.

Here are the logos, which are still available as desktop wallpapers on the team’s site.

Yeah, don’t see why that could be problematic. The logo on the right looks like a caricature of an extra from “Breaking Bad,” which is not exactly a look you want on the side of a team’s helmet.

 

They LOVED cheerleaders.

XFL Cheerleaders Rage 2001

The championship game was originally called “The Big Game at the End.”

XFL Demons Xtremes Pac Bell Stadium

The Super Bowl. The World Series. The Stanley Cup Finals.  Most major sports' championships have iconic names; ones that millions dream of someday being a part of.

“The Big Game at the End” doesn’t really have the same kind of ring. To be fair, the name of the title game was eventually changed to “The Million Dollar Game,” which sounds a lot better than “The Big Game at the End.” But “The Big Game at the End” should have still never seen the light of day.


HOW IS THE XFL SEASON STRUCTURED?

The XFL season kicks off on Saturday, February 3, 2001. Each of the league’s eight teams will play a 10-game regular season. There are no bye weeks. Two games will be on Saturday night, one on Sunday afternoon and one on Sunday night. The top two teams in each division advance to the postseason, with playoff games taking place the weekend of April 14-15. The inaugural XFL Championship Game, affectionately called “The Big Game At The End,” will be played on Saturday, April 21.

And reading this site, you don’t even get the feel that they came up with this name ironically. Like how “Friends” titles all of its episodes with “The one where…” out of irony. Someone actually probably thought “The Big Game at the End” was a good idea. Sad! 

 

Latest in Sports