XFL draws crowd, but will they come back?

by Jonathan Kane
For The Post

The XFL proposed to bring the dawning of a new age of football to enthusiasts across the nation.

The new league, headed by XFL president Basil V. DeVito Jr. and organizer Vince McMahon, hoped to appeal to its audience by supporting a wide-open style of play with faster-paced action.

The eight-team league features microphoned players and coaches, and cameras are positioned at various points on the field and in locker rooms.

But it is the league rules that have brought much attention. One of the most prominent rules is the ban on fair catches on punts. The league tried to find ways to introduce what they call the "most exciting fourth down in football."

Another league novelty is the one-point conversion. There are no extra point kicks. Teams run a play from the 2-yard line and receive one point if the conversion is successful.

Pass defenses in the XFL mirror defenses in the NFL's past because defensive backs are permitted to bump receivers all the way down the field.

"We haven't really invented any totally new plays but have incorporated certain rules from other professional and collegiate leagues, past and present, to create a faster-paced, higher excitement brand of football," XFL Vice President of Football Operations Mike Keller said, according to the XFL's Web site (http://www.xfl.com).

This idea drew quite a crowd – the XFL's debut was the highest-rated Saturday night program on NBC since the Olympic Games in Sydney. According to Nielsen Media Research, the Las Vegas Outlaws shutout against the New York/New Jersey Hitmen earned a 10.3 rating, the highest since Sept. 30. The Outlaws quickly put up 19 points in the first half on the Hitmen and relied on their defense to power them to a 19-0 win.

Since all the scoring took place in the first half of the Las Vegas-New York/New Jersey game, NBC switched to the Chicago Enforcers-Orlando Rage contest in the final quarter of play. The action began, however, on the first play from scrimmage as Rage quarterback Jeff Brohm found Kevin Swayne for a 51-yard touchdown. Brohm picked apart the Enforcer defense as he threw for four touchdowns in the 33-29 Orlando win.

Sunday the Memphis Maniax met the Birmingham Thunerbolts at Legion Field. Rashaan Salaam ran loose with touchdown runs of 39 yards and nine yards en route to a 22-20 victory against the Thunderbolts. Also on Sunday, the San Francisco Demons and Los Angeles Xtreme game came down to the wire. Mike Panasuk, the Demons kicker, placed a 33-yard field goal inside the right upright as time ticked down to zero to give San Francisco a 15-13 win.

Ray Fulton, an Ohio University sophomore from Willowick, Ohio, said the XFL reminded him too much of McMahon's wrestling federation.

"I thought the hits were pretty good, but it was a little too fake," Fulton said. "It seemed like the WWF with helmets on."

Matt Hill, an OU sophomore from Medina, said he was not pleased with the games.

"I didn't expect it to be what it was," Hill said. "I expected fights, but there weren't any. The only thing that was really good were the cheerleaders."

In addition to squads of cheerleaders that dance around in the stands, each team is made of a 38-man active roster and a seven-man reserve unit. The players' backgrounds include past experiences with the NFL, NFL Europe League, the Arena Football League and the Canadian Football League.

Raymond Romero, a sophomore pre-med biology major, said he expected the level of talent in the new league to be higher.

"I would have rather watched the NFL, easily," Romero said. "It was like watching a high school football game but not as good."