XFL proved to be Xtremely painful to watch

by Joe Arnold
Staff Writer

It’s official. After two years of hype and just one season of play, the XFL has packed away its cameras and microphones and now joins the likes of the World Football League in the professional sports graveyard.

Gone are the days of the fearless on-field cameramen, the hard-hitting in-game sideline interviews and the jerseys that don the monikers "He Hate Me" and "Chuckwagon."

Future generations will be left to ponder the XFL and its short-lived existence, and they might ask, "What went wrong with the XFL?"

The problem that haunted the XFL and ultimately led to its demise is the same obstacle that plagued **The Michael Richards Show** (another fine NBC product, by the way). That problem, simply put, was getting people to watch.

When it first began, the XFL wanted to target 18-30-year-old men. With its unconventional camera angles, its wide-open style of play and its strippers-turned-cheerleaders, it looked like Vince McMahon’s creation might actually make it. What happened next left television and broadcast executives dumbfounded.

The XFL partnered with primetime TV giant NBC in a deal that put the new brand of "football" on at 9 on Saturday nights. Yep, Saturday nights. What better way to reach those 18-30-year-old men than by counting on them to be perched on the edge of their recliners on a Saturday night, remote in one hand and a can of Natural Light in the other, anticipating the grudge match between the two Xs, the Memphis Maniax versus the Los Angeles Xtreme?

Talk about your must-see TV.

After beginning its first and only season with a 9.5 rating the first night (a 1.0 rating equates to about 1 million viewers), the XFL finished with a national television rating of 2.1, tying with re-runs of Miami Vice and The Antiques Roadshow for 93^rd place among primetime television shows. The league hit rock bottom in its seventh week when it posted a 1.6, the lowest rating ever recorded among the four major broadcasting companies.

All joking aside, the XFL made a valiant effort to unseat the established NFL and its restricting rules regarding celebration. It was a David-and-Goliath match up that was doomed from the start. Poor planning and leadership, coupled with lack of viewers, brought the XFL down.

In a final XFL interview McMahon explained that the goal of the league was simply to change the game for the fan.

"Our whole imprimatur was to bring the game closer to the fan," he said.

McMahon’s vision did bring the game closer to the fan, but unfortunately for teams like the Orlando Rage and players like Rod "He Hate Me" Smart, it was only a matter of time before the XFL finally hit the fan.

-Arnold swears he’s a Birmingham Thunderbolts fan. You can send him an e-mail at ja228299.