Just S'pose 2.04.07
Posted by Ron Gamble on 02.04.2007
"Nothing that actually occurs is of the smallest importance." Oscar Wilde, Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young
Here it is, Super Bowl Sunday (if you're reading this when it's scheduled to be posted, that is), and you're looking to me for entertainment. You do realize my own family doesn't expect much of me on Sundays, right?
And yes, you long-memory smart alecks, that included when I was serving in a church.
I've been looking at the game just like everyone else, including all the talking heads on every sports- or betting-related show on television, radio, the Internets, and the new "Smoke Signal Network," or SSN. The way I see it, it will come down to one simple matchup: Chicago's offense vs. Indianapolis's defense. When the Bears played against the fourth best defense in the NFC against New Orleans, Chicago scored 39 points. When the Colts played against the sixth best offense in the AFC in New England, the Patriots scored 34. Go with the Bears, 31-27.
By the way, if you'd like to see another cool site that does the same kind of stuff I'm doing, only with a much wider focus, go here. On the calendar for today, they look at John Hinckley getting arrested in Detroit before he had the chance to shoot Ronald Reagan, Benjamin Franklin becoming the first President of the US, and Pete Rose's election into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
On to the story of the week! (DAH-DAH-DAH-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...)
I'M BRENT MUSBURGER, COMING TO YOU LIIIIVE...
The video package for the upcoming match between Shawn Michaels and Edge finished, and the camera caught a group of men in the front row, all wearing black-and-teal t-shirts and sweatshirts. Most of the men simply waved to the camera, while others acted up, trying to gain attention. Many in the crowd at Ford Field in Detroit cheered.
"We are happy to welcome members of the XFL's Detroit Wheelmen to WrestleMania 23!" screamed an excited Jerry Lawler. "Last night, the Wheelmen beat the Las Vegas Outlaws 17-16 on a last-second two-point conversion, and the crowd at Tiger Stadium was electric!"
In the world we know, the XFL, a joint venture by the World Wrestling Federation and NBC, began play in 2001, and folded after one season. The league's prime-time Saturday broadcasts were notorious for some of the lowest prime-time ratings in television history, and despite signing on to broadcast games for two seasons, NBC pulled out of the agreement after the first season. Less than three weeks after the Los Angeles Xtreme won the Million Dollar Game and league championship, Vince McMahon announced the league was folding. But, Just S'pose the XFL actually made it to a second season. What might have happened?
Immediately after NBC pulled out of the agreement to broadcast a second season, McMahon went to his other broadcast partners, TNN and UPN. UPN agreed to expand their prime-time lineup to Saturday and broadcast games live, but in exchange, UPN executives demanded McMahon reduce "Smackdown!," UPN's highest rated show, from two hours to ninety minutes, to allow UPN a chance to promote another show immediately afterward at 9:30. McMahon complained, but in the end, he agreed to the request.
As far as the league itself, there were some changes for 2002. After extensive research, McMahon found that most people didn't want to see what they thought was a "sports entertainment" version of football, with the implication of blind referees, flying folding chairs, and most importantly, scripted games, with the winners and losers pre-determined. He also knew that, no matter how much he protested this was not the case with the XFL, as long as he was involved publicly with the league, no one would believe him.
On May 10, he announced he would have nothing to do with the actual day-to-day running of the league. He would continue to be the primary financier of the league, but he would allow others to run the league itself. He also insisted that, no matter who was in charge, they would retain his vision of a true alternative of what he called the "No Fun League."
Former NFL players (and members of XFL broadcast teams) Bob Golic, Brian Bosworth, and Dick Butkus, made up three of the five members of the XFL Board of Daily Operations, along with Joe Namath and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson. The commissionership would rotate, changing annually among the five board members. They kept most of the rules from the first season, with one exception: they eliminated the "five-yard halo" for punt returners. There were still no fair catches allowed, so most returners would back up and allow the ball to bounce once before catching the ball. Unfortunately, because a football is oddly shaped, it is known for taking wild bounces in occasion, and since the ball was considered "live" after traveling 25 yards, there were many fumbles and turnovers until they made the necessary adjustments.
Another change came in relocation of three teams. The Board agreed it was not advantageous to keep teams in cities that already had NFL teams. The New York/New Jersey Hitmen moved to Atlantic City, the Chicago Enforcers became the Milwaukee Grinders, and the San Francisco Demons, despite losing in the Million Dollar Game, moved to Portland, OR. The other teams (Birmingham Thunderbolts, Las Vegas Outlaws, Los Angeles Xtreme, Memphis Maniax, and Orlando Rage) stayed in place for season two.
In 2002, Birmingham won the Eastern Division by two games over Orlando, and Los Angeles repeated as Western Division champions, with Memphis finishing second. In the playoffs, Memphis and Orlando upset the two regular season champions, and Jerry Lawler led the victory celebration when Memphis won the Million Dollar Game, 24-17.
The television ratings had improved slightly from the first season. "Saturday Night Football" had become UPN's second-highest rated show (behind "Smackdown!"), and the Sunday afternoon broadcasts on TNN were getting higher ratings than the programming they had replaced, reruns of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and "Testosterone Theater," an action movie. Both networks agreed to broadcast a third season.
In 2001, after the first season, both NBC and WWF lost approximately $70 million. After 2002, the WWF reported it had lost only about $28.5 million. This was not the success Vince McMahon had hoped for, but it was definitely a step in the right direction.
For the 2003 season, it was decided to expand by two teams, the Raleigh Hurricanes and the San Antonio Hammers. The season was also expanded, from ten to twelve games. Also, to put the two divisions in line geographically, Milwaukee moved to the Western Division, and Memphis moved to the Eastern. At the end of the season, Milwaukee beat Memphis 16-15 to become the third XFL Champion.
At the end of the season, the WWF reported they had lost only $2.35 million, far less than expected by anyone. "ESPN SportsCenter," which barely acknowledged the XFL in its first season, now showed highlights from their games in the first half of each hour. Fox Sports signed an agreement with the XFL for a one-hour weekly highlight show each Friday during the season. UPN, whose two highest-rated shows were connected with Vince McMahon, not only bought part ownership of the league, but also gave McMahon five percent ownership in the network.
The gameplay of the league had not changed much under the direction of the Board of Daily Operations. In fact, most of their decisions involved off-field events. The one that most directly affected play was moving up the draft, from late December to mid-July. By doing this, the teams were no longer fighting for rejects of the NFL, Canadian Football League, and even the Arena Football League. It also allowed them to grab players who were not making the cut for NFL teams. In this way, the XFL was seen as a way to allow players to improve enough to make the move to Sunday afternoons in the fall.
The first player to become a star in the XFL and voluntarily stay in the league was Rod Smart, a.k.a. "He Hate Me." He was invited to the Carolina Panthers' training camp in 2003, but turned them down, saying, "Nobody believed in me in the NFL in 2000. Nobody gave me the chance to play for them back then. I'm not leaving Las Vegas now." The following season, Smart was named League MVP, rushing for over 1100 yards and 13 touchdowns in twelve games.
Before the 2004 season, the XFL expanded again, by re-entering NFL markets with the Phoenix Fire and the Detroit Wheelmen. Also for the first time, all teams would not play against each other. With a twelve game season, a team would play all teams in its division twice (home and away), and two teams in the other division (one home, one away). Also in a change from earlier seasons, teams would only play other teams in their own conference in the playoffs before the Million Dollar Game. Finally, three teams from each division made the playoffs, with the division champion getting a bye and home field advantage for the division championship. Las Vegas beat Orlando, 35-29, in the Million Dollar Game, giving the city of Las Vegas its first professional sports championship of any type. Rod Smart was named Million Dollar Game MVP, to go along with his League MVP trophy from that season.
Another first for the XFL was an overall profit. The league brought in $10 million more than it spent in 2004, which is the classic definition of "annual profit." Vince McMahon appeared on Raw from Las Vegas two days after announcing the year-end profits, congratulating the Outlaws for their championship, and thanking the fans, "because if it wasn't for you people, the XFL would have folded in 2001, and you wouldn't be able to celebrate this title."
The league did not expand before the 2005 season, but did announce there would be four expansion teams in 2006. With the addition of four more teams, they would also expand from two to four divisions. At the end of the season Las Vegas became the first team to repeat as champions, beating Raleigh, 38-17. Smart was again named League MVP, but the Million Dollar Game MVP was Outlaws quarterback Joey Harrington.
On June 1, 2005, three weeks after the previous season, the XFL Board of Daily Operations held a press conference carried live by Fox Sports from the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas to announce the new teams. Bob Golic, Acting XFL Commissioner, opened the conference by announcing that each of the other members of the Board would announce a team, and that he would be answering any questions after the announcements. Brian Bosworth approached first.
"I am very glad to announce the first new team, playing in the Eastern Division, will be " he pulled up a sheet to unveil a helmet "the Norfolk Breakers!" The Fox Sports broadcast cut quickly to a shot of people cheering at a local bar in the Virginia Beach area.
Next to the microphone was Joe Namath. "The second new team in the XFL, also playing in the Eastern Division " he pulled his own sheet " is the Boston Revolution!" Fans in Boston were happy with this news.
Hollywood Henderson approached the bank of microphones next. "In the Northern Division " sheet pull "we have the Columbus Crush!" People in Columbus cheered, excited to have natural geographical rivals in Detroit.
Finally, Dick Butkus came forward. "We decided to save the best for last. Also in the Northern Division, I give you " he pulled the sheet "the returning Chicago Enforcers!" People at the Chicago Hard Rock toasted the announcement.
Bob Golic walked to the podium. "As you can see by this chart " he gestured to a large display of the new divisional breakdowns "the Southern Division will consist of the teams in Birmingham, Memphis, Orlando, and San Antonio, while the Western Division will be the teams from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Portland. We will also expand the playoffs to include four wild card teams, which will be the four teams with the best records that do not win their division. Any questions?"
"Bob, the XFL has gone back in to Chicago, and also has teams in Detroit and Phoenix, which also have NFL teams. Next year, will you consider moving back into the New York market?"
Golic cleared his throat. "We actually considered it this year, but decided that with two NFL teams and two Arena teams in the market, along with three NHL teams, two NBA teams, and two Major League Baseball teams in the market all competing for the same attention from the same fan base, it might be a little too crowded already. We do want to get back into the New York area, but for now, Atlantic City has a solid fan base of people who are traveling from New York, so we're not going to hurt that team."
"What about San Francisco?"
"San Francisco was a good market for us as well during that first season, but again, the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market has two NFL teams, two baseball teams, an NHL team, and an NBA team. We're not ready to move back there. However, both New York and San Francisco are on the short list of cities we want to move to."
"Bob, what other cities are you looking at for future expansion, and are you planning on expanding again next year?"
"First, we never really plan on expanding each year. We have been so successful each year, that expansion was possible each year, but it was never truly planned. Secondly, we also looked at adding teams in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Houston, Minneapolis, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Honolulu, as well as looking at Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto in Canada. We decided on Boston, Columbus, Chicago, and Norfolk for different reasons."
"Why do you have two divisions with four established teams each, and two divisions with two established teams and two expansion teams?"
"We did that to try to establish some kind of geographical balance. The best way we could look to put an expansion team in each division would have Portland in the North with Milwaukee, Detroit, and Chicago, instead of the more natural fit in the West. We decided on the wild card approach being the four best teams instead of the second best team in each division to try to balance out the seeming competitive imbalance of the divisions."
The press conference lasted about an hour. Afterward, fans in attendance were invited to talk to the Board, as well as Vince McMahon, who stayed in the background.
That season, Raleigh, Milwaukee, Birmingham, and Phoenix won their divisions, with Los Angeles, Portland, Orlando, and Boston taking the wild card spots. In the Million Dollar Game, Birmingham quarterback Charlie Batch was named MVP, leading the Bolts to a 36-34 win over Milwaukee.
There was no expansion before the 2006 season, but that didn't mean there was no news. Acting Commissioner Dick Butkus announced the XFL was stable at 16 teams, and there would no further expansion for many years. Furthermore, to strengthen the league, the XFL would have a working agreement with the Canadian Football League, allowing a free exchange of talent across borders. There was also a change with touchdown conversions. Along with the one-, two-, and three-point conversions (depending on whether the play was started from the two, the five, or the ten yard line), teams were also, for the first time, allowed to kick for one point, but only by drop kicking the ball. Teams could also attempt a drop kick field goal for four points instead of three [a "drop kick' is similar to a punt, and has no relation to the wrestling term]. Also, the "Million Dollar Game," the championship game in which the winning team would split one million dollars as they saw fit, would have a new name: the "Five Million Dollar Game," with the appropriate increase for the winning team.
But, the most exciting news had nothing to do with game play. ABC, which was losing its "Monday Night Football" NFL broadcast, was now a new broadcast partner for the XFL, and would air "The Five Million Dollar Game" in primetime. More importantly for the parent company, ABC also agreed to air "WrestleMania 22" live, along with two other former pay-per-view events, "Survivor Series" and the rebirth of the "King of the Ring."
The end of the 2006 season brought $5 million to the San Antonio Hammers, who beat Raleigh Hurricanes 18-17, with a 29-yard drop kick field goal in the last minute. ABC, Spike (formerly TNN) and UPN all showed high ratings for broadcasts. Some colleges were changing the rules of their intramural flag football leagues to reflect XFL rules. More and more former wrestlers with football backgrounds were brought into broadcast teams and team offices, and Bill Goldberg was even signed on as a strength coach for Raleigh.
The best news for the XFL, though, was in the financial outlook. The league which lost over $70 million dollars in its first season in 2001 was now, five years later, showing a profit of $123 million, and more cities around the US and Canada wanted teams. People in Pittsburgh, Denver, Toronto, and Houston contacted Vince McMahon about buying into the league so their cities could have a team.
However, the success of the XFL spurred the thoughts of another entity in Vince McMahon: the XLL. Just imagine, Mick Foley, commissioner of his own lacrosse league
AND THE EXTRA POINT IS...BLOCKED!
Wouldn't that be so cool? To see a blocked extra point make a difference in the Super Bowl?
...nah, not really. All I ask for is a close game. See you next week, with another story of intrigue and suspense, or at least, a story that will take about ten minutes to read.
