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Vince McMahon has once again dipped his toe into the pool of professional football. Is he going to learn from past mistakes and make XFL a bonafide success, or is his hubris to be his downfall?
When Vince McMahon's WWE entered into a partnership with NBC studios to produce the XFL league, there was quite a stir.
The NFL had reigned supreme as the premiere pro football organization in the world. This was 2001, when Vince had bought out WCW and won the Monday Night wars. He was a certified billionaire and many were in awe of his success.
The XFL was considered a major contender, but never really took off with fans. Empty arenas and low ratings prompted a move to a more 'sex and violence' format, but it still failed to catch on with fans.
Now Vince has decided to give it another go, and resurrect the XFL. Here are five reasons he is out of his mind, and five that he might succeed!
Could Succeed: No partners to get cold feet.
Vince McMahon created a company--Alpha Entertainment--solely for the purposes of creating and promoting the XFL.
By creating a new corporate entity of which he is the sole owner, Vince both shields his WWE interests and ensures he will have the last say in any decisions.
The XFL folded when NBC reneged on their contract and chose not to air any more XFL games, though the contract was to have been for three seasons. Without any partners to dig in their heels, McMahon can push his new idea forward without hindrance.
Might Fail: Too much football.
The fact of the matter is, college football has become more popular in the last two decades since the fall of the XFL.
With the NFL and NCAA already competing for football fans's attention, can the XFL hope to carve out its own market share? Or is XFL coming to the table far too late?
Might Succeed: Hiring Experts
When the first XFL was announced in 1999, it was clear who would be running the show. Vince McMahon was convinced that he would be able to produce a football product that would be superior to the NFL, and that fans would tune in en masse to see it.
McMahon was so confident he put himself in charge of almost every aspect of the XFL. This time around, Vince has pledged that he will not be 'out in front' of the project, and will seek assistance from professional football experts.
One can only assume he will hire and consult ex-players and coaches, as well as football analysts. By seeking outside help Vince can improve his product this time around and hopefully meet with more success.
Might Fail: A diminished talent pool.
Simply put, one of the things that brought the XFL down last time will likely cause Vince problems once again; The best talent are STILL going to the NFL, at least for the foreseeable future.
The NFL is a ratings and corporate juggernaut that has existed in one form or another for nearly a century. The best case scenario for XFL is that it will take several years to chip away at the NFL's fanbase, and life isn't generous with best case scenarios.
Most of the talent will still sign with the NFL for the prestige if nothing else. Even if the XFL offers higher pay, the mere brand recognition of the NFL is going to resonate with most players.
Might Succeed: NFL Controversies
While the NFL is still going to make billions of dollars in profit by the end of 2018, they still took a hit this year on ticket buys and ratings.
The actions of some players, like Colin Kaepernick, have angered the NFL's largely white male audience because it was seen as 'unpatriotic.'
Perhaps those white males should learn that true patriotism involves an honest assessment of one's country, and a recognition of the things that need to change, but justified or not the NFL has seen decreased revenues because of these controversies.
Add in such matters as Tom Brady's Deflategate and you have an environment that just might be suitable for a new football brand to cut out its own market share.
Might Fail:No television deal as of yet.
Vince McMahon has said the new XFL won't rely on television or network deals, and he will instead use the internet to stream his games live.
The problem with this scenario is that over 65 million Americans still don't have internet access. Most of these people live in rural areas--prime territory for football fandom. While some forms of entertainment don't seem to need a big time network deal--Ring of Honor has been streaming for years--they just don't do the numbers that the XFL would need to be truly profitable to investors.
Might Succeed: Embracing new technology
Ten years ago the idea that people would abandon traditional network television and cable programming was bandied about, but not taken seriously.
Fast forward to 2018, and over half of the country has a Netflix subscription. With streaming rapidly becoming the new normal, Vince McMahon is betting the farm on its survival and longevity.
Vince says he doesn't need a network TV deal to make the XFL a success--and he just might be right.
Might Fail: Vince is seen as a 'wrestling guy.'
Like as not, many fans of 'legitimate' sports have a general disdain for pro wrestling.
Even though pro wrestling takes in billions of dollars a year collectively, and Wrestlemania sells more tickets than the Super Bowl, there is still a perception that pro wrestling is 'fake' and therefor not worthy of respect by legitimate sports outlets and fandoms.
Due to these perceptions, Vince may be seen as a fish out of water in the football arena. He may have trouble convincing investors and advertisers that he can truly pull off the upset over the NFL.
Might Succeed: A new approach to filming football
Vince stated during his press conference that he doesn't think the NFL does the best job presenting the sport of American football.
He believes that he can utilize new streaming technology and multiple camera angles to present the game in a whole new, grittier light. Imagine that during a time out instead of going up to the announce booth for some dry commentary, the camera instead takes you into the huddle, or getting a running back's eye view of a touchdown.
Vince revolutionized the way wrestling was presented and filmed, and he just might be onto something here.
Might Fail: We've already done this dance before
Quite frankly, we've seen this before.
The XFL was promised to be a new, more innovative, more rugged version of American football, but the reality was the game was intrinsically unchanged.
XFL games resembled NFL games except the players weren't as talented and the arenas weren't as full. When the XFL started hemorrhaging money, Vince tried several different ploys to get ratings, usually involving scantily clad women or low brow humor.
The fact is, unless McMahon can convince people that the XFL will truly be a unique football experience, it is likely to fail again.
There you have it; Five reasons the XFL might succeed and five it might fail.
