| Before you completely write off the XFL, go to a
game. I was sitting in the warm, dry press box at windy, rainy Soldier Field on Saturday
night, all set to experience my first XFL game. I wasn’t too anxious, seeing as how
the game would pit the two worst teams in the league against one another in very poor
conditions. I was anticipating a messy, messy game. And I got it. Somewhere in the
middle of the second half, I had an epiphany. I thought, "This game is not
going to help the league at all in the media, and likely will drag ratings way down again.
I like this league, but really, this game is just so boring." I could see it on most
of the faces in the press box too. When will it end?
Then I looked down to the stands. Nearly 15,000 fans turned out to watch this game and,
quite frankly, were having a great time, despite the rain, the wind, the cold and the
boring game. Most of them stayed until it was clear the Enforcers were beaten. And the
fans were paying attention to the game as well, not just to the cups in their hands and
the cheerleaders on the sidelines.
That’s when I realized that the XFL is doing just what it must do. Maybe the media
is bored or disillusioned with the league. Maybe the television audience has tuned out.
But, the players are having a lot of fun, and the fans at the games are having even more
fun. For $25 a ticket, you really can’t complain. The football being played
isn’t that bad, even when the Enforcers and Hitmen take the field, and the XFL keeps
the fans entertained during breaks in the action. And I think Basil V. DeVito Jr.,
president of the XFL, knows this and relishes in it. He came up to the press box and
chitchatted and joked with reporters about the magnificent turnout despite the weather. He
seemed quite giddy, and deservedly so (has Paul Tagliabue or Bud Selig ever been giddy,
let alone showed it?).
If the XFL can continue to draw fans to the stadium, they’ve won half the battle
already. That brings up my task for you, my XFL readers: If you’ve been to a game, I
want you to e-mail me at ahanacek@primediasi.com
and tell me your thoughts on the game, honestly. I will not use your names if you
don’t want me to. The main questions I ask of you are: What game(s) did you attend?
What did you find fun about the game(s)? What wasn’t fun? How old are you, and what
is your gender? Did you drink a lot of alcohol (don’t lie)? Are you more a fan of
football or of the WWF?
For those of you looking for the theatrics, they began this week. A feud of sorts has
begun between Hitmen head coach Rusty Tillman and NBC analyst Gov. Jesse Ventura. Tillman
has been less-than willing to take part in several of the on-field interviews that the NBC
sideline reporters have tried to get over the past few weeks. So the governor decided to
take matters into his own hands and head down to the field to interview Tillman after the
game. Tillman walked right past Ventura, to which Ventura cleverly said, "He’s
afraid of me."
After the game, Tillman told reporters that he doesn’t care about Ventura or what
he has to say, repeating that he is a football coach and he doesn’t want any part of
the theatrics. He added that the governor should go count taxes for Minnesota and that
he’d be embarrassed if his governor did what Ventura was doing.
NBC must be licking its chops. You see, Tillman doesn’t need to do anything else
except comment during press conferences and continue to blow off the governor. The
prospect of seeing the Minnesota governor get clocked by Tillman, or vice versa, could
drive ratings up by itself. Let’s just hope NBC doesn’t force the issue and lets
this soap opera play itself out.
Oh, "He Hate Me" is Rod Smart. Now that he’s actually had a performance
worthy of his opponents’ hatred, I know who he is.
Think nothing of the benching of San Francisco Demons QB Mike Pawlawski late in the
game on Sunday against Las Vegas. Head coach Jim Skipper said after the game that the move
to Pat Barnes was just to provide a spark. Barnes provided barely a flicker and played
pretty poorly in Pawlawski’s place, but it was a valiant move by Skipper, in my
opinion. The offense wasn’t moving much, so why not mix it up? Look for Pawlawski to
be back next week, and based on Barnes’ performance, look for Pawlawski to remain in
the game most of the time.
Some folks will look at the Enforcers' 13-0 loss to the Hitmen and either lay the blame
on QB Tim Lester or on the fact the RB John Avery missed the game with a severe thigh
injury. But, really, the problem clearly was with the Enforcers' offensive line. The
Hitmen had eight sacks on the day and flushed Lester from the pocket constantly. No. 2 RB
LeShon Johnson had a hard time finding holes up the middle and had most of his success on
the outside. Lester rarely had time to set his feet and look downfield, and Avery likely
wouldn't have had much more success up the middle. .
Orlando Rage QB Jeff Brohm continues to be my favorite for MVP. His numbers aren’t
phenomenal, but he’s the catalyst for a very, very well-rounded offense that has led
the team to a 4-0 start. .
Here’s some evidence of the difference between the XFL and NFL regarding fighting
and unnecessary roughness: In the Outlaws-Demons game, a Demons defender ripped the helmet
off Outlaws OG Lonnie Palelei during a scuffle. That Demons player then threw the helmet
in the direction of Palelei (we won’t debate whether he threw it at him, a la Roger
Clemens-Mike Piazza). He ripped his own helmet off and signaled to Palelei to bring it.
Clearly, in the NFL, this player would have been immediately ejected and later fined.
Fault the announcers, but I don’t think that the Demons’ player was ejected.
Instead, the referee announced "several offsetting unsportsmanlike-conduct"
penalties.
You can e-mail Andy Hanacek at: ahanacek@primediasi.com |
