OK, I knew the XFL, the new football league creation of Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation, was going to be adolescent. Just not how adolescent (or, perhaps, how far-removed from adolescence I really am). Are teen boys thumping one another on the back when a cheerleader says of the quarterback, “He really knows about scoring”? A chortle? Does it garner even a snicker?
What the XFL debut on Saturday night did garner was boffo ratings. On a night that has become America’s night for the video store, the XFL creamed the competition and drew the kind of double-digit ratings that the NBA and other leagues covet. But McMahon is a master of hype with a proven track record, so the league opened amid an unprecedented blitz of publicity for a new sports venture. There was a huge curiosity factor at play here, and ratings did go down every half hour until perking back up in the final half hour. The buzz is huge, but the test will be whether the XFL can sustain the interest. In the meantime, here’s one writer’s report card on debut weekend:
TECHNOLOGY, B+: The XFL has the camera angles (at times there seemed to be more cameramen lurking around the line of scrimmage than players) and it flaunted them. That’s good in theory, but not necessarily in practice. The camera view from behind the quarterback provided a nice sense of flow, but not a clue as to where the ball went once the quarterback released it. And from that angle, it was tough to tell whether a running back went two yards or 12. It didn’t take the directors too long to appreciate that the classic NFL-proved camera angle remains the best. Still, the multiple options are a big plus, especially if they’re a little less herky-jerky. Similarly, the miked players should provide some interesting fodder for fans, even if it didn’t produce much in its debut. What’s needed is a more selective approach. The first grunt is the last grunt I need to hear. And with the pace of the game speeded up by a 35-second clock, (10 seconds faster than the NFL countdown), there isn’t much idle chatter in the huddle. Moreover, listening to first the coach order up “35 B Dakota,” then the quarterback echo the call doesn’t provide me with much insight into the game. Save it for that rare moment when the receiver whispers to the quarterback, “I can beat this clown” and proceeds to do so for a touchdown. Then play it to me and I’ll be duly impressed.
“ALL-ACCESS PASS,” B-: Another great idea that is decidedly a work in progress. Again, mostly what we learned is what shouldn’t be done. No interviews with players who are gasping for breath. And no interrupting the coach on a critical fourth-down call, as the sideline reporter did with Orlando’s Galen Hall, to ask a coach who was trying to secure a win, “How does it feel to be 42 seconds away from your first win?” And though I actually did want to know why the Las Vegas running back had “He Hate Me” on the back of his uniform, I still have no idea, despite his being interviewed on the subject. Nor did the locker room mike reveal any “win it for the Gipper” moments. What is likely to prove most intriguing is listening to the coaches on the sidelines. The best moment was New York/New Jersey Hitmen coach Rusty Tillman explaining to his defense how it should be responding when the Vegas quarterback called an audible.
SEX, C-: Maybe when I was 12, the prospect of seeing a scantily-clad cheerleader perform a lap dance with a fan would have had me tuning in for eternity. But I tend to think that today’s 12-year-olds have been exposed to a bit more taboo than I was back in the ’50s. That doesn’t mean they might not like it. But they’re not going to live or die for it. It also seems that the XFL’s partnership with an established network, NBC, must be tempering its basest instincts. Because it didn’t seem to know how to play the cheerleaders. Should it be truly raunchy? Or should it feature sophomoric humor? My instinct tells me that it’s the genuine sleaze that is the bigger hit with the fans, but not with the advertisers.
ATTITUDE, C-: You can get away with calling the NFL the “No Fun League,” calling it stodgy and staid. But the NFL doesn’t need any lessons in attitude. Anybody who watched the Baltimore Ravens defense terrify its opponents in the post-season knows that. So the XFL might be advised to cool it when it comes to hyping its attitude. Nobody needs a P.A. announcer, as happened in San Francisco, calling the opposing quarterback “a moron.” Don’t confuse idiocy with fun.
THE ACTUAL FOOTBALL, D+: It was so bad I thought I was watching a Cincinnati Bengals game. Truth is, I wasn’t sure that the “minor-leagueness” of this venture would come through so clearly.
It did. I could tell that the quarterbacks were weak-armed and that the wideouts were more than a step slow. I appreciate that the players were trying hard. But no matter how many times Jesse Ventura oohed and aahed over hits, I recognized that the hitting, which after all is a product of size and speed, was not NFL-caliber. On the other hand, most of the rule changes seemed shrewd. The opening dash-and-scrum was an amusing novelty, even if the Orlando participant separated his shoulder in the pre-game chase. The one-foot-in-bounds rule for receivers should give offense a boost and eliminate some of the referee’s worst headaches. And the no-fair-catch rule, a staple of the Canadian Football League, seems well-designed to add excitement.
It should be noted that the XFL scored big despite an almost worst-case scenario for its opening game, a badly-played, one-sided snoozer in which Las Vegas blanked New York-New Jersey 19-0. (Kudos to the TV folks for making the switch to the far more entertaining Orlando-Chicago contest.) McMahon and his NBC counterpart, Dick Ebersol, are two of the shrewdest men in the sports-entertainment game. Both the game and the presentation should improve right up to the “Big Game at the End.” But was curiosity transformed into genuine interest? You know the answer: only time will tell.
