Return of the XFL

The XFL first launched as a spring football league in 2001, but after 1 season, the league shut down. The XFL’s first season (under new ownership) took place at the start of 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the rest of the regular-season games were suspended on March 12th, and the XFL filed for bankruptcy on April 13th. However, on August 3rd, 2020, for 15 million dollars, the league was bought by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale. Plans were put in place for the XFL to return during the spring of 2023, and on February 18th, 2023, the XFL returned, hoping to have its first entire football season. The XFL is made up of 8 teams located across the United States. The teams include the DC Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis BattleHawks, Vegas Vipers, Arlington Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, and the San Antonio Brahmas. Many XFL players and coaches are ex-NFL and college players.
The XFL is unique to the NFL in many ways. One of these ways is the unique rules. For example, the XFL will use a 35-second play clock rather than the 40-second play clock that the NFL uses. This rule will, in turn, create more offensive plays for more excitement. One of the more noticeable changes will be the points after the touchdown. In the XFL, the extra point kick is no more. Instead, teams will have the choice to go for varying point values by running one play from a specific yardage from the goal line. For example, one point will be earned running a play from the 2-yard line, two points from the 5-yard line, or three points from the 10-yard line. Also different from the NFL but similar to college football and the CFL (Canadian Football League), only one foot needs to be in bounds for a catch to be complete. Another rule that has fans intrigued is the double-forward pass. Teams can attempt two forward passes on the same play as long as the ball never crosses the line of scrimmage before the second pass. The XFL uses a three-round shootout of two-point conversions, similar to the NCAA, when games reach the fifth overtime.
Senior Drew Marshal, “I really like the XFL. I think it is great that many of the players who couldn’t make it in the NFL get a chance to continue playing and prove to NFL teams that they deserve a spot on the roster.” “I am really glad that fans get the chance to watch football during the offseason. Spring is usually boring, and my Instagram feed is filled with videos and clips from the last NFL season. But now I get to watch new clips and games,” says Senior Lucas Elmiger. “I like how they are changing the rules up from the NFL. It’s fun to see new ways that football can be played.” Senior Leo Jokay says, “I don’t really pay that much attention to it, but it seems like it is doing solid.”
The XFL playoffs start Saturday, April 29th, and Sunday, April 30th. Teams have to be top 2 in their division to make the playoffs. The two divisions (North and South) comprise four teams each. The top two teams from each division will play each other, and the team with the better record will host. The winners of the Division Semifinals then play at a neutral site for the XFL Championship. The XFL championship is set to take place Saturday, May 13th, in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.