A lot of people – including myself – wondered what the XFL would look like when it kicked off again this weekend for the first time since that circus of a season back in 2001.
Because let’s face it – that was one very strange ride.
But you know what? This new reboot was actually pretty fun this weekend.
I thought maybe a week after the Super Bowl would be a little too early to start things, as we were all still getting over the intense final few months of the NFL season and then that great Super Bowl in Miami but this turned out to be a nice, light football treat.
We saw Jerry Glanville stalking a sideline again… while wearing two headset at once. What a legend.
We had a player make history by getting ejected for throwing a punch.
And we had Pat McAfee show how fun these game broadcasts could be if we just don’t take things so gosh darn seriously.
NFL players really enjoyed what they saw on TV, too, as they celebrated some different rules that were in play as well as the effort the players gave as they try to keep their professional football dreams alive.
One of those rule changes was on display right away as the XFL’s kickoff format proved to be a nice mix of looking out for player safety while also keeping the football aspect of it pretty interesting.
Hopefully NFL executives were watching because there are a number of things that league could learn from this league.
The question that’s going to come up is – does this thing have lasting power or will it go away like the first version or like the Alliance of American Football (remember that thing!?) that was around briefly last year?
And you know what? Let’s allow some time before we try to answer that question. Right now let’s just have a little fun and watch some football that isn’t treated like the end-of-the-world type stuff the way so many NFL fans treat their fandom for much of the year.
Let’s laugh at Jerry Glanville and Pat McAfee. Let’s see if these new kickoffs continue to be a good twist to the traditional way things are done. And let’s enjoy seeing betting lines being displayed on the score bugs.
Because who knows, maybe in a few weeks will be so over this thing.
The weekend’s biggest winner: Bill Murray.
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Last weekend the legendary actor stole the show with his awesome Super Bowl ad. This weekend he stole the show at Pebble Beach with his hilarious reaction to a missed putt during the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pro-Am. He followed it out with one of the best tap-ins I’ve ever seen.
Quick hits: Spike Lee’s tribute to Kobe Bryant… Russell Wilson’s new ‘do… Keselowski rips teammate… And more!
– Spike Lee wore an awesome Kobe Bryant suit to the Oscars.
– Russell Wilson showed off a new hairdo and people on Twitter were not nice about it.
– Brad Keselowski ripped teammate Joey Logano for “dumb racing” after Sunday’s NASCAR Clash at Daytona.
– Joe Rogan rightly crushed the judges at UFC 247.
– Speaking of the XFL, Johnny Manziel explained why he’s not in the league.
– The ending of that Duke-UNC game was nuts… and controversial.
