Where's the game?
EDIT: Also, when?
MetLife, Sunday at 2 pm. Marc Trestman's Vipers come into town to take on Kevin Gilbride's Guardians.
I got a free ticket and am gung-ho about a spring league actually working for once, so I'm in.
I do think that Vince has done three things this time around which show he learned from past mistakes of either his league or others.
- He's distanced himself from the product completely. The last league was dead on arrival the second he screamed THISSS ISSSS THE XFL like a mad man and had the WWE (WWF at the time) cross-promoting EVERYTHING. It was branded as a wrestling football league. This has been marketed as purely a spring league with some tweaks in the rules to present a faster game, no WWE involvement, no Vince aside from writing the checks.
-Speaking of the checks, he didn't go into this half-cocked like Ebersol's kid financially. The funding is there, players won't be practicing across state lines because of insurance issues and all that bullshit.
- He hired knowledgable football people with a track record of success (Oliver Luck, Stoops, etc.) and let them do what they do while staying out of their way.
For example, it was Luck's idea to allow for the head coaches to put together their lists of which eligible quarterbacks they think would best fit their system, and allocated accordingly. It's a recognition that initially at least, this league is living or dying based on quarterback play.
Perusing the thread, I found this post from Fen when it was first announced. He was 100 percent right, and I'm glad they've strayed away from this kind of marketing.
Agreed. It would be a great way for undrafted guys and vets trying to prove they can still play to get another chance.
If they try to make it WWE again, it will flop.
