Schwartz: 15 Years Later, The XFL Still Lives On -- Sort Of

By Peter Schwartz
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Anyone who tunes in to see the Broncos take on the Panthers in Super Bowl 50 on CBS this Sunday will be treated to a telecast that will be chock-full of technological advances that have evolved over the years.

Throughout the history of football on television, we've seen the introduction of instant replay, multiple camera angles, the first-down marker superimposed on the field, the score box on the screen and the telestrator.

But one of the coolest parts of a football telecast these days is the Skycam, a camera that slides along a cable over the field, giving viewers some incredible views of the action.

CBS was the first network to use it back in 1984 during a preseason NFL telecast. NBC debuted its version of it a year later for its telecast of the Orange Bowl. But it wasn't until 2001 when the Skycam was used on a regular basis.

That was the year that the XFL kicked off and subsequently kicked the bucket.

The XFL was the creation of World Wrestling Entertainment chairman Vince McMahon and featured eight teams from coast to coast including the New York/New Jersey Hitmen, who played at Giants Stadium. The much-hyped spring league that promised smashmouth football with some rules that differed from the NFL debuted 15 years ago Wednesday.

There were no kickoffs and no traditional point after touchdowns. Instead, the opening possession of each game was determined by a ball scramble, a race between one player from each team to a battle for the football at midfield, and extra points were earned by either a run or a pass from scrimmage.

Fifteen years later, the NFL tinkered with the "boring" extra point, moving it back to a 33-yard PAT.

The players in the XFL were a collection of NFL castoffs, former college stars and guys that were just hoping for a chance to play for the love of the game. It was also a league of opportunity for coaches, front-office executives and broadcasters.

The XFL will always hold a special place in my heart, as it provided me with my first football play-by-play job as the radio voice of the Hitmen. I had a blast with the XFL that year, and without it, I probably wouldn't have moved on to the Arena Football League and my eight-year run with the New York Dragons.

But for many of the players, the XFL was that all-important second chance at professional football.

"Being back in the game was most memorable and having the camaraderie with the guys again," said Hitmen defensive lineman Dwayne Sabb, a former New England Patriot who played in Super Bowl XXXI. "I felt like I could still play."

Sabb was one of many XFL players who took advantage of another wacky rule that allowed the use of nicknames on the back of the jerseys. Sabb opted for "BIG SABB" on the back his jersey, but that was tame compared to others.

This Sunday, the Panthers will play in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2004, when they lost to the Patriots 32-29 in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Do you remember who returned the opening kickoff that day for Carolina? The player's name was Rod Smart, but he is better known for having "HE HATE ME" on the back of his Las Vegas Outlaws jersey in the XFL.

Smart was one of a number of XFL players who used the exposure to make their way back to the NFL, including quarterback Tommy Maddox, who guided the Los Angeles Xtreme to the XFL Championship and then won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the backup to Ben Roethlisbeger.

After Los Angeles beat the San Francisco Demons in the championship game, the expectation was that the XFL would return for a second season. There were monster ratings for Week 1, but viewership declined steadily on NBC, UPN and TNN throughout the season.

The feeling around the league was that NBC, a joint-venture partner in the XFL with the WWE, was going to pull out but that McMahon wanted to somehow keep the league alive. But the end result was that the plug was pulled after one year and reported losses of approximately $35 million.

Had a network still had an interest in carrying the league, the XFL might have lasted longer. But there were other theories as to why the league folded after one season.

"I believe that they were paid off by the NFL, and that is why it folded after one year," said Sabb. "It was a good league that could have been around for years."

The XFL had some good ideas, but they rushed to start that season. I remember walking into the Hitmen locker room before that first game in Las Vegas, and I saw a lot of players who were not in football shape. There were moments of good football, but for the most part, it was sloppy, and that's why people stopped watching after the first week.

But one of the neat things about the XFL is that the league allowed players to be themselves. Today, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is being criticized for expressing himself. In 2001, that was encouraged in the XFL, and that was, for the most part, a good thing.

The XFL also tried some different rules. Some of them worked, and some of them did not. But 15 years later, it's now the NFL that is trying some different things.

I enjoyed the XFL and all the good and bad it had to offer. One of these years, a spring football league will be successful. When that happens, you'll probably see some lasting elements of the XFL.

Follow Peter on Twitter at @pschwartzcbsfan