XFL - Your Thoughts

The year has passed, and the opening run for the ball (which Vigilante likes A LOT) has ensued. XFL has begun, and the reviews and opinions of many have been coming in from every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Some are nice, others are not. Well, we here at GYEAH.COM have compiled some of these opinions, along with our own, to create a nice little 'thought' column representing people from many differnt backgrounds, professions, and ages.

Sports Writer Opinions:

Mel Kiper, ESPN: "I know the television ratings for NBC were above and beyond what was expected, but it will be interesting to see how many dropoffs they had after the game was under way and how many fans tune in to further action in the weeks and months to come. For me, I won't be back watching until I find out that the game itself has become the focal point." COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

Dan Patrick, ESPN: "Some of the technology and camera work was interesting and innovative. But does that make it a sport? No. I hope we stop running the XFL on SportsCenter. As a rule, there are no highlights if the game is played by minor leaguers. We don"t run CBA highlights on SportsCenter and we wouldn"t start even if they had nude cheerleaders ... I think." COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

Rob Dibble, ESPN: I'm embarrassed for NBC and even for Vince McMahon -- not because they duped us but because they managed to make the WWF look even better to me. If you want to drink beer, see some great athletes trying as hard as they can on the field of battle and get into the game for a low price, go to a minor league hockey or baseball game. But please don't tell me you had a great time watching the XFL. Don't waste my time. The only reason these losers got carried off the field was because they blew out some part of their Tony Siragusa wannabe bodies. COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

EM Swift, CNNSI: "..the football itself was kind of fun. The quick kick? Outstanding. The sideline interviews, in which reporters ask obnoxious questions to players and coaches in the heat of battle? Terrific. One of them's going to get drilled. The huddle-cam? Great stuff. The NHL, the NBA and Major League Baseball should all be taking notes on how to better get the viewer more engaged. Now if McMahon and Ebersol can find a few announcers who, in the XFL vernacular, "kiss their mothers with those mouths," their product might be fit to be shown on free TV." COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

Peter King, CNNSI: "This is what I didn't like about the XFL opener..: The soft porn; the cheerleaders giving faux lap dances to drunken idiots on national TV. ... The titilating locker room posing between a Vegas cheerleader and Outlaw player Brandon Sanders, and the Temptation Island-esque commercial of a blonde bombshell stripping down in the locker room after a "game."...." COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

GYEAH Staff Opinions:

Vigilante: "This is the first time in about 5 years where I didn't go to sleep sometime during a professional game. Those two games last night had the collegiate type feel to the games, that I enjoy ten times better than professional sports. And that LA vs. San Fran game....my GOD talk about intense. Now if only a basketball league will come around to give me another league to look at beside these pansies in the NBA.

The only thing I'm not to fond of about the XFL is Jerry Lawler's commentary. I love the guy to death,but I don't want to hear about the cheerleaders every 10 seconds while I'm watching the football game. Someone has to tell Lawler to break out of character, and do the game without mentioning the cheerleaders 24 times in a minute. Ross, on the other hand, is perfect. But this doesn't really matter anyway, cause they only do the games that aren't televised."

Nemesis: "Considering I'm not a big football fan, I thought the XFL debut games were rather decent. Better than most people in the "established" sports business are willing to give them credit for, but saying that, there is still room for improvement. Some of the players had about as much business being on the mic as David Flair does. "He Hate Me"?? I think McMahon dropped the ball big time on those WWF superstar promos. Instead of that, he could have had Stone Cold in the stands drinking a beer, Edge & Christian scalping tickets outside, or maybe the Rock talking some junk in the locker rooms at half time. I would have liked that better than just the standard taped "promo".

My biggest complaint would be the announcing crew ... or more specifically, Jerry Lawler. As annoying as he is on RAW, he seemed to be ten times as worse last night. I thought Ross and Ventura did good jobs, but Lawler's act was intolerable. When you're trying to build the XFL as a reputable football league, you'd do better to have someone else with at least some amount of sense on the mic with Ross. I felt sorry for Ross while he was trying to call the action only to have Lawler commenting on cheerleaders in the middle of a play. With all the ex-football players on the WWF's roster, they could have found someone with a marginable football background to compliment Ross' informative play calling. Stone Cold? Bradshaw? Hell, why not Dick Butkus? He can talk as much trash as anyone, and we all know his football background more than speaks for itself.

With that said, however, there was plenty of things that made the XFL interesting. The camera angles were pretty cool and there were some great plays and performances, and some ultra-violent hits. Oh, and the cheerleaders look better on television than they do on the XFL website.

I'm hoping to the overwhelming success of the XFL, if for no other reason than to force the sports media to give some credit to McMahon. I mean, watching the highlights of the XFL on FoxSports last night, the main emphasis they put on the highlights were mocking McMahon's intro speech and calling the cheerleaders "bimbos" ... with the actual game footage being secondary. Just another example of biased and opinionated news coverage, this time it being in the world of sports. My question: If the stands continue to be filled with fans, and the people are at home watching, how long can people go without giving the XFL some credit it deserves?

Skizzow: What upsets me the most is that sports reporters (especially the ones who cover the NFL) get all offensive and worked up when someone even mentions the XFL. Their always saying, "thats not real football" or "I don't know what Vince(mcmahnon) is running over there but.....". These people who get all offensive when others say they are fans of the XFL need to slow down and breath for a second. No one even said the XFL was a competitor of the NFL. Its played in an entire different season for christ sake! Fans of the XFL know that the talent level is a shade lower, but they watch it because like Vince McMahnon said, "the XFL caters to the fan." Don't kid yourself the XFL is still football, all they did was add some hot ass chearleaders/strippers and some funky ass camera angles. Anyone who doubts this didn't watch the Demons - Xtreme game Sunday afternoon, where field goal as time expired won the game! That was excitement and if i can catch a couple shots of sweet ass in process, I'm that much happier. I've always been a die hard NFL fan and i always will be, but if Vince Mcmahnon wants to give me more football to watch so that I don't have to see hockey, soccer, and pre-season baseball, I'll back that 100%.

Vaughn Dunbar........word?

Goc: Is XFL entertaining? Is XFL fun to watch? Is XFL good football? Will XFL make it? The answers to the first three are obvious to me..YES!!! The last question is the tougher one, certainly if I have anything to say about it, it will. But I'm just one Nielsen point in a sea of bad taste that elevates such crap as Will & Grace and Becker. But things like that can't be helped I suppose. Instead we should all thank Vince McMahon for taking the biggest chance in his life and giving US a sport we can all call our own. This isn't our father's league, this isn't Lombardi's, this is OUR league. I used to love the NFL, but now I can't stand to watch even the Super Bowl. The XFL's minor rules tweaks, the short play clock, and the annoucers keep me entertained for entire games...what more can I ask for?

Aron Rave: I think XFL has good chance to succed. Well, more chances than the infamous WBF bodybulding federation. I love the new rules, the play go way faster. The annoying interviewer sometime pissed me off, but the football was good. Hell, better than the Superball. Don't worry, if next game isn't a 19-0 game, a lot of people will gain respect for this league, and, I hope, forget sexy cheerleaders and WWF for a while.

Hoss: XFL..nuff said. The best invention since the number 0, gas stations, and beef jerky. I loved damn near every minute of the games. The camera angles...the cheerleaders.. u name it and tvince mcmahon had hit the nail right on the head. I do have one complaint however. Unlike your average 19 year old tubby bellied under-age drinker im not a fan of the WWF. So for me the presence of WWF wrestlers was sleepless...but i understand that they are obviously gonna use familiar people to promote a product. Hell it makes sense, im just being a bitch about it. one good thing about the league I thought was having only eight teams. alot easier than trying to follow 30 or whatever in the NFL. well thats my story and im sticking to it...like a pair of jizzy underwears.

Kenyon: XFL in my opinion is off to a good start. From the competition for right to receive or kick, to the cheerleaders, only one word is fit to describe it.....WET!!! Camera angles were a bit different, but I liked it. Best part of the game on tv though, is when the receiver tips it up, then the tight end catches it down field in the endzone. Does the announcer say..."Touchdown!!!!!!!!" No, he screams "SLOPPY SECONDS!!!!!" I think the league is only going to get better too.

In conclusion, it appears that the people the XFL was made for have accepted it wholeheartedly. We here at GYEAH.COM are willing to bet that if ESPN wasn't owned by Fox and the NFL wasn't on that station..they would be licking the balls of every XFL player known to man. But because their far to biased to even watch a game with a clear head, they'll never see what they're missing out on. I guess being an unbaised journalist nowadays just doesn't get you sh*t.

-Head to the GYEAH.com XFL Headquarters to see all of our XFL Coverage, Here you go.