XFL BattleHawks have Iowa ties

[BVHawk95]

One thing the XFL has going for it is they were patient.

The AAF tried to jump into the fray instantly, and were bankrupt halfway thru the season. The XFL has had over a year now to build their marketing teams, relationships, organizations, to a point where they are at the very least stable.

Probably won't ever be a serious competitor and history shows it will likely fold eventually, but I'd be surprised if it didn't last a whole season.

 

[DDThompson]

One thing the XFL has going for it is they were patient.

The AAF tried to jump into the fray instantly, and were bankrupt halfway thru the season. The XFL has had over a year now to build their marketing teams, relationships, organizations, to a point where they are at the very least stable.

Probably won't ever be a serious competitor and history shows it will likely fold eventually, but I'd be surprised if it didn't last a whole season.

The AAF was thrown together to head off the XFL. It was not ever designed to survive.

 

[DDThompson]

If the XFL stays in its lane and basically operates as a minor league feeder system to the NFL, it could survive.

it’s probably a way to try to get McMahon an NFL franchise. 7 of 8 teams are in NFL cities; the one that’s not is in St Louis.

 

[ssckelley]

it’s probably a way to try to get McMahon an NFL franchise. 7 of 8 teams are in NFL cities; the one that’s not is in St Louis.

I think this is a dumb move as well, that's if the goal is to be a developmental league for the NFL. Sports that do have "minor leagues" put them in cities that don't have a major league team so they can expand the fan base without competing with each other. So this makes me believe that they still want to compete for TV revenues in the major markets.

I think they could have done just fine in St Louis, San Diego, Oakland, Portland, and in other 2nd tier markets.

 

[DDThompson]

I think this is a dumb move as well, that's if the goal is to be a developmental league for the NFL. Sports that do have "minor leagues" put them in cities that don't have a major league team so they can expand the fan base without competing with each other. So this makes me believe that they still want to compete for TV revenues in the major markets.

I think they could have done just fine in St Louis, San Diego, Oakland, Portland, and in other 2nd tier markets.

Yep, exactly. But I don’t think it’s so much about putting butts and seats together as it is eyeballs and monitors/TVs. That right there should be a sign that this isn’t designed to be a competitor to the NFL.

Get sales (eyeballs) so the brand name company (NFL) will buy you out and in.

McMahon has made his money; now he wants to move it to a “legit” business model = an NFL franchise.