Football doesn't have to end just because Super Bowl LIV is over. The XFL's inaugural season is about to kick off with two games on Saturday, Feb. 8, and two more on Sunday, Feb. 9, as the startup league reboots from its previously failed venture from almost 20 years ago, and only one year after seeing the Alliance of American Football implode in spectacularly depressing fashion.
Vince McMahon, billionaire maestro of the WWE and creator of the XFL, hopes joining forces with XFL commissioner and league CEO Oliver Luck will help to avoid the pitfalls that doomed the developmental pro league nearly two decades ago, and they're off to a solid start with funding and process, at least. They successfully executed their draft in late October that featured nearly 800 players tossing their name into the pool, and took the next step toward their [re-]inaugural opening day when they officially released the 2020 schedule in late 2019. The XFL will average two games per day -- playing on both Saturdays and Sundays -- with the playoffs set to begin in mid-April.
First let's take a glance at the teams involved:
| XFL East | XFL West |
|---|---|
DC Defenders | Seattle Dragons |
New York Guardians | Los Angeles Wildcats |
Tampa Bay Vipers | Dallas Renegades |
St. Louis BattleHawks | Houston Roughnecks |
And now, the complete schedule, including dates and times for the playoffs and XFL Championship.
Week 1
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Dragons at Defenders | Saturday, Feb. 8 (2 p.m. ET) on ABC |
Wildcats at Roughnecks | Saturday, Feb. 8 (5 p.m. ET) on Fox (stream on fuboTV) |
Vipers at Guardians | Sunday, Feb. 9 (2 p.m. ET) on Fox (stream on fuboTV) |
BattleHawks at Renegades | Sunday, Feb. 9 (5 p.m. ET) on ESPN |
Week 2
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Guardians at Defenders | Saturday, Feb. 15 (2 p.m. ET) |
Vipers at Dragons | Saturday, Feb. 15 (5 p.m. ET) |
Renegades at Wildcats | Sunday, Feb. 16 (3 p.m. ET) |
BattleHawks at Roughnecks | Sunday, Feb. 16 (6 p.m. ET) |
Week 3
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Roughnecks at Vipers | Saturday, Feb. 22 (2 p.m. ET) |
Renegades at Dragons | Saturday, Feb. 22 (5 p.m. ET) |
Guardians at BattleHawks | Sunday, Feb. 23 (3 p.m. ET) |
Defenders at Wildcats | Sunday, Feb. 23 (6 p.m. ET) |
Week 4
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Wildcats at Guardians | Saturday, Feb. 29 (2 p.m. ET) |
Dragons at BattleHawks | Saturday, Feb. 29 (5 p.m. ET) |
Roughnecks at Renegades | Sunday, March 1 (4 p.m. ET) |
Defenders at Vipers | Sunday, March 1 (7 p.m. ET) |
Week 5
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Dragons at Roughnecks | Saturday, March 7 (2 p.m. ET) |
Guardians at Renegades | Saturday, March 7 (5 p.m. ET) |
BattleHawks at Defenders | Sunday, March 8 (3 p.m. ET) |
Vipers at Wildcats | Sunday, March 8 (9 p.m. ET) |
Week 6
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Roughnecks at Guardians | Saturday, March 14 (2 p.m. ET) |
BattleHawks at Vipers | Saturday, March 14 (5 p.m. ET) |
Renegades at Defenders | Sunday, March 15 (4 p.m. ET) |
Wildcats at Dragons | Sunday, March 15 (7 p.m. ET) |
Week 7
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Renegades at Vipers | Saturday, March 21 (2 p.m. ET) |
Wildcats at BattleHawks | Saturday, March 21 (5 p.m. ET) |
Guardians at Dragons | Sunday, March 22 (3 p.m. ET) |
Defenders at Roughnecks | Sunday, March 22 (6 p.m. ET) |
Week 8
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Vipers at Defenders | Saturday, March 28 (2 p.m. ET) |
BattleHawks at Guardians | Saturday, March 28 (5 p.m. ET) |
Roughnecks at Wildcats | Sunday, March 29 (3 p.m. ET) |
Dragons at Renegades | Sunday, March 29 (6 p.m. ET) |
Week 9
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Renegades at Roughnecks | Thursday, April 2 (8 p.m. ET) |
Defenders at Guardians | Saturday, April 4 (2 p.m. ET) |
Vipers at BattleHawks | Sunday, April 5 (12 p.m. ET) |
Dragons at Wildcats | Sunday, April 5 (6 p.m. ET) |
Week 10
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Wildcats at Renegades | Thursday, April 9 (8 p.m. ET) |
Roughnecks at Dragons | Saturday, April 11 (2 p.m. ET) |
Defenders at BattleHawks | Sunday, April 12 (3 p.m. ET)* |
Guardians at Vipers | Sunday, April 12 (6 p.m. ET)* |
Playoffs
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
East No. 2 at East No. 1 | Saturday, April 18 (3 p.m. ET) |
West No. 2 at West No. 1 | Sunday, April 19 (3 p.m. ET) |
Championship
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
East vs. West | Sunday, April 26 (3 p.m. ET) |
It's key to note times for the Week 10 battles on Sunday are subject to change.
As you can see, the XFL consists of eight teams who'll duke it out on weekend afternoons for the right to be the last one standing on April 26. The more astute eye will notice the season begins immediately following Super Bowl 54, which affirms their unwillingness to go head-to-head with the juggernaut that is the NFL. Their will be a one week bye between the playoff games and the championship, and that also coincidentally (or not so much) prevents a clash with the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas -- set to run from April 23-25.
The XFL Championship game will be held one day after the NFL Draft closes, and it'll be interesting to see how player performance from the former impacts the decisions of scouts and general managers regarding the latter. If there are standout veteran players from the XFL, it could make some NFL teams think twice about the value they place on certain players and/or positions in the collegiate prospect pool; and this could be especially true in the later rounds and undrafted free agency.
That is, of course, if the XFL can successfully complete the season without suffering the same fate as the AAF.
To their credit, although they lasted only one season in 2001, they did play it to its conclusion, but are hoping this time around their stay won't be so short-lived. And so it goes, the XFL is "back for the first time" on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Football has no offseason in 2020.
Bagikan Berita Ini
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