I cared. And it looked and sounded like the 24,000 or so fans at the Alamodome cared as well. So in that sense, Sunday’s late-fourth quarter XFL debut meltdown was not a total loss for the San Antonio Brahmas. They lost the game, but won some hearts, and posted by far the league’s largest Week One attendance figure. San Antonio also landed the first championship game for this (third) iteration of the XFL in mid-May. That’s much more important for the long-term prospects of San Antonio’s 14th pro football team, the first 13 of which ultimately failed.
This one has a chance. The XFL appears organizationally and financially sound, and has secured a five-year major national television package with reliable and respected partners. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson provides some promotional muscle and glitz. The league has good coaches and good players. Sure, there were some first-game glitches for all eight teams, but it looks to me like the quality of play will get pretty decent pretty quickly.
I watched the Brahmas’ birth from the comfort of my couch. It was a deliberate decision, although BB and I will probably go to the Dome next Sunday. I wanted to see the television presentation and packaging. I liked it. I wanted to make notes on the XFL’s rules changes and “wrinkles.” I like them. I particularly like teams having the option of trying to convert a fourth-and-15 in lieu of attempting an onside kick, and the “tiered” one, two and three point touchdown conversion options. Gimmicky? Sure, if you want to call it that. But these rules are going to help keep games alive and competitive for 60 minutes, and that cannot be a bad thing for this nascent league.
I watched. I cared. I cared enough to get mildly pissed for about five minutes after “my” Brahmas found a way to blow a 12-point lead in the final 1:30. You think it’s easy to give up 15 points in the last minute and a half?
At least for the first 57 minutes of the game, the Brahmas’ defense was a pleasure to watch. St. Louis QB A.J. McCarron then went all Staubach on “us,” providing the revived league with its first “legendary” performance.
The Brahmas’ offense? Inconsistent, and that’s being charitable. San Antonio quarterback Jack Coan was erratic and often inaccurate, but that had as much to do with his lack of protection as anything else. But I saw enough of Coan in college at Wisconsin and Notre Dame to believe he’ll be fine if his line can keep him upright.
The league’s initial product was pretty palatable, and it will get tastier.
I’ll be back.
