The National Football League (NFL) season is over and now Sundays are free. Despite the great ending to a crazy NFL season, some fans still want more football. Luckily for football fans around the world, there’s more football on the horizon to keep fans entertained until the new NFL season.
The XFL, unofficially the “X-treme” Football League, has made a comeback to TV screens everywhere with its third edition of the game. Accordingly ESPN, the XFL had previously attempted to start two other times, the first time in 2001 and the second in 2020, but it was canceled due to COVID-19. It is currently co-owned by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia. There are currently eight teams in the XFL: Arlington Renegades, DC Defenders, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, San Antonio Brahmas, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks, and Vegas Vipers.
The XFL season has already started on Saturday, February 18th. The season kicked off with a double-header on Saturday that began with the Vipers traveling to Arlington to take on the Renegades. Both teams showed and showed themselves on their debut. The game was close, but the Renegades won 22-20. The second game on Saturday wasn’t as close as the first as the Roughnecks defeated the Guardians 33-12.
There will be 40 regular season games, two semifinals and one XFL season title game. After a multi-year deal with Walt Disney, all games will be shown on ESPN, ABC and FX. The XFL season ends on Saturday, May 13th.
Another league to keep an eye on as the NFL season begins is the United States Football League (USFL). The USFL started its first season in 40 years in 2021.
The league began in 1983 and lasted three seasons after its inaugural season, until being closed in 1986 due to financial problems. Accordingly Athlon sports, the USFL has seen various players go on to play in the NFL such as Steve Young, Reggie White and Doug Flutie. Most recently, the USFL was home to Dallas Cowboys kick-and-punt returner Kavontae Turpin. Turpin was drafted by the New Jersey Generals, where he led the USFL at 540 receiving yards per Fox sports. Turpin was also named the USFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2022.
Just like the XFL, the USFL consists of eight teams: Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, Memphis Showboats. Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, New Orleans Breakers, Philadelphia Stars and Pittsburgh Maulers. There will also be a total of 40 games over the span of 10 weeks. Games will be played on Saturday and Sunday with double headers on both days.
The USFL season kicks off just in time for Spring Football, Saturday, April 15, at 2:30 p.m. with the Stars vs. the Showboats and the Generals vs. the Stallions at 5:30 p.m. The 2023 USFL season concludes Sunday, June 18 with the Breakers taking on the Gamblers and the Stars taking on the Panthers.
Katrina Villarreal is Multimedia Editor and can be reached at [email protected]