The XFL enjoyed a highly successful first week of the season. Now they just need to do it again.
Yes, while starting a league is difficult, maintaining a league is even more difficult.
What can the XFL do to sustain its success?
“I think the most important thing is we continue to sell $20-25 tickets. That’s critical,” XFL commissioner Oliver Luck said on The Zach Gelb Show. “I don’t mean that as a smart aleck. I think that’s very legitimate. I think the quality of play will continue. From my experience with leagues like this – I ran NFL Europe for 10 years and was involved with MLS – it’s almost always the second game that really gives the true identity of a team. So I’m very curious this week to see how these games play out. We’ve got a couple of unbeaten teams going at each other.”
The DC Defenders (1-0) host the New York Guardians (1-0) this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. Cardale Jones led the Defenders to a 31-19 win over the Seattle Dragons in Week 1, while Matt McGloin led the Guardians to a 23-3 win over the Tampa Bay Vipers.
“I think that’s going to be a good rock-em, sock-em game down in D.C.,” Luck said. “It’s up to us to continue to play good football, to continue to give access to folks for things they normally don’t have access to – to continue to do what we’ve done with Week 1. I’m sure we’ll see some kind of a dip. That’s inevitable because there’s always a curiosity factor.
“But I [believe] in [our ability] to maintain some decent levels of viewership, good attendance, and most importantly for us – this is the key – continue to play good football. I’ve got all the confidence in the world, as I did even before Week 1, in our coaches and our players. These guys got a chip on their shoulder, and they’re going to play hard. That means we’re going to see good, emotional, competitive football.”