McMahon and the XFL: Why should we care?

So Keith "Wolf" Elias '94 finally got a chance to shine on national television in his home state of New Jersey.

It wasn't for the NFL's Jets or Giants.

It was for the New York/New Jersey Hitmen of the XFL. Elias was the featured back for the Hitmen, piling up 45 yards on six carries in NY/NJ's 19-0 drubbing at the hands of the Las Vegas Outlaws.

In case you haven't heard already, the XFL is the brainchild of Vince McMahon, CEO of the World Wrestling Federation. McMahon feels that his league will create a niche for itself where previous football leagues (see the USFL) have folded. (Keep in mind that McMahon once gave the WWF heavyweight title to himself and is currently writing a WWF storyline in which a bombshell half his age falls in love with him — ego is not in short supply.)

No one can doubt that McMahon is a media mastermind. He turned a regional wrestling promotion into a national phenomenon and the top-rated show on cable and then agreed to move that show, Monday Night Raw, to TNN in order to get greater media exposure for the XFL.

He was even able to talk (or should I say, dupe) NBC into becoming a part-owner of the new football league.

The question is, "why should we, the viewers, care?"

Sure, Elias was the best rusher in Princeton history — racking up over 4200 yards in his Tiger career — but he's never shown the ability to be a starter in the NFL. Why should I spend my Saturday nights watching him now?

McMahon understands that football fans will soon grow tired of watching decent, but not great, football players each week. That's where the new rules and innovations come in. Do they work? Let's look at four of the cornerstones of the league:

1) Cheerleaders — The XFL broadcasts fill the time between plays, before and after commercial breaks, in vignettes during halftime, and after scores, with beautiful women. These are not trained dancers — in a racy shower scene featuring a group of the cheerleaders, an XFL commercial explains, "We'll teach them to cheer."

Not a bad idea to raise ratings, but not the way to be taken seriously in sporting circles.

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2) New rules — The idea of abandoning the fair catch didn't produce any career-ending injuries in week one. As someone said to me, "a punt is a punt." In addition, the shorter play clock just seemed to confuse the players.

3) Access — Cameras and microphones on the sidelines, in huddles, in the locker rooms and everywhere else they could think of putting them provided a new view on what really is happening on and off the field. After the tenth span of censor-produced dead air during the broadcast I realized that more is not always better.

4) On-field cameras — Watching two guys in black clothing run around the field with cameras on their heads is a little weird at first, but overall, I thought the different camera angles were entertaining. Along with the two men running around to get a field-level view, there are cameras hung by wires over the stadium to give a different sort of overhead view. Those were some of my favorite advancements.

On Saturday afternoons when I was a lad there was a show called "American Gladiators." In this show ordinary Americans would face off against red-, silverand blue-clad "gladiators" in a series of made-for-TV athletic competitions with names such as "Powerball" and "Assault." It was not fixed and the athletes really did compete against each other, but the whole thing was a show, not an athletic competition.

After watching the XFL I had the same feeling as if I had just watched "American Gladiators."

Were the innovations neat? Yes.

Were the athletes talented? Of course.

Was it entertaining? Sure.

Did I care about the game? Not really.

It was a spectacle. There were announcers screaming, dances after good plays and guys with nicknames instead of their names, like "Wolf," on the back of their uniforms.

So will I watch the XFL again if I'm sitting around on some slow Saturday afternoon? Sure.

Am I going to paint my face and get excited for the XFL equivalent of the Super Bowl — in the WWF's intelligent and witty fashion named the "Big Game At The End" — on April 21? Not a chance.

And hey, Keith, if this XFL thing doesn't work out you could always see if they're reviving "American Gladiators." Just throw on a spandex suit and we could have the newest gladiator — "Wolf."