 | Ed Marinaro
With All Due Respect |
R.I.P. 
Hello to all! Again I apologize for being MIA, but my day job in Hollywood keeps pulling me away from SportsHollywood. Anyway, here we go…
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The XFL may not be officially dead, but it certainly is on life support. NBC and the WWF took a gamble and it did not pay off…not even close. To tell the truth, I'm kind of surprised, because I thought the idea behind it was very good…guys a few steps away from the pros, playing a different kind of football. Obviously the powers to be (NBC and WWF) have the resources to produce an entertaining product, but somewhere they thought the idea of football-style football with lots of explosions and exposed flesh would be enough. Wrong.
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Maybe the audience would have stayed with them if the XFL people would have presented a game similar to football, but with WWF-style entertainment value.
The XFL people should have presented the game more in the spirit of Smackdown as opposed to a NFL junior league. I think the audience went into the XFL expecting a flashy entertainment show, but instead got athletes actually trying to play a NFL-style game with only slight augmentations.
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Pro football is a concise game of execution, for which the NFL has set the standard, a high standard, and we the fans don't really want to see sub-par players play a messy game of sport we know and love. The fact is, the NFL has raised the bar so high, any other professional incarnation will be met with disinterest from real pro football fans. The XFL thought it could reinvent pro football, but it seems we are pretty happy with the style of NFL football.
Professional football is more than explosions, nicknames, taunting and large-chested cheerleaders. It is more than fancy camera movements, and cannot be manufactured by a TV network or an entertainment empire. For me, that feels kind of nice.
April 2, 2001
edmarinaro@sportshollywood.com
Ed Marinaro | In his three seasons as Cornell's tailback, Ed Marinaro was the all-time leading rusher in Ivy League history. He established eight NCAA career records and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. After turning pro he became a running back for the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. Then he turned to acting and played everyone from Joe Coffey on the classic TV show "Hill Street Blues" to Joey Buttafuoco in "Long Island Lolita." In his off-time he enjoys ranting in his column for SportsHollywood. |
Stats and Credits
READER RESPONSE:
Dear Ed: That was a great piece on the "XFL"...I live in Canada and of course a big "CFL" fan.We do understand that our league is much smaller than your "NFL",but it is ours and we are very proud of it.We have been playing a form of professional football in my country since"1865" ,a very long and interesting history...and for the cup since "1909".Many great "NFL" players have got there via the Canadian league.--------My point in all this is that tradition and a little class should be up helded in pro-football,and I think we have on both sides of the border up until this clown act of smoke and mirrors called the XFL.Lets keep this in the ring and the porn in dark rooms...or maybe in a late night Vegas show.I do beleave that there is a place for this kind of entertainment,but please leave football alone.Thanks again for your words,ED,You have many readers here in Canada...Graeme
Dear Ed: I feel that you are close..........But wrong on this subject. Although the RATINGS for the XFL have steadily dropped, there are many fans who are still watching the games on NBC, TNN, and WB. Some of the few problems WITH the XFL is the fact they are trying to change the game, such as the overtime things, but I feel, that given a year or two, the XFL just might shape up into a decent football league. Look at NFL expansion teams. For the most part, during their inception they suck and only the city who recieves them care anything about them. But after a year or so, after restructureing the team, practices and real experience, the teams start looking good, they start drawing a fan base, etc. I feel that the XFL is the same, and too many people are too harsh on this subject. THE XFL HAS JUST STARTED, GIVE IT A CHANCE!!! Next year they will have worked some of the bugs out of it, and it should look decent then. I feel they werent given enough time to do this, that it shouldnt have started until next year anyways. Sorry about ranting to you, I am just tired of people talking smack about a budding football league! It is the inception year, for Christs sake! JFRIEDDOGG
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