Vince McMahon had it all wrong when he started the XFL

#1
The_Big_Orange

The_Big_Orange

Right in the Vols!
Joined
Sep 14, 2016
Messages
614
Likes
1,372
#1
He should have started a farm league. 18-22 year olds only with no NFL or CFL experience allowed.

He could have beaten everyone to the punch. And that punch seems like the only logical outcome that will come from our current situation. Colleges have no business participating in the pay to play model they currently find themselves sucked into. Even if they can’t directly participate, they can most definitely suffer from it. Which is what they’ll end up doing in the end I’m afraid. (Obviously though this is just a very uneducated opinion.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Power T-1000, Coddlecreek1, Volskil and 10 others
#2
#2
I agree. If someone had started a league for players straight out of high school for pay or out of college with no NFL chance, that league could succeed. Sure, the NFL teams would destroy them, but remember, there are fans of women’s sports because they’re competitive amongst themselves. A lot of folks are tired of the corruption in the NFL and even college ball.
 
  • Like
Reactions: white65, Big Al Orange, joshwa and 1 other person
#3
#3
Isn’t this almost exactly what the AAF did? The players were experienced, but it was essentially a farm league for the NFL.

The AAF had a really smart business model. The harsh truth is that if their model didn’t work, none of them are going to. People just have a surprisingly low interest in another football league.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nooga, TrumpedUpVol, Voltopia and 4 others
#4
#4
kptvol1 said:
I agree. If someone had started a league for players straight out of high school for pay or out of college with no NFL chance, that league could succeed. Sure, the NFL teams would destroy them, but remember, there are fans of women’s sports because they’re competitive amongst themselves. A lot of folks are tired of the corruption in the NFL and even college ball.
Click to expand...
I don't agree with this logic at all. I would argue the vast majority of fans of women's sports would rank their women's sport fandom way down the list of sports they enjoy (my favorite teams are UT Football, Basketball, GT football, TN Titans, Golf. I'm a fan of the lady vols but I watched 5 minutes of their Stanford game. 5 minutes more than my wife watched FWIW). Womens sports only works on a high level when they are subsidized, it's not the massive fanbase that keeps them afloat.

And for someone who may say that is sexist, 99% of all sports played in this country are subsidized, whether girls or boys. It's called parents.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jarnol32 and kcvols1
#5
#5
R.c6b5a5ca0f37c2d6358d756daf666cbc
tenor.gif
tenor.gif
R.f3a6f39525070c086ae22752ffb5ccb5
giphy.gif
tenor.gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: CagleMtnVol, headhunter15, SlipKidVol and 7 others
#6
#6
The NFL does need a farm league. It should take the place of Arena and be played on Sunday Mornings saving Sunday Evenings for NFL games and Saturdays for NCAA games. I'd upgrade NFL roster to 55 and each NFL farm team roster to 45. 100 in each organization. Criteria, well I cant give you guys everything...lol, but it would have a lot to do with playing college football first. To enter it or the draft, a minimum 3 years spent as a college student and absolutely ZERO minors.
 
#7
#7
knox-townVOL said:
Isn’t this almost exactly what the AAF did? The players were experienced, but it was essentially a farm league for the NFL.

The AAF had a really smart business model. The harsh truth is that if their model didn’t work, none of them are going to. People just have a surprisingly low interest in another football league.
Click to expand...
There isn't a public appetite for football in the spring or summer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: b_gann and Nooga
#8
#8
The problem with the other leagues was starting off with no following and no huge TV deals.

College has both and SHOULD transition to a developmental 18-22/24yo league for the NFL. The TV money is there, the followings are there so there's MUCH less risk for failure.

Would it completely destroy the tradition of VFL, playing for a school, etc? Yes. And that's happening anyway.
 
#13
#13
knox-townVOL said:
Isn’t this almost exactly what the AAF did? The players were experienced, but it was essentially a farm league for the NFL.

The AAF had a really smart business model. The harsh truth is that if their model didn’t work, none of them are going to. People just have a surprisingly low interest in another football league.
Click to expand...

The AAF "model" was a fraud from the beginning. They just didn't have the investment money which they led everyone to believe was there. The guy who was over it all-one of Ebersols kids I think basically forged ahead with only enough cash to pull off a few weeks games.

The hope was that once play started, additional investment would roll in. They did finally find a backer and he realized really quick that the league was going under. As a result, he basically pulled his investment unless the NFL recognized the AAF as a developmental league and "donated" five guys or whatever at the end of each teams rosters and paid all their salaries. Needless to say, the NFl laughed and the league folded
 
#14
#14
VolArmy74 said:
I'm still supremely confused at how a player earning money for working his butt off makes you not want to be a fan of them, or think it ruins things.
Click to expand...
Old school fans have clung to a romanticized view of college football, as being a sport where loyalties have been forged from something other than financial compensation. College football fans often feel a sense of state pride in their ability to recruit coveted athletes. Rejection and betrayal are felt, when in-state players sign with rival programs. As the facade of intercollegiate athletics portrayed as amateur sports is stripped away, so too, will those romanticized feelings. It's understandable why some older fans, especially, will miss the facade.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kcvols1 and guido4198
#15
#15
The_Big_Orange said:
He should have started a farm league. 18-22 year olds only with no NFL or CFL experience allowed.
Click to expand...
Since when has there been a demand for a semi-pro league? How's about never? Where will the fan base come from? No place. Who's going to pay the bills? Not me. Who wants to watch it? Nobody.
College football is a money-making machine and it's evolving. Get used to it.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Voltopia and titansvolsfaninga
#17
#17
If the NFL wanted a farm league, they would develop one. The truth is that the wear and tear on a body is not feasible for a farm league, especially with what is known about CTE.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nooga
#18
#18
titansvolsfaninga said:
If the NFL wanted a farm league, they would develop one. The truth is that the wear and tear on a body is not feasible for a farm league, especially with what is known about CTE.
Click to expand...
Actually they did try one, no? WLAF based in Europe. it failed.
I thought they did subsidize AAF but maybe that was fake news.
Years ago there was another semipro league -- It was somewhat before my time but the Pittsburgh team was called "The Pittsburgh Ironmen." If you weren't good enough for the Steelers you might catch on with them. Oooh.....did they get any support from the Steelers? I'm not sure about that.
 
#21
#21
If I were Brandon Tartikoff I would play games on Wednesday night in prime time. Of course I’m more of a Grant Tinker type so I would play on Monday or Thursday.
 
#22
#22
BowlBrother85 said:
Old school fans have clung to a romanticized view of college football, as being a sport where loyalties have been forged from something other than financial compensation. College football fans often feel a sense of state pride in their ability to recruit coveted athletes. Rejection and betrayal are felt, when in-state players sign with rival programs. As the facade of intercollegiate athletics portrayed as amateur sports is stripped away, so too, will those romanticized feelings. It's understandable why some older fans, especially, will miss the facade.
Click to expand...

I'm an older fan. College athletes have been getting paid to attend schools since before anyone on this board was born. Rupp had it humming like a machine 60-70 years ago and no way he was the first.

Bryant did it and it's happened here for decades.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jarnol32 and guido4198
#23
#23
I don't know Vince McMahon.
Any relation to Ed McMahon?
 

Attachments

  • Ed McMahon.gif
    Ed McMahon.gif
    1.1 MB · Views: 1
#24
#24
Can a guy that falls short in his first attempt at the nfl go back to college for a new degree, and join the football team again?

IDK 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
#25
#25
VolArmy74 said:
I'm an older fan. College athletes have been getting paid to attend schools since before anyone on this board was born. Rupp had it humming like a machine 60-70 years ago and no way he was the first.

Bryant did it and it's happened here for decades.
Click to expand...
Sure... but the facade of amateurism, has always been there. That's what is being taken away. The facade mattered to some old school fans.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MemphisVol77 and guido4198
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top