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    The XFL Aims To Capitalize On Spring Football With 9-Point Touchdowns, Other Oddities

    The XFL was launched in 2001 as an NFL with attitude. It folded after a single season. But the league is back in 2020. Will it survive?
    by Jordan Pascale Feb 07, 2020 3 minutes
    A San Francisco Demons fan holds up a sign during the first XFL game in San Francisco in 2001.

    The XFL is set for a reboot this weekend nearly two decades after it folded.

    Back in 2001, World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon promised a new type of football game: faster, more violent tackles, creative new rules, a brash attitude and scantily clad cheerleaders.

    "We welcome you to our brand of football," McMahon said in his 2001 opening day speech before he growled, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the XFL."

    Instead of a coin toss, to the ball for possession. Coaches and players were mic'd up and on-field conversations were broadcast live on TV. At halftime, cameras went into the cheerleaders' locker room. Players used nicknames on the back of their jerseys instead of last names, The XFL even ushered in regular use of now-ubiquitous aerial footage from .

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