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XFL 2.0

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In case you missed it, professional football is back. Ok, at least semi-professional football. The XFL, having burst on the scene years ago as a half baked cocaine-induced, steroid fueled reimagining of football and professional wrestling. It went about as well as you can imagine, lasting a single season with nothing to show for it than "He Hate Me" jerseys and Tommy Maddox's improbable redemption. It's biggest curse was not the insanity of it's additions, but the poor quality of football play: it was all style and no substance.

This weekend, XFL 2.0 kicked off, and they have learned from the past iterations. I took in all 4 of the inaugural games, and tweeted my observations. I've collected them here, and augmented, so enjoy!

Thoughts on the #XFL2020 so far:

- Love the kickoff change. Much safer.

- Post TD choices are silly.

- Houston's uniforms look fantastic. LA's & DC's look completely generic. Seattle's look surprisingly comical.

- Quality of play is good

- Fox's onfield down and distance graphics work better here than in the SuperBowl

- ABC needs to figure out how to balance the crowd noise with the commentary. It's ridiculous now.
- Shocked to see how much DC Defenders merch was being worn by fans. Did they give away?

- The replay drama has got to go. I appreciate the XFL's commitment to greater viewer access, but the level of detail is equivalent to watching CSPAN.

- The midfield smear of the ad banner between the 20 and 30 yard markers is distracting as hell

- Why is Fox obsessed with showing the LA offensive coordinator instead of the head coach? Norm Chow is on every play.

- Not sure about the shtick of having the team colors on the 👃 of the 🏈 for each team. Doesn't seem to be visible in the telecast, so what's the point?

- Jerry Glanville is a coordinator, not a head coach, in this league? How is this possible?

- NY's nameplates are ridiculously small.

- Surprised that the NY team plays in MetLife 🏟 & there's still plenty of crowd noise with 1/10 the fans.

- Is it possible for an XFL head coach to be fired after week 1? Marc Trestman might find out.

- St. Louis Battlehawks uniform & helmet are exceptional on field.

- Dallas nailed the Renegades logo, but they clearly stole the Titans' uniforms.

- ESPN seems to be emphasizing the  QB & head coach's audio. Oddly intimate, & takes the crowd (what little crowd there is) out of the game. Jarringly silent sometimes.

- Dallas' field has the crowd much further away from the action. Results in a strange noise wave effect.

- So, it's the 1st week of a brand new sportsball league. You're the director of the 📺 broadcast. You know there won't be huge crowds. What's the one thing you focus on not doing? Showing the empty 💺. ESPN, lose the ground level shots looking up.

- Why does Dallas have advertising on the back of the helmet? Barely visible, thankfully.

- Quality of play was surprisingly good, though the Tampa Bay Vipers looked like they were from XFL 1.0.

- Overall, promising, and a few rough edges to be worked out.
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