For at least a week, certain corners of the Internet have been guessing which cities could be the recipients of the new XFL football league teams. Last week, an Instagram account titled WrestleZone leaked a list of potential cities—and St. Louis was included. And on Wednesday, XFL announced that, yes, St. Louis is getting a team. You can watch part of the announcement here:
"St. Louis represents opportunity, promise, and a legacy of great football," the XFL posted on its website. "We're proud to restore the River City's rightful place among pro football cities and we will not stop there. We pledge to bring St. Louis a team deserving of a passionate and football-starved fan base."
According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Marc Bulger, the former Rams quarterback, might have convinced XFL commissioner Oliver Luck of St. Louis. "When I would see him in Morgantown for ballgames, he would rave about the fan base in St. Louis and how much fun he had playing there and how the community accepted him," the paper reported Luck as saying.
The XFL will play its first 10-week regular season February to April 2020, and the team in St. Louis will play at The Dome at America's Center, where the Rams (remember those guys?) used to toss around the ol' pig skin. The other cities receiving teams are Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Washington, D.C.
Just one more question: What is the XFL? It's a league originally launched by WWE executive Vince McMahon in 2001. Luck, XFL's commissioner as well as CEO, is a former NFL and NCAA executive and quarterback brought on for the reboot. The league's main draw is that it's promising to "reimagine" football. How? They're going to speed it up. From its website:
"Football is football and we love football. It is not to be messed with too much, as it works. But, we believe that there is room for some tweaks. Some adjustments. Ways to make it a bit faster. Less Stall, More Ball. Reimagining the game doesn’t mean we’re changing the basics: You’ll still see 11 vs. 11 football we all know and love. You will see it played on a 100 yard field with 10 yard end zones. You will see players fight every play, 4 downs at a time. But, XFL football will focus on four core areas of refresh. We plan to minimize idle time and speed up game time. We will increase on-field action. We are going to create in-game rhythm and flow. And we are going to use tech and insight to improve player safety, wherever possible. No easy task, but we are IN."
No word yet on what St. Louis' team nickname will be or who will coach.
