It's new rules, a funky looking ball, cool player nicknames... And oh yeah, the cheerleaders too. Welcome to the XFL - America's newest football league.
The XFL was started by Vince McMahon - he's the guy that brings us the WWF every week. The league's first season kicked off on February 3rd. Here's the hard hitting, touchdown dancing, lowdown on the XFL.
The Teams: The New York/New Jersey Hitmen, the Chicago Enforcers, the Orlando Rage, the Birmingham Bolts, the Memphis Maniax, the Las Vegas Outlaws, the LA Xtreme, and the San Francisco Demons.
The Players: Guys who used to play in the NFL, CFL, NFL Europe and college. Players are allowed to put nicknames on the back of their jerseys if they want. Look out for running back "He Hate Me" from the Outlaws and "Baby Boy" from the Hitmen.
The Ball:No dirty brown pigskin here. The XFL ball is black and red striped - with the XFL logo on the side.
Watching on TV? Tons of cool new camera angles - including the huddle cam, the helmet cam and the half-time locker room cam. And microphones everywhere - on the quarterbacks, the refs, the coaches and the cheerleaders.
Cool New Rules:No fair catch - which means on kickoffs, you can hammer the guy returning the ball as soon as he catches it. No penalties for doing a touchdown dance. Games in overtime decided by a cool new shoot-out from the 20 yard line.
The Outlaws shutout the New York/New Jersey Hitmen 19 - 0 in the XFL season opener. The Championship game is called "The Big Game at the End" and will be played on Saturday, April 21st.
Are you watching the XFL? - cool new league or cheezey gimmick?
For more XFL excitement, head to www.xfl.com
Related Stories:
