The Ten Commandments Of Sport

By Michael LeCompte

Recently professional sports in America have developed into a quasi-religious experience. As church attendance continues to dwindle the new cathedrals that are modern sports stadiums are packed to capacity with a different kind of zealot. The interpretation of sport as religion is not a novel one. As the Rabbi R. Brasch explained in his 1970 book How Did Sports Begin, “in the beginning sport was a religious cult and a preparation for life.”

Throughout much of its history America has had a complex relationship with the religious cult of sport. Initially sports were considered base undertakings that diverted humanity from doing God’s work on earth.

Of course sports persisted, first as recreation and then professionally, and were eventually embraced by mainstream religion around the turn of the twentieth century as a central component of “Muscular Christianity.”

Today religion, or at least the personal faith of individual players, permeates professional sports. It’s common practice for a baseball player to make the sign of the cross on his way to the plate or to point to the heavens after hitting a home run. Football players continue to thank their “Personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” in postgame interviews and we all remember the brief phenomenon that was “Tebowing.”

Given the connections of sport and religion, for fans and athletes alike, it is not surprising that there is a Ten Commandments of Sport. This unofficial document, dating back to 1921 was compiled in American Magazine by the sportswriter Hugh S. Fullerton (who was one of the prominent writers who helped break the Chicago Black Sox scandal in 1919).

Despite their rather tedious title Fullerton’s Ten Commandments are themselves simple, succinct guidelines that could just as easily apply to the athletes and sports of today as they could of 1921.

“The Ten Commandments of Sport, and of Everything Else: For These Principles Apply in Business, in Work of Any Kind, in the Home, in Friendship, in Our Struggle against Circumstance, against Luck, in Fact, Everywhere.”

1. Thou shalt not quit.
2. Thou shalt not alibi.
3. Thou shalt not gloat over winning.
4. Thou shalt not sulk over losing.
5. Thou shalt not take unfair advantage.
6. Thou shalt not ask odds thou art unwilling to give.
7. Thou shalt always be willing to give thine opponent the benefit of the doubt.
8. Thou shalt not underestimate an opponent or overestimate thyself.
9. Remember that the game is the thing and he who thinks otherwise is no true sportsmen.
10. Honor the game thou playest, for he who plays the game straight and hard wins even when he loses.

Man Of Steel: The Tony Zale Story

By Michael LeCompte

Theolballgame periodically pays tribute to the underrated, overlooked, and long-forgotten from a bygone era of athletics, by highlighting their careers. Here is an examination of the life and career of the middleweight boxer Tony Zale.

Anthony Florian Zaleski was one of the best boxers most people have never heard of. Born in the steel town of Gary, Indiana to Polish-American parents in 1913, he would later remark that it felt like he’d been in the steel mills “since I was weaned.”

When Anthony was two his father died in an auto accident as he was out getting medicine for his sick son. Anthony felt somewhat responsible for his father’s death and attributed his lifelong shyness to that fact.

Anthony left the steel mills to turn pro in boxing in 1934. However, his career got off to a rough start and he went back to the security of the mills a year later. Always looking for a way out, though, he left the mills for good and re-entered the ring in 1937.

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He shortened/Americanized his name to Tony Zale and because of his background, as well as his penchant for enduring punishment in the ring, he acquired the nickname “Man of Steel.”

Zale gained a reputation, not just for withstanding beatings in the ring, but for rallying to win fights he was obviously losing by unleashing a barrage of heavy body blows that slowly wore his opponents down. He captured the middleweight championship in 1940.

His boxing career was put on hold for five years during World War II as he served in the Navy. Zale’s most memorable matches were a brutal trilogy of fights against Rocky Graziano, with all three occurring over a twenty-one month span.

The first match was in Yankee stadium in September 1946. Zale knocked Graziano down in the first round, then received a terrible beating for the next five rounds before managing to knock Graziano out in the sixth round.

The second match took place in Chicago in July of 1947. Again the fight lasted six rounds, but this time Graziano was the aggressor, battering Zale around the ring before knocking him out.

Their third match took place in New Jersey in June of 1948. This time Zale uncharacteristically took the offensive and knocked Graziano out in the third round. (This was the only one of the three fights caught on film and can still be seen on YouTube).

Despite defeating Graziano twice and regardless of their similar records (67-18-2 for Zale) and (67-10-6 for Graziano), Zale is barely remembered by boxing fans, despite being one of the “ten best punchers in boxing history,” according to Ring Magazine.

In 1956 Zale was cast as himself in “Somebody Up There Likes Me,” but was fired after reportedly knocking Paul Newman out during filming.

From 1949-1970 Zale was the head boxing coach at the Chicago Catholic Youth Organization.

Tony Zale is a member of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the National Polish-American Hall of Fame. He passed away in 1997 from the effects of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

The “Man of Steel” escaped the mills of his youth, conquered the ring by twice becoming world middleweight champion, and then gave back to his community and to the sport that had given him so much. Tony Zale: a true champion of life and sport.

Ralphie, Bevo, and Mike, Oh My! the History of Live-Animal Mascots

By Michael LeCompte

We all love cheering on our favorite teams, seeing the mascot, perhaps even identifying with them or relating to them. Where did the idea of mascots come from, though? What do Bulldogs, Zebras, and quite literally every animal and inanimate object in between have to do with sports anyway?

The word mascot comes from the French word mascotte, which means lucky charm. The term’s popular usage can be traced back to a comedic (by late nineteenth century French standards) opera from 1880 entitled “La Mascotte.”

In the opera a farmer named Rocco is cursed with bad luck so he tries to capture the attention of Bettina, a poor country girl, who supposedly brings good luck to whoever can possess her and still preserve her virginity. The play was so popular that it was translated into English as “The Mascot” in 1881.

In 1889, a member of Yale’s football team bought what is considered the first live mascot in major American sports. “Handsome Dan” the bulldog was purchased for $65 and trained to run across the field before football games and to bark at opposing teams. “Handsome Dan” eventually died, but the tradition of live mascots was born. “Dan” was so popular in life that he was stuffed upon his death and is still on display at Yale.

Now several major Universities have live mascots, multi-million dollar habitats for them and scholarships for their handlers.

Here’s a look at perhaps the three most popular live-animal mascots still around today.

Bevo XIV: The University of Texas. The longhorn made his first appearance on Thanksgiving in 1916 at a game against Texas A&M. It is also rumored that the bull was enjoyed at the football banquet that year. Now Bevo XIV represents the University.

Mike the Tiger: Louisiana State University. In 1934 the school collected twenty-five cents from every student and bought a two hundred pound tiger for $750. Successive tigers have followed and Mike VI now roams a multi-million dollar habitat at the University.

Ralphie the Buffalo: Colorado University. In 1934 the school held a national contest to pick a mascot and Buffaloes was the winning submission. That year the student body rented a buffalo from a local ranch for $25. In 1966 the school purchased the original Ralphie and he ran across the field for the first time on homecoming 1967. Although named Ralphie every buffalo used by the school has been a female in hopes that they would be more docile. This season Ralphie IV led Colorado onto the field.

These mascots and dozens more across the country have become beloved symbols of schools and teams. Some have even been enshrined in the Mascot Hall of Fame (yes there is such a place) in Whiting, Indiana. To be eligible for the hall a mascot must have been around for at least ten years and have had an impact on sports and the community.

Of course there is debate about whether Universities should keep live-animal mascots. In an article on its website PETA argues that “regardless of how long they are kept in captivity, lions, tigers, bears, and other exotic animals are severely distressed by the overwhelming noise, crowds, and confusion of games and other events.”

Right or wrong it is exhilarating to see a majestic animal thunder across the field as part of the pageantry of college football. Also, like so much in modern sports, the live-animal mascot issue comes down to economics. Mascots attract fans and make money and if boosters keep paying for live mascots and their habitats and handlers, Universities aren’t going to say no.

The (Not So) Terrible History Of A Steel-City Icon

By Michael LeCompte

Whether we’re Pittsburgh fans or not we’ve all seen the iconic shots of crazed Steelers fans rigorously twirling their yellow Terrible Towels en masse. These towels have been around the world (from the Oval Office and the Great Wall of China to the summit of Everest) and out of this world (the International Space Station).

To a casual observer the act of waving a towel overhead in public must seem very strange. It is a rather odd phenomenon. In no other venue than a professional sports stadium is the twirling of a towel while screaming like a maniac anywhere close to acceptable behavior.

How did the Terrible Towel come about then? Who was the fist fan to grab a hand towel from their bathroom before heading off for the game?

Like so many sports trends the Terrible Towel began as a gimmick. In an effort to attract both sponsors and fans, Pittsburgh radio station WTAE came up with the idea of fans waving yellow towels for a playoff game in 1975.

Myron Cope, the nasally, Pittsburgh accented voice of the Steelers pitched the idea for the towels over the air. The promotion worked, fans loved their Terrible Towels, the Steelers won the Super Bowl that year, a dynasty was born and a tradition was started.

Terrible Towels now have “Myron Cope’s Official the Terrible Towel” printed on them. In 1975 they sold for $6, today they are about $10, which makes them one of the more affordable NFL souvenirs. Proceeds from Terrible Towel sales go to the Allegheny Valley School, which serves children with mental and physical disabilities.

Of course icons also make easy targets for rivals and the Terrible Towel has been fodder for Steelers’ foes for years. Opposing teams have stomped on them and rival fans have burned them. Before the Steelers played the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl the Mayor of Phoenix famously blew his nose with a Terrible Towel (his Cardinals went on to lose the game).

In perhaps the most tasteless act of Terrible Towel desecration Jaguars mascot Jaxson Deville held up a sign reading “Towels Carry Ebola” at a game in October.

Many teams across professional sports are known for the passionate involvement of their loyal fans. Cheese heads, rally towels, even rally monkeys, the proliferation of 12th man flags over the past few years, but perhaps none are as instantly recognizable as the Terrible Towel.

These “16X24” pieces of yellow cloth can unite a city, rally a team, and instantly incite either passion or rage, making them not only a Steel-City icon, but a culturally relevant aspect of fandom.

Thanksgiving and Football: A Classic American Tradition

By Michael LeCompte

It’s that special time of year once again when we express our gratitude for our way of life by gorging on the visual buffet of NFL games set before us, giving thanks yet again that John Madden is retired and can’t manhandle a meaty specimen called a turducken on live TV.

Thanksgiving and football just go together. The last Thursday in November and what has become our national sport/obsession combine two of America’s favorite pastimes, overeating and mindlessly staring at electronic screens. The result is a hybrid sport where participants try to avoid conversing with certain family members at all costs by a) stuffing their mouths so full they can’t talk or b) not taking their eyes off the TV, thus dissuading others from speaking to them. Clear-cut winners are few in this sport, but making it through the day without having to listen to uncle Gary’s latest money making scheme is a championship effort to be applauded.

The Lions and Cowboys both host Thanksgiving day games, however, the tradition predates the NFL marketing machine. While there is no direct evidence that a pigskin was tossed around on Plymouth Rock, Thanksgiving games do stretch back to the infancy of organized football.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century college football was king. The pros were still decades away. Beginning as far back as 1876 Yale and Princeton played on Thanksgiving and the University of Michigan hosted a Thanksgiving game until 1905.

The college Thanksgiving game tradition has largely gone by the wayside. With students going home for the holiday there is probably not enough money to be made. However, the tradition of rivalry games being played over Thanksgiving weekend has endured.

In 1934 radio executive G.A. Richards brought the Lions to Detroit. At the time the Tigers baseball team was the biggest sports draw in town and although they played in different seasons fans didn’t immediately pledge their winter allegiance to the Lions.

Richards wanted to attract more fans to Lions games so he came up with the novelty of a Thanksgiving game. Surprisingly the game sold out all 26,000 tickets and thousands more had to be turned away at the gate. With his radio connections Richards got NBC to broadcast the game over 94 station across the country.

Although Chicago beat Detroit 19-16 on that Thanksgiving day in 1934 a tradition was born. Like so many holiday traditions the Lions’ game is sometimes painful (the 0-16 season), sometimes promising (they’re in the hunt this year), but always welcomed.

Dallas started hosting a Thanksgiving game in 1966 for much the same reasons the Lions had in 1934, to attract fans. Unsure if fans would come the NFL had to ensure a gate receipt before Dallas agreed to the game. The game was a popular success and Dallas has hosted a game on Thanksgiving in all but two years since.

What started out as a gimmick to attract fans is now a highly-coveted TV spot offering national exposure for the participating teams.

All across America this Thursday family and friends will hold their own turkey bowl games. Backyards will become proving grounds where childhood angst is resolved, sibling rivalries are renewed, and family legends are born.

At the very least these games will be a chance to work off that second slice of pie and will give us something to do with awkward cousin Phil until the next NFL game kicks off.

Football, a uniquely American spectacle to be thankful for.

A Veteran’s Day Salute to Athletes Who Served in the Military

By Michael LeCompte

In our modern, sports obsessed culture it’s almost blasphemous to say, but sports are pretty inconsequential in the grand scope of things. It just doesn’t matter who is ranked number one right now, or really who wins the super bowl, but sports do offer us fans a valuable escape from the weighty, often disheartening news of the day.

For three and a half hours every Sunday when our favorite NFL team is on nothing else matters. We suddenly aren’t worried about the spread of ebola, the latest Russian aggression, or ISIS. Sports serve as a welcome diversion to the real world and as such are valuable, to an extent.

However, the real world is always lurking out there. Here’s a look at some athletes who walked away from the games we love to serve their country, to preserve our way of life, who gave us the right to sit on our couch with an oversized bowl of chips and watch meaningless games.

ARMY

Rocky Bleier. Was drafted in 1968 after his rookie season with the Steelers. Served in Vietnam where he ended up with shrapnel in his left leg. Awarded a purple heart and bronze star. Returned home to play for the Steelers from 1971-1980, and win four Super Bowls.

Pat Tillman. Only 25 years old when he walked away from a promising NFL career and paycheck to join the Army Rangers. A true American hero the likes of which are seldom seen anymore.

NAVY

Bob Feller. Pitcher for the Cleveland Indians who enlisted two days after Pearl Harbor. Was the first pro athlete to enlist in World War II. Served from 1941-1945, missing four years of a  dominant career and certainly missed out on the chance of being a 300 game winner, finished his career with a record of 266-162.

Roger Staubach. After graduation from the Naval academy served in Vietnam where he commanded 41 men. Later won two Super Bowls as quarterback of the Cowboys.

AIR FORCE

Chuck Bednarik. Served in the Army Air Force during World War II and flew 30 missions in a B-24 over Germany. Was a two-way player at center and linebacker for the Eagles from 1949-1962.

Hank Greenberg. A 1st Lieutenant in the Army Air Force in World War II. Served on a B-29 crew in the China-Burma-India theater. Was a career .313 hitter for the Detroit Tigers.

COAST GUARD

Arnold Palmer. Served from 1951-53. Later became the first millionaire in professional golf.

MARINES

Ted Williams. A 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines, Williams served in both World War II and Korea. Was a flight instructor in World War II and a pilot in Korea where he flew 39 combat missions. Although he lost almost  five years of his career to military service he still compiled a .344 lifetime average and was the last player to hit over .400, hitting .406 in 1941.

This is just a small sample of those who have left professional sports over the years to serve our country. Today we salute them, not as former athletes, but as VETERANS. THANK YOU. And THANK YOU to all the men and women who have served and who continue to serve in the only game that truly matters.

The Queensberry Rules

By Michael LeCompte

Boxing fans, even casual ones, are aware of the Queensberry rules. These twelve guidelines have been the basis of boxing since their inception in 1867. They standardized boxing matches and civilized the sport by requiring gloves to be worn. However, the average fan might be surprised by the interesting history of the Queensberry rules’ namesake and of his personal role in the downfall of Oscar Wilde.

The Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the peerage (a list of peers and their geneology, history, and titles) of Scotland held by a member of the Douglas family since its creation in 1682.

John Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry (1844-1900), by all accounts was not a nice man. He was haunted by both personal and political demons. His father, brother, and first son all committed suicide. He was twice divorced and all five of his children despised him. His second son was even known to brawl with his father in public on occasion.

The political establishment shunned the Marquess. His fellow Scots failed to re-elect him and the English government overlooked his title. When the Foreign Secretary, Lord Roseberg, elected the Marquess’ eldest son to peerage over him he challenged him to fisticuffs.

As his penchant for fighting illustrates the Marquess was an avid fan of boxing, as well as other sports, such as hunting. In 1866 he was one of the founders of the Amateur Athletic Club of England, from which his now famous boxing rules were produced.

The Marquess’ interactions with Oscar Wilde are less well known than his contributions to the sport of boxing, but as Linda Stratmann explains in her book “The Marquess of Queensberry: Wilde’s Nemesis,” he was instrumental in Wilde’s imprisonment.

When the Marquess learned of a supposed homosexual relationship between his son Alfred and Wilde he left a calling card reading “For Oscar Wilde, posing as Sodomite” for him. Wilde then sued the Marquess for criminal libel.

During the trial the Marquess’ lawyers planned to call on several male prostitutes willing to testify to their relations with Wilde. Subsequently Wilde dropped the case.

The Marquess could not let it go, though, and sent the evidence his lawyers had collected to Scotland Yard. Wilde was ultimately convicted of “gross indecency” in 1895 and was sentence to two years of hard labor. He died in 1900.

The 9th Marquess of Queensberry certainly had faults, he undoubtedly contributed to the downfall of an artist, but his contribution to the sport of boxing is undeniable. The Queensberry rules gave rise to and continue to govern the modern form of boxing.

The Queenserry Rules

1. A twenty-four foot ring shall be used.

2. No wrestling or hugging allowed.

3.Three minute rounds with one minute in between.

4. If a man falls he has ten seconds to get up. If a man fails to come to scratch the referee may give his award to the other man.

5. A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state will be considered down.

6. No other persons are allowed in the ring during rounds.

7. Should the contest be stopped by unavoidable interference, the referee is to name the time and place for its conclusion, so that the match may be won or lost.

8. The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new.

9. Should a glove come off it must be replaced to the referee’s satisfaction.

10. A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes.

11. No shoes or boots with springs allowed.

12. The contest in all other respects to be governed by the revised rules of the London prize ring.

The Royals and Giants: A World Series Throwback

By Michael LeCompte

This year’s World Series between the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants has presented an intriguing matchup and has exhibited baseball philosophy that hearkens back to a bygone era of the game.

Both teams rely on pitching and defense to win. The Royals hit 95 home runs in the regular season, fewest in the entire league. Both team play a national league style and have proved the old baseball adage of “get ’em on, move ’em over, and bring ’em in” true.

The World Series has been  a refreshing ground ball up the  middle at a time when balls continue to fly out of major league ball parks. The Royals and Giants have proved that they can put up big numbers employing small ball techniques, as World Series scores of 7-1, 7-2, 11-4, 5-0, and 10-0 have shown.

Guys are getting on base, runners are being advanced, players are sacrificing, others are coming through with clutch base hits. Both teams have displayed dazzling defense and the Giants starting pitching has been excellent.

Both teams have to be sharp at the plate, on the mound, and in the field. Neither team can expect any form of sloppy defense to be bailed out by some one smashing a three run homer at some point in the game and the result has been better baseball.

The Royals and Giants are the perfect teams to square off in the World Series. They both play baseball the way it should be played, or at least the way it used to be played when the game was simpler and somehow more pure.

Whether the Royals or Giants are ultimately victorious, pitching, defense, and small ball are going to win this World Series.

Boxing As Working Class Identity In Nineteenth Century America

by Michael LeCompte

By the 1820’s boxing, or sparring actually, was taught in American gymnasiums to gentlemen seeking to copy their English counterparts in learning the manly art of self-defense. This early style focused on the basics of boxing and never  really moved beyond sparring exhibitions. It offered the excitement of fighting without the vulgarities of boxing. As the upper-classes enjoyed this sanitized version of boxing the rising waves of immigrants to America’s shores laid the true foundation of boxing in the United States.

The nineteenth century saw an influx of European immigration to America. Fighting allowed recent immigrants to earn money and to create a place for themselves within distinct  ethnic sub-cultures in opposition to the upper-class and despite a rapidly changing economy. Boxing was an identifying force, it created a working-class culture and was representative of the American dream.

Recent immigrants faced a new, impersonal, industrializing society in America, as well as old ethnic tensions and nativism. By the 1850’s  a modern system of capitalist production had taken hold. While good for industry the employer-employee relationship was suddenly broken down into a simple set of wages. As industrial work required less skill and society became ever more impersonal some men turned to boxing to pound out and create an identity among the toiling masses.

American prize fighting in the 1850’s was associated with the usual stereotypical sins  ascribed to immigrant groups, mainly drinking and gambling. These assumptions were not unfounded, though, as the purses for boxing matches were raised through the taking of bets.

The mid-nineteenth century aspect of boxing that most attracted immigrants was the economic opportunities it presented. If a man could give or take a beating it was worth it. Surviving a night in the ring was preferable to toiling away in a factory.

Perhaps just as important as the financial incentives of the ring were the values and identities that fighting promoted and symbolized. Boxing showcased working-class values and encouraged ethnic pride and independence. Identity was important in a society that had become de-skilled and impersonal.

A man could earn an identity in the ring as a good fighter, or as a good Irish or Italian or German fighter, and fans and the community at large could identify with him and through his exploits. Fights were the product of local circumstances waged for economic gain, personal honor, neighborhood pride, and the preservation of ethnic identity.

Bare-knuckle boxing required a toughness bordering on savagery. With very few rules the object was to win at all costs. This usually meant pummeling an opponent into submission or simply outlasting them. Since a match was not dictated by any set number of rounds they often went for hours until one of the fighters could physically no longer continue or deliberately fell to avoid further punishment. Once downed a fighter had thirty seconds to come to scratch. (A line at the center of the ring). Fights ended only when one man was unable to come to scratch or conceded defeat. Brute strength and stamina were more important than skill or finesse.

In 1865 the Queensbury rules were introduced in boxing and with strict guidelines, most notably the use of gloves, some of the brutality left professional fighting. It became less about brawling and more about boxing.

By 1880 most laborers in America knew nothing but wage employment. For this new working-class leisure and sport were no longer solely about identification as a community. Leisure became more about consuming goods and witnessing spectacle. The working-class ideal of boxing was being replaced by a modern, acceptable version promoted and enjoyed by the middle and upper classes.

By the turn of the twentieth century boxing was full of meaning for many Americans. Whereas urban immigrants embraced boxing for its recreational, national, and economic benefits, the middle and upper classes valued it as sport and exercise, an essential part of a vigorous life, necessary to ward off the effeminacy of modern society.

The fact that it has been outlawed, vilified, respected, and corrupted, yet ultimately survived makes boxing a distinctly human sport. It has represented different values over time, from gratuitous violence, to ethnic identity, economic opportunity, and the American dream. Boxing’s main appeal, though, lies in its challenge. It is the opportunity to enact the primal necessity to withstand whatever life has to offer, proving one’s self in the process.

The FXFL: Will It Work?

The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) quietly debuted last week, its kickoff preceded by none of the ads, fanfare, or hype that accompanied the start of the NFL season last month. The four team league began its six week season in Omaha on Wednesday as the Mammoths beat the Boston Brawlers 41-18.

The FXFL defines itself as “a professional league which serves as a developmental platform for players, coaches, and referees. Our business model places an emphasis on local marketing, cost containment, and the utilization of smaller venues to better engage the fan base.”

Alternative leagues have popped up from time to time before, all of them very short-lived. Here’s a look at the most memorable attempts.

The World Football League (WFL) 1974-75. Some teams relocated during the season, others folded mid-season and teams and owners constantly struggled to pay their players.

The United States Football League (USFL) 1983-85. The eighteen team league played three seasons and brought an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL for monopolizing TV rights. When the league finally folded it had lost $163 million.

The XFL, 2001. Vince McMahon’s attempt at football, the league was supposed to complement the NFL offseason, but was instead a monumental, gimmicky failure that folded after one season.

The United Football League (UFL), 2009-12. A five team league that played a fall schedule and hoped to become a developmental league for the NFL. The league lost $150 million and was eventually sued by its players for failing to pay their salaries.

All of these previous attempts at creating an alternative to the NFL failed for two reasons, they tried to compete with the NFL (either with a fall league schedule or with lawsuits) and they didn’t have enough money. Upstart leagues just can’t advertise, broker TV deals, and often pay their players. Will the FXFL be any different?

For the FXFL or any other D-League attempt to work it needs NFL affiliation or at least an infusion of NFL cash. Football is more popular and lucrative than ever and the NFL is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Maybe the time is right for an NFL Developmental league.

The NFL could buy the FXFL, expand and cultivate it, and ultimately run it as a viable development league, similar to the NBA D-League. Expanding the league to sixteen teams (half of the NFL’s 32), with teams in non-NFL cities would be a  good model. Players on those sixteen teams could develop their skills, while hoping to make one of the 32 big teams take notice.

The expenditure for the NFL could be kept to a minimum. They could give every D-League player, across the board, the NFL league minimum of $420,000. By incorporating the FXFL into its brand the NFL could also add to its TV empire. If they kept FXFL games on their current Wednesday schedule, they could have their product on the air Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Unfortunately the NFL, like most fans will simply ignore the FXFL. Business is booming in the NFL, they don’t have to even acknowledge the FXFL if they don’ want to.

Besides, the NFL basically already has a D-League that doesn’t cost them any money in major college football (any school from one of the power conferences could beat Oakland on any given Sunday).

Football has become America’s game and we love to root for the underdogs, but if the inaugural game is any indicator (only 3,0000 fans in attendance) the Fall Experimental Football League is destined to fail, another victim of the lack of exposure and of insufficient funds.

A new football league simply doesn’t stand a chance against the NFL, but it does have a place among the other grand experiments turned failed leagues that we love to watch or joke about while we wait for the next NFL game to kickoff.

Perhaps it is a bit premature, but:

RIP: FXFL