Vince McMahon considers move to bring back the XFL

[wbbfan]

1 minute ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Yes, NBC.  Vince was close with **** Ebersol from the Saturday Night Main Event days.  **** is credited with taking WWE from smoke filled bingo halls to slickly produced arena shows (not entirely accurate but he showed Vince how much better it could look).  Vince announced XFL without a partner and **** called him and asked him not to sign with anyone else until they had a chance to talk.   NBC then bought 50% of the XFL and I believe some percentage of WWE also.

After the first season, NBC backed out and Vince was willing to go it alone for another season but his other broadcast partner (I believe it was Paramount) cancelled them.

Ah kk I thought it was nbc but i wasnt sure. I did hear that vince very much wanted to continue it but the broadcasters and partner pulled out. Some thing like 180m dollars lost in one season or some thing crazy?

If they wanted to make a good run of it, I think they'd make a show to go with it. Kinda like the ultimate fighter, meets last chance U. 

[SPuDS]

17 minutes ago, Rich said:

If the evidence and awareness of concussions continues on its current trajectory, I wonder if it is really a smart thing to invest in a new football league.

What happens over the next 10+ years if enough parents decide to just stop enrolling their kids in football?   

Are you coming into the game too late, (on its downtrend) or can you find a way to innovate and change the game to be safer and use that as a selling point.    Might be too early if it is the latter.

I think its high time we advance to the level where the field is full of robotic cyborgs who are neuro-connected to a player and they control the cyborg.   No injuries, no muss and no fuss! 

 

 

in all serious tho, you are very right in that we could be seeing the beginning of the end of football as we know it if medical findings continue to put the game in such a negative light and protection methods can't advance fast enough to keep the players safe.

[The Unknown Poster]

2 minutes ago, SPuDS said:

I think its high time we advance to the level where the field is full of robotic cyborgs who are neuro-connected to a player and they control the cyborg.   No injuries, no muss and no fuss! 

 

 

in all serious tho, you are very right in that we could be seeing the beginning of the end of football as we know it if medical findings continue to put the game in such a negative light and protection methods can't advance fast enough to keep the players safe.

I think research is not advanced enough yet.  Now studies indicate CTE might be due to repeated blows, not necessarily repeated concussions (if I understand correctly).  Thats really scary.

They key is, like Rich said, whether parents stop enrolling their kids.  If you cut off the talent, then its over.  But as long as there is talent, there will be leagues willing to play. 

There are far too many players that dont show degenerative signs.  I once read about a study linking steroid use to CTE (ie. steroids aggravated the natural effects of head trauma).  And that was one way to explain why a lot of older players would have the issue (when juice was maybe more common).  But its hard to say older players are more likely to get CTE than younger players until those young players get old too.

The real scary thing is the test to show CTE when you're still alive.  Because who's to say we dont all have signs of CTE?  Maybe normal life causes brain trauma over the course of 50-70+ years.

And ask a 19 year old who feels like he could take on the world if he wants to play ball for ten years and make millions but maybe have some issues when he's 40-50 and most of them will gladly take the deal.  Ask them again when they're 50 and they might say its not worth it.

[Fatty Liver]

8 minutes ago, SPuDS said:

I think its high time we advance to the level where the field is full of robotic cyborgs who are neuro-connected to a player and they control the cyborg.   No injuries, no muss and no fuss!

Inevitably the league would be ruled by nerds.

[SPuDS]

19 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Not soo bad. Drop in the bucket compared to this:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2014/05/16/wwe-ceo-vince-mcmahon-no-longer-billionaire-after-losing-340-million-in-a-day/#3a2cee445d49

Yeah i had heard that about TUF and the wwe. Pretty crazy. As a mma fan im glad it worked out. Though ive never watched tuf. 

Thats kind a crazy considering the old ufc to wwe cross over guys. 

Speaking of those cross over guys  thats an interesting story. As an mma fan its too bad that didnt take off. We need some grass roots help in the area. Especially considering how the ufc does here. I sure would have come out to see Dan severn.

Robox Jox was one of my fave movies growing up lol. 

[wbbfan]

Just now, SPuDS said:

Robox Jox was one of my fave movies growing up lol. 

I freaking loved the empire international pictures movies in general. Trancers, Re-animator, robot jox, from beyond etc. Those movies perfectly sum up the era for me. 

[SPuDS]

8 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

I freaking loved the empire international pictures movies in general. Trancers, Re-animator, robot jox, from beyond etc. Those movies perfectly sum up the era for me. 

Yup great call..  awesome time for cheesy sci-fi and horror lol 

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Inevitably the league would be ruled by nerds.

I mean there's already (apparently) a huge following for e-sports and the koreans dominate it so yeah, that's the future being talked about here... and I have no use for that. 

[WBBFanWest]

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Yes, NBC.  Vince was close with **** Ebersol from the Saturday Night Main Event days.  **** is credited with taking WWE from smoke filled bingo halls to slickly produced arena shows (not entirely accurate but he showed Vince how much better it could look).  Vince announced XFL without a partner and **** called him and asked him not to sign with anyone else until they had a chance to talk.   NBC then bought 50% of the XFL and I believe some percentage of WWE also.

After the first season, NBC backed out and Vince was willing to go it alone for another season but his other broadcast partner (I believe it was Paramount) cancelled them.

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by WBBFanWest

[Noeller]

Probably about time for this thread to head over to the Gen Forum...

[brett_c_b]

23 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

The real scary thing is the test to show CTE when you're still alive.  Because who's to say we dont all have signs of CTE?  Maybe normal life causes brain trauma over the course of 50-70+ years.

 

I'm assuming you meant to say there isn't a test to show CTE when you're still alive. I'm not sure of where it sits exactly, but they detected CTE in a living person for the first time 2-3 months ago (confirmed after his death unfortunately). The study was in the Journal of neuroscience at the end of November I think, from the doctor who first discovered CTE (the guy Will Smith played in the movie).

So really there's a lot of work to still do to have a verified reliable way to confirm in the living, but they're making progress with the testing.

Edited January 30, 2018 by brett_c_b

[The Unknown Poster]

Just now, brett_c_b said:

I'm assuming you meant to say there isn't a test to show CTE when you're still alive. I'm not sure of where it sits exactly, but they detected CTE in a living person for the first time 2-3 months ago (confirmed after his death unfortunately). The study was in the Journal of neuroscience at the end of November I think, from the doctor who first discovered CTE (the guy Will Smith played in the movie)

No thats what I mean.  If they use a test to detect CTE in living people without understanding what it means.  You start testing 22 year olds with no symptoms and they have CTE, its the end of contact sports.  The whole thing needs a lot more research.

[Atomic]

21 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

You start testing 22 year olds with no symptoms and they have CTE, its the end of contact sports. 

How so?  Contact sports could still go on.  We would just understand the risks better.

[The Unknown Poster]

3 minutes ago, Atomic said:

How so?  Contact sports could still go on.  We would just understand the risks better.

I think if they have a test for CTE in living people and they do a wide sample and find young people with no history of injury, concussions etc have CTE it would be a gamechanger.  Sure you will always have those parents that will put fame and fortune first, but how many parents would put their kids in contact sports if the end result was brain damage even without apparent injury?

[JCon]

Can't make money today with the insurance costs. Even the doctor's insurance is going through the roof.

I think local, small promotion MMA is dead.

[BigBlue]

This is the most boring thread .... a big nothing burger that won't go away

[Tracker]

3 hours ago, BigBlue said:

This is the most boring thread .... a big nothing burger that won't go away

But we're bored to tears.

[The Unknown Poster]

So the XFL losses were $137,988,000. 

When NBC pulled out, Vince was willing to keep going with UPN as the main partner (they were going to be the main broadcaster until NBC had come on board) but UPN would only do it if Vince accepted a reduced Smackdown and he wasnt going to cannibalize his wrestling for football.

Vince doesnt want partners or outside investors this time.  He wants to maintain control himself and will sink in more money if need be but, acknowledging he's a businessman, wont sink an unlimited amount.

The initial PBP guy was Mark Vasgersian who was replaced by Jim Ross who did a much better job but was considered a "wrestling guy".

On the Anthem front, its interesting that Vince has never been a big fan of airing the anthem in wrestling.  He uses America The Beautiful instead of the anthem and even then, rarely uses it anymore.  So Im curious if he chooses to either not play the Anthem or uses America the beautiful instead.

Most players made $50,000 - $60,000 the first go around.

[The Unknown Poster]

I had always heard the losses as $50 million to WWE and $50 million to NBC but I think WWE absorbed all the start up costs.  The $137 million figure comes from Meltzer so I'd trust it as pretty accurate.

Vince has said he's willing to spend more than the initial $100 million.  The difference is that NBC got the TV rights for free as a partner (buying into half the company and a small amount of WWE stock).  Vince will get paid real dollars for TV and digital rights.  Will it be more than $50 million?  Unlikely but who knows.

[Tracker]

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I had always heard the losses as $50 million to WWE and $50 million to NBC but I think WWE absorbed all the start up costs.  The $137 million figure comes from Meltzer so I'd trust it as pretty accurate.

Vince has said he's willing to spend more than the initial $100 million.  The difference is that NBC got the TV rights for free as a partner (buying into half the company and a small amount of WWE stock).  Vince will get paid real dollars for TV and digital rights.  Will it be more than $50 million?  Unlikely but who knows.

Who cares?

[The Unknown Poster]

3 minutes ago, tracker said:

Who cares?

Vince does.  And so do any players and fans that might get work or watch the product.  My point about the exact figure isnt really relevant other than the fact NBC bought in for around $50 million and got the broadcast rights as part of the partnership is meant to equate a value on those rights.  Vince seems determined to have no partners or investors this time.   So my point is, will he get value from TV and digital rights packages greater than what he'd get from partners.

And the whole reason is, that's the key to this.  If the rights package can cover expenses, he's laughing.

[Noeller]

Lock........this..............up.

[Jpan85]

Cleaned up this thread if you can not resort to name calling I will lock it up. The MMA discussion has been moved to general forum.

[bearpants]

On 1/29/2018 at 1:14 PM, The Unknown Poster said:

Yes, NBC.  Vince was close with **** Ebersol from the Saturday Night Main Event days.  **** is credited with taking WWE from smoke filled bingo halls to slickly produced arena shows (not entirely accurate but he showed Vince how much better it could look).  Vince announced XFL without a partner and **** called him and asked him not to sign with anyone else until they had a chance to talk.  

My favourite thing about this forum is when the nickname for Richard gets blanked out... it makes me laugh every time for some reason...

1 hour ago, Jpan85 said:

Cleaned up this thread if you can not resort to name calling I will lock it up. The MMA discussion has been moved to general forum.

sounds like I missed some fun... 

[The Unknown Poster]

Vince, save your $100 million