Fumbling?

CHICAGO -- When World Wrestling Federation Chairman Vince McMahon announced Feb. 3, 2000, that he founded a new football league, curiosity surfaced. And when NBC became a co-owner of that league March 29, 2000, excitement for the inaugural season grew.\nBut since the XFL began play Feb. 3, 2001, media have focused more attention on national ratings and other measures of success than the teams and players within the league.\n"No league has ever been under as much scrutiny," XFL Senior Consultant Rich Rose said. "We were under a microscope from the start."\nFrom under a microscope, the XFL has assumed the role of an underdog. Critics have targeted the fledgling league, calling the frills pointless, the commentary bland and the football bad.\nMedia criticism of the XFL centers around the inability to maintain a solid television audience. \nThe intended demographic of the league, men ages 18-34, is the same as the loyal audience that brings McMahon's WWF a large viewing audience and countless revenue dollars. But the WWF fans haven't shown interest in the XFL.\nThe XFL's ratings on NBC have plummeted since the debut earned a 9.5 national rating, winning the primetime Saturday slot. The network audience has free-fallen to a 1.7 national rating in Week 10, the lowest among major networks. \nSunday afternoon games, broadcast on TNN and UPN, have enjoyed some success when compared to NBC's Saturday night games. \nBecause of the low ratings and lack of interest in Saturday night games, the league and the network are considering televising all games on Sunday afternoons next season.\n"There is a lot of talk that Sunday afternoons is when the viewing patterns have been established for pro football," XFL president Basil DeVito told The Associated Press. "What we're doing is learning from our mistakes and adjusting."\nOne major adjustment has been the response to the lack of publicity within the sports community.\nThe XFL was counting on media giants ESPN and FOX to broadcast highlights on "Sportscenter" and "National Sports Report," respectively. But since the inaugural XFL weekend, other networks have been reluctant to bring publicity to their competitor. And the XFL has suffered a lack of coverage from most major print media outlets. \nThe ABC/ESPN/Disney conglomerate and FOX have no stake in the league and failed to promote it, upsetting projected media attention. \n"There are some things that quite frankly we were unprepared for," DeVito said. "We didn't do everything well out of the gate."\nThe XFL has compensated by advertising on NBC during low-rated programming.\nThe lack of revenue and national ratings has lead to rumors of NBC turning its back on the league in favor of choice programming.\n"I think NBC would make a big mistake in dropping us," Chicago Enforcers coach Ron Meyer said. "We're just getting our feet wet."\nWhile the television audience has been disappointing, the XFL has seen surprisingly strong attendance.\n"If (the crowd) buys what you do, then that's your ultimate critic," Rose said.\nAbout 25,000 fans have passed through the turnstile at each game, surpassing projections by 5,000 per contest. San Francisco leads the league in attendance, averaging more than 34,000 fans per game, while Chicago is last at just more than 15,000 fans.\nThe allure of attending can best be described as a new, fan-friendly experience. The ticket prices are significantly less than those for an NFL game, averaging about $25, but it is the atmosphere that draws people to the stadiums. Large viewing screens, called "Jumbo-trons," are placed behind each end zone. In-game sideline interviews are shown on the Jumbo-trons and heard over the public address system, bringing the fans closer to the game.\n"The experience is different than any other sport," Rose said. "You want to see that."\nThe XFL can afford such luxuries for one simple reason -- money.\nWhile the NFL has a salary cap, player salaries are rapidly approaching $10 million per year. Major League Baseball just saw Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez sign a $252 million contract.\nThe XFL places restrictions on players and how much they can earn. Most players earn a $45,000 base salary for the season. Quarterbacks are paid $50,000 and kicking specialists $35,000.\nBut the potential for players for earn bonuses drives teams to victory.\nEach regular season game features a $100,000 bonus pool to be divided equally by players on the winning team. \n"This league is all about winning and money," Enforcers quarterback Kevin McDougal said. "If you win, you make more money."\nThe bonus pool increases to $300,000 for the first round of the playoffs. The bonus pool for "The Million Dollar Game," the XFL's Super Bowl, will be $1 million. \nWhat remains to be seen is the long-term success of the league. While media critics feel that the XFL is simply a football fill-in until the NFL season begins, XFL players, coaches and front office personnel hope that the league can endure and thrive.\n"I think it's going pretty well," said Enforcers running back John Avery, the XFL's leading rusher. "We've come a long way"