August 22, 2019
Say Hello to the Battlehawks
Timothy Birdnow
St. Louis welcomes The Battlehawks!
From CNN:
Does anyone else think these team names are disgustingly p.c.? There is nothing to offend (except maybe animal rights people who would get their panties in a bunch over using hawks in battle or Chinese people who may find using dragons offensive. But these names were clearly chosen with an eye on inoffensiveness. I mean, really, the D. C. Defenders? The Houston Roughnecks? C'mon...
The brainchild of pro-wrestling's Vince McMahon, the XFL is not going to go head to head with the NFL, choosing instead to be a spring and summer league. This is smart? The whole point of resurrecting the XFL was to take advantage of the NFL's self destruction in the wake of Kaepernick and now the Jay-Z halftime show imbecility. But instead they are going up against Major League Baseball. In St. Louis that is going to be the kiss of death; we are a baseball town to the core.
Also, why would you give franchises to New York (a city with two NFL teams), D.C., Seattle, Tampa Bay, amd L.A. which can barely support one team? I agree with bringing football back to St. Louis and Houston, but why not go to other cities not served by the NFL? Louisville, Kentucky, for example, or Omaha Nebraska, or Cheyenne Wyoming? I think looking at the large markets just because they are large is not a good business move; too much competition.
The article continues:
I had rather hoped the new league would go back to fundamentals, rather than follow the NFL trend of flashy and high scoring. I tire of watching all the showboating; I would love to watch old time smashmouth football with lots of running plays. I guess I'm wishing my youth.
But I'm pretty happy we got a team here in the 'Lou, and I like the Hawks angle; St. Louis was home to the NBA Hawks, a great basketball team. My father was good friends with a number of the top players on the Hawks, guys like Bob Pettit, Ed McCauley, Frank Selvy, etc. He used to play softball on their team. He has a great story he used to tell; the Hawk players hung around a hotel bar called the Pub (where my dad and later my mom used to hang out) and my father went there after one of the games. He and his friend chatted up a couple of gals, who seemed quite interested until several of the Hawks players came in. The woman my dad was with said "get lost!" to him suddenly; she was a groupie, and started trying to sidle up to the Hawks players table. Bob Petit spotted my dad and called "come on over Jim!" and my father proceeded to stroll past this woman and sat down with the players. Dad said she looked green around the gills.
Now THAT's sweet!
Anyway, I'm glad to see we have this connection with the past. I wish the league well; we need the competition to the NFL. The NFL is behaving exactly as a monopoly always does, and it needs a healthy dose of competition.
St. Louis welcomes The Battlehawks!
From CNN:
The
XFL, the once-defunct American football league that was supposed to
serve as an alternative to the NFL, is coming back. The league unveiled
the logos and names for all eight of its teams today.The
new XFL teams are the DC Defenders, Dallas Renegades, Houston
Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats, New York Guardians, St. Louis
BattleHawks, Seattle Dragons and Tampa Bay Vipers.
Does anyone else think these team names are disgustingly p.c.? There is nothing to offend (except maybe animal rights people who would get their panties in a bunch over using hawks in battle or Chinese people who may find using dragons offensive. But these names were clearly chosen with an eye on inoffensiveness. I mean, really, the D. C. Defenders? The Houston Roughnecks? C'mon...
The brainchild of pro-wrestling's Vince McMahon, the XFL is not going to go head to head with the NFL, choosing instead to be a spring and summer league. This is smart? The whole point of resurrecting the XFL was to take advantage of the NFL's self destruction in the wake of Kaepernick and now the Jay-Z halftime show imbecility. But instead they are going up against Major League Baseball. In St. Louis that is going to be the kiss of death; we are a baseball town to the core.
Also, why would you give franchises to New York (a city with two NFL teams), D.C., Seattle, Tampa Bay, amd L.A. which can barely support one team? I agree with bringing football back to St. Louis and Houston, but why not go to other cities not served by the NFL? Louisville, Kentucky, for example, or Omaha Nebraska, or Cheyenne Wyoming? I think looking at the large markets just because they are large is not a good business move; too much competition.
The article continues:
The XFL says the new league will be "faster, with more plays, less stall, fewer interruptions and no gimmicks."
"We're
sifting through the thousands of suggestions and recommendations we've
received from fans, players, coaches and experts on ways to improve the
game," the league says on its website. "Bottom line: every element of
the game is under review to see where we can make improvements. We are
already field-testing each potential change and if we approve it, you
will see it. If not, it's trash."
I had rather hoped the new league would go back to fundamentals, rather than follow the NFL trend of flashy and high scoring. I tire of watching all the showboating; I would love to watch old time smashmouth football with lots of running plays. I guess I'm wishing my youth.
But I'm pretty happy we got a team here in the 'Lou, and I like the Hawks angle; St. Louis was home to the NBA Hawks, a great basketball team. My father was good friends with a number of the top players on the Hawks, guys like Bob Pettit, Ed McCauley, Frank Selvy, etc. He used to play softball on their team. He has a great story he used to tell; the Hawk players hung around a hotel bar called the Pub (where my dad and later my mom used to hang out) and my father went there after one of the games. He and his friend chatted up a couple of gals, who seemed quite interested until several of the Hawks players came in. The woman my dad was with said "get lost!" to him suddenly; she was a groupie, and started trying to sidle up to the Hawks players table. Bob Petit spotted my dad and called "come on over Jim!" and my father proceeded to stroll past this woman and sat down with the players. Dad said she looked green around the gills.
Now THAT's sweet!
Anyway, I'm glad to see we have this connection with the past. I wish the league well; we need the competition to the NFL. The NFL is behaving exactly as a monopoly always does, and it needs a healthy dose of competition.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
07:23 AM
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Post contains 678 words, total size 4 kb.
1
I don't see football as a warm -- or hot -- weather sport. The uniform, with all its protective gear -- is heavy enough in the fall. Players will suffer in the summer, especially in the South.
I think it's a lousy idea and they'll have a hard time finding players.
Just my $.02.
I think it's a lousy idea and they'll have a hard time finding players.
Just my $.02.
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at August 22, 2019 09:49 AM (uRBJl)
2
I agree Dana1 Who wants to play football in the summer in Miami or Houston? St. Louis, for that matter. And all the players are going to be slippery with sweat during the game. May as well have 'em play shirtless and greased up like a pig run.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at August 22, 2019 11:19 AM (X1YeO)
3
Now THERE'S an idea!
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at August 22, 2019 11:06 PM (S3Uvu)
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