The XFL officially
folded on
May 10, 2001 for all the reasons described above, and then some. Horrible
ratings doomed the league, and hardly anyone truly cares. While most people expected
failure, it's a surprise (to me anyway) that the venture only lasted one season. The
WWF and
NBC have tons of money, but it became apparent that the XFL concept just wasn't going to work. As explained on the XFL's website: "The decision was made after determining that the additional investment required to further develop the XFL was not commensurate with the potential return and the risk inherent in pursuing the venture."
The football was mediocre at best. The innovations weren't noteworthy. The announcing was atrocious (Jesse Ventura can go back to being a governor I suppose).
For future reference, the Los Angeles Xtreme won the first (and last) XFL championship, defeating the San Francisco Demons 38-6 in the "Million Dollar Game". Los Angeles quarterback Tommy Maddox was named XFL Player of the Year and the Orlando Rage's coach Galen Hall was Coach of the Year.