American football is traditionally associated with the turning of the leaves and the chill of the winter holiday season – but football is for life, not just for Christmas. In February 2023, the reinvented XFL will kick into gear during the NFL offseason, ensuring that football fans have games to enjoy for the majority of the calendar year.
The XFL is not a totally new concept. Vince McMahon founded a league under the same name in 2001, in collaboration with WWE, but that first attempt ran for just 1 season and was widely seen as a failure. McMahon rebooted the XFL brand in 2018, and the new league’s inaugural season began in February 2020. Unfortunately for McMahon, play lasted just 5 weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic forced the XFL to shut down operations, and the league was bankrupt by April 2020. In August of the same year, the XFL was bought out by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital.
Under its new ownership, the league confirmed a line-up of 8 teams, several of which had competed during the McMahon era in 2020 and some of which were brand new to the XFL. The teams contesting the XFL in 2023 are:
- Arlington Renegades (Arlington, Texas)
- D.C. Defenders (Washington, D.C.)
- Houston Roughnecks (Houston, Texas)
- Orlando Guardians (Orlando, Florida)
- San Antonio Brahmas (San Antonio, Texas)
- Seattle Sea Dragons (Seattle, Washington)
- St. Louis BattleHawks (St. Louis, Missouri)
- Vegas Vipers (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Just this week, the schedule of games for the new-look XFL has been released, with play set to begin on 18 February 2023. The league has adopted a 2-division format, splitting the 8 teams into North and South – so all 3 Texas-based teams will be divisional rivals in the South!
The season will feature 40 regular games, followed by 2 playoff semifinals and the XFL Championship Game.
On the first weekend of play, the Vegas Vipers will visit the Arlington Renegades at Choctaw Stadium on 18 February. Later that day, the Houston Roughnecks will host the Orlando Guardians in Texas. On Sunday 19 February, the St. Louis BattleHawks will travel to play the San Antonio Brahmas, and the Seattle Sea Dragons will face the D.C. Defenders at Audi Field.
The playoff semifinals are scheduled for Saturday 29 April and Sunday 30 April, with the XFL Championship Game taking place 2 weeks later on Saturday 13 May.
In 2023, spring is time for football!