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| Thursday, May 10 |
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| Teams already were pointing toward next season Associated Press | |||
LOS ANGELES – Right up until the end, J.K. McKay believed
the XFL had a promising future.
Then just like that, it was gone.
"I'm saddened by it," the general manager of the Los Angeles
Xtreme said Thursday about an hour after learning the league had
folded. "We had a great organization here in L.A., we had a great
group of people."
The Xtreme won the championship in what turned out to be the
football league's only year of existence.
"The quality of play in this league was, regardless of what
anyone says, excellent," said McKay, son of former Southern
California and Tampa Bay coach John McKay. "It was better than
anywhere in the world except the NFL."
The season was a critical and television ratings disappointment for the
league founded by the World Wrestling Federation and jointly owned
by NBC. Even so, McKay and other teams said they were surprised by
the news.
Just two weeks ago, league general managers met at WWF
headquarters in Stamford, Conn., to plan for a 2002 season. Even as
late as Thursday afternoon, head coaches were unaware of the WWF's
decision, said Chicago Enforcers general manager Connie Kowal.
"Everyone was making plans for next year," he said.
Trey Fitz-Gerald, spokesman for the Las Vegas Outlaws, added:
"We're shocked and disappointed. It really came out of left field
for everybody."
Fitz-Gerald said renewal forms were sent out to nearly 10,000
season ticket-holders and believed the team had a good shot at
success.
"We really captured the hearts and imaginations of the
locals," he said. "The most disappointing thing is we don't get a
chance to follow it up."
Kent Partridge, spokesman for the Birmingham Thunderbolts, said
everyone knew the league might not last, but no one thought it
would fold this quickly.
"You've got to roll the dice, and sometimes you lose," he
said. "I came into this thing with a promise of a three-year deal.
Along those lines, I'm very disappointed. I moved my family 3,000
miles.
"Vince is money," Partridge added, referring to WWF chairman
Vince McMahon, "and NBC is money. They have to be fiscally
responsible to their shareholders. I knew General Electric is not
in the business of throwing millions of dollars down the pipes."
The WWF said its share of after-tax losses will be about $35
million. NBC's loss should be similar.
As for McKay, he's been through this before. He was a wide
receiver for the Southern California Sun of the World Football
League when it folded in 1975.
When asked what was next for him, he said, "Wake up, breathe in
and out, go from there." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | |
ALSO SEE Ex-FL: Vince McMahon folds XFL after one season XFL feel victim to the new era of sports business Many agree, XFL fulfilled some of its purposes XFL's championship game yields X-tremely low ratings McMahon says XFL to return, but probably not on Saturday nights | |
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