The XFL football league only started its inaugural season a few weeks ago, and we are already approaching the turn to the second half of the XFL regular season. Well, it is actually the second XFL season to be exact, but that previous first-and-only season in 2001 doesn’t really count.

Life was very different back then with no social media, live streaming, internet, mobile phones and sports betting which was non-existent outside of Nevada before the fall of PAPSA. And let’s not even talk about online sports betting, sports betting apps, and other things that in 2001 were more of a scene from Back to the Future than from real life.

So let’s look at the all new XFL, which kicked off a week after the Super Bowl. The combination of a rebooted XFL that seemed to have learned from previous mistakes, and different times that give sports fans and betting enthusiasts a lot more power and choice, together with live streaming, social media and legal online sports betting – all gives the XFL a great chance to become a pretty cool pro football alternative to big brother NFL.
“We still understand and remind ourselves every day that we have to earn our stripes” said Jeffery Pollack, XFL President and COO. “Fandom is earned, not given, and it’s going to take us time to really build our base. But we are on our way, and we are inspired by the initial response and even a bit humbled by it.”

So still a long way to go, probably many years still until the XFL becomes a force to be recon with. But the XFL top brass know that. And they came to work hard, and they are in it for the long run, so the XFL is here to stay.
We are already in midseason, with six weeks into the ten-week regular season that ends in April 12th, followed by two weeks of postseason games. So like everything else in the XFL, even the seasons are more compact, efficient, and straight to the point. We like that.

What else do we like about the XFL? It seems as if the league took what we love about football, and improved it a bit, to make it more up to date with the times. We like hearing coaches calling their plays on TV, and also watching replay officials making calls. The kick-off formation is different, but we’re getting used to that, and the games are shorter and are in faster pace.

There’s still some confusion on the sidelines and in the field, as coaches, refs and players are all trying to find themselves and interpret new rules, and the quarterbacks and other parts of the teams are uneven and seem confused sometimes, but it’s all work in process, and it seems that the XFL is going in the right direction.

But what we liked the most was the XFL’s understanding that sports betting is part of the reality of any major league and sport in America. And the XFL seemed not only to accept sports betting, but even embrace it. As XFL officials said, their plan is to “embrace the spread”, and it actually shows already.

“Our goal is to provide our fans with the type of engagement opportunities they are looking for. The XFL fans are younger and more millennial,” said Pollack. “Our strategy to embrace the spread is as much about being responsive to our fan base as anything else.”

The XFL has already formed partnerships with FanDuel, DraftKings and Fox Bet, and also content deals with the Action Sports Network and VSiN.

And this strategy seems to be working for the XFL. According to PointsBet, which operates online and mobile sportsbooks in Iowa and New Jersey, XFL is exceeding expectations. And Caesars sportsbook said the average handle of an XFL game is already comparable to second-tier college basketball games. So yes it’s a start, but for a league that plays for 5 weeks of its life? It’s one awesome start for the XFL!!