"I have loved football as an almost mythic game since I was in the fourth grade. To me, the game wasn't even grounded in reality. The uniform turned you into a warrior. Being on a team, the mythology of physical combat, the struggle against the elements, the narrative of the game..." ~ Steve Sabol (NFL Films)

It's a Tecmo Bowl World

Well, here we are in final game of week two of the XFL season, and I write this at my kitchen table here in   Japan on a Monday morning tomorrow as I watch the game on my laptop and write this missive on my laptop.  It is amazing how much technology has allowed all of us football fans to connect and interact (for ill or will depending on how you read my ongoing Twitter battles with the right wing XFL media and spin doctors).  Even more amazing are the content creators, and for this article I am focusing all of my love and attention on Rick 8-Bit, the creator of the world’s first XFL video game, which is available for free at TecmoBowl.org.

It is because of guys like Rick that football Twitter does not suck, for he, like me, is clearly a 12-year-old at heart, and in this world, we need so much more of that. The real-world sucks, but when we can escape back to our childhood fandom, even for a few hours, we can reset ourselves by revisiting the joys of youth. Such is the magic of Tecmo Bowl, for it allows us all, for free through PC emulation, to be a kid, or in my case, a 21-year-old college student, all over again.

XFL Infowars- The Battle For Your Mind Has Begun

www.xflamerica.com
I arrived in Japan over three months ago, and it has been a slow process of settling in to a place where is both home and on the other hand completely foreign.  However, the one constant since I have arrived has been the ability to still feel as if I have never left America via the magic of the internet and all the devices and means by which we now are able to instantly communicate here in the third decade of the 21st Century, without which you would not be able to read these words.  Suffice it to say, gridiron wise, my life has not changed much since I left America; however, for America, things are changing; but for now let's focus on the one place we can all unite, the virtual stadium we sit in during every sporting event.

And so it was this week, the third version of the XFL took flight, with, as I watched, has been an unasked gift that has been presented to us for each of the three decades this Century by the world of professional wrestling.  Needless to say, this version, despite all its denials, has deep professional wrestling roots, and as a result it has echos of that first version of the league whom failed so spectacularly in front of our eyes in those innocent days before 9/11, Twitter, smart phones and streaming.  Yes, this is not your father's XFL, or even the one you fell in love with during those pre-pandemic weeks before the world felt another seismic change.

Where is My Damn XFL, CFL and USFL Video Game?

For those who follow me on Twitter (@CFLAmerica/@XFLAmerica/@USFLAmerica) you might be well aware of my ongoing battles with what I term the right wing XFL media (meaning that they engage in embarrassing Rock worship and are condescending of the CFL). However, there is one thing we can both agree on this week, and that is the fact that here we are just hours away from kickoff and there is not an XFL video game in sight. Why? How do you fumble this ball, Dwayne? 

And Here We Go, Again...

Dear Jaded Spring Football Fan,

Well here we are, for yet another XFL launch. One that seems as promising as the last two (or three if we count the AAF as it was a bastard child of the original XFL), filled with all sorts of proclamations, energy, hype, etcetera. I would mention the new USFL, but unlike Vince, we weren't bombarded with hyperbolic proclamations and press events like each version of the XFL has done. No, USFL 2.0 kept their roll out low key and business like, unlike the over-the-top images the marketing arm of each version of the XFL has blasted into our living rooms and on to our social media feeds.