Welcome back to professional football in Los Angeles.
Welcome to the XFL–where things are done a bit differently.
“I was with the Rams when they left, and I know it was kind of hard on people here not to have a team to follow,” said Xtreme quarterback Tommy Maddox, who also played for UCLA.
The return featured the Xtreme and the Chicago Enforcers going to overtime after tying 25-25 in regulation at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Xtreme won 39-32 as both teams were coming off season-opening losses.
The names of the players werent’ as easy to identify as during the last outdoor pro football weekend in Southern California. That weekend ended Dec. 24, 1994, when the Raiders lost at home to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Rams lost to Washington at what was then known as Anaheim Stadium.
It certainly isn’t the NFL that returns to the Coliseum, but it is pretty good entertainment, according to the participants. The crowd for the first XFL game in L.A. was estimated at 35,000
“[As a spectator] with all the things going on all at once, you can’t help but be affected by the excitement,” Xtreme coach Al Luginbill said. “You have a game where two teams are flat getting after it every snap.”
A power generator problem with an NBC truck caused TV viewers to miss most of the first quarter. NBC lost its feed from the Coliseum just 1:45 into the contest. The network switched to the other XFL game, San Francisco at Orlando, before restoring power to the truck at the Coliseum. NBC rejoined the Xtreme-Enforcers game with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
Orlando beat San Francisco 26-14.
The crowds were bigger than expected in the first week with an average of 34,828 at the four games. Also in the first week, there was no beer left by halftime Sunday at Birmingham’s Legion Field, and the 36,000 who showed up in the 72,000-seat Citrus Bowl in Orlando set a stadium record by going through 250 kegs. When Auburn lost to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl the crowd finished 140 kegs.
But to the 76 players and two coaching staffs today it’s not about beer, cameras and cheerleaders.
“Once the game starts it’s a football game,” receiver Darnell Copeland said.
Luginbill was most concerned with the health of his team, who were without defensive linemen David Richie (knee) and Reggie Lowe (shoulder), offensive lineman Bobby Singh and receiver Todd Doxson (knee), and the ability to slow down Chicago’s John Avery.
The XFL had a helicopter at the Coliseum to transport Xtreme quarterback Scott Milanovich to the hospital if his wife, Jaime, went into labor. Jaime’s due date was Saturday. “They would never do that in the NFL. It’s nice to be part of a league that takes care of its players,” Milanovich said.
