Editing XFL (2001) (section)

===Camera perspectives===
Although the XFL was not the first football league to feature the "[[skycam|sky cam]]",<ref name=skycam>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-07-sp-22325-story.html |title=XFL, NBC Working Out Kinks |author=Stewart, Larry |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=March 10, 2009 |date=February 7, 2001}}</ref> which enables TV viewers to see behind the offensive unit, it helped to popularize its unique capabilities. For the first several weeks, the league used the sky cam and on-field cameramen (nicknamed the "Bubba Cam" after WWE's cameraman, Bubba, who couldn't get medical clearance to cover the XFL)<ref name=skycam2>{{cite news |url=http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/05/16/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/XFL-Bubba-Cam.aspx |title=Bubba Cam put cameraman into the game |author=Tefton, Terry |work=Sports Business Daily |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]] |access-date=May 17, 2011 |date=May 16, 2011}}</ref> extensively, giving the television broadcasts a perspective similar to [[video game]]s such as the ''[[Madden NFL|Madden]]'' series.

During player interviews, particularly later in the season as attendances declined, the television crews took extensive efforts to avoid capturing the empty stands on camera. When they did show the stands, it was just mostly close ups of individual sections that were full. Player interviews at sparsely-attended games were often shot from a camera angle in close proximity and low to the ground pointed upward, giving the perspective of the camera being operated by a little person.<ref>{{Citation|title=The only XFL championship was also the worst| date=February 7, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pRFTLDtgeQ|language=en|access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref>

After the XFL's failure, the sky cam was adopted by the [[National Football League|NFL]]'s broadcasters; the device has subsequently come into use on all major networks. NBC in particular switched back to the XFL camera angles in [[2017 NFL season|2017]], when traditional cameras were too far away to cut through thick fog and smoke on some of the ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' games that year; response was so positive that the network opted to use two of its ''[[Thursday Night Football]]'' games to experiment with intentionally broadcasting most of the game through that angle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/nfl/index.ssf/2017/11/nbcs_skycam_will_provide_madde.html |title=NBC's 'skycam' will provide Madden-like view of tonight's Titans-Steelers game |date=November 17, 2017 |publisher=Portland Oregonian |via=oregonlive.com}}</ref>