Editing XFL (2001) (section)

==End of season and failure==
On April 21, 2001, the season concluded as the [[Los Angeles Xtreme]] defeated the [[San Francisco Demons]] 38–6 in the XFL Championship Game (which was originally given the moniker "The Big Game at the End of the Season", but was later dubbed the [[Million Dollar Game]], after the amount of money awarded to the winning team, which if divided, gave each player less than the losing team in the [[Pro Bowl]]).

Though paid attendance at games remained respectable, if unimpressive (overall attendance was only 10% below what the league's goal had been at the start of the season), the XFL ceased operations after just one season due to low television ratings.<ref name="cnn">{{cite web |title=WWF drops XFL |url=https://money.cnn.com/2001/05/10/news/xfl/ |work=[[CNNMoney]] |publisher=[[Time Warner]] |date=May 10, 2001 |access-date=October 3, 2011}}</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last=Sandomir |first=Richard|title=No More Springtimes for the XFL as League Folds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/11/sports/pro-football-no-more-springtimes-for-the-xfl-as-league-folds.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 11, 2001 |access-date=October 3, 2011}}</ref> Facing stiff competition from the [[2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA basketball tournament]], the NBC telecast of the Chicago/New York-New Jersey game on March&nbsp;31 received a 1.5 rating, at that time the lowest ever for any major network [[primetime]] weekend first-run sports television broadcast in the United States.{{sfn|Forrest|2002|p=211}} During the season, many news and sports networks (even local networks within XFL cities) did not show highlights or even report scores. This led audiences to view the XFL as a joke league rather than a direct competitor to the [[NFL]].

Despite initially agreeing to broadcast XFL games for two years and owning half of the league, NBC announced it would not broadcast a second XFL season; the network no longer had a full season of Saturday nights to offer the league because it had acquired the rights to the [[2002 Winter Olympics]], even if the XFL had been more successful or profitable. WWF Chairman Vince McMahon initially announced that the XFL would continue, as it still had UPN and TNN as broadcast outlets.{{sfn|Fritz|Murray|2006|page=176}} In fact, expansion teams were being explored for cities such as Washington, D.C., and [[Detroit]] (Washington would later receive its [[DC Defenders|team]] in the revived XFL). However, in order to continue broadcasting XFL games, UPN demanded that ''[[WWE SmackDown|WWF SmackDown!]]'' broadcasts be cut from two hours to one and a half hours.{{sfn|Fritz|Murray|2006|page=176}} McMahon found these terms unacceptable and he announced the XFL's closure on May 10, 2001.<ref name="cnn"/><ref name="nyt"/> McMahon's chief adviser, a perplexed Nathan Livian, was quoted as saying "the situation is, indeed, very bad".

The XFL ranked No.&nbsp;3 on ''[[TV Guide]]''{{'}}s list of the worst TV shows of all time in July 2002, as well as No. 2 on [[ESPN]]'s list of biggest flops in sports, behind [[Ryan Leaf]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-worst-tv-shows-ever/ |title=The Worst TV Shows Ever |author=Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie |newspaper=[[CBS News]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=July 27, 2010 |date=July 12, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/espn25/story?page=listranker/25biggestflops |title=ESPN 25: The 25 Biggest Sports Flops |work=ESPN|date=July 20, 2004 |publisher=ESPN Inc. |access-date=July 27, 2010}}</ref> In 2010, [[TV Guide Network]] also listed the show at No. 21 on their list of ''25 Biggest TV Blunders''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20100302tvguide01 |title=Breaking News – TV Guide Network's "25 Biggest TV Blunders" Special Delivers 3.3&nbsp;Million Viewers |date=March 2, 2010 |work=[[The Futon Critic]] |access-date=March 10, 2010}}</ref>

Many stories recapping the history of the XFL show photos of the crash of its promotional blimp in [[Oakland, California]], portraying it retrospectively as an ill-omen for the league. The incident occurred a month before the opening game on Tuesday, January 9, 2001.<ref>{{cite web|date=January 10, 2001 |title=XFL'S UNPLANNED TOUCHDOWN / Wayward blimp's wild, woolly flight ends in Oakland crash |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |publisher=[[Hearst Communications]] |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/XFL-S-UNPLANNED-TOUCHDOWN-Wayward-blimp-s-wild-2966749.php |access-date=November 23, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=January 10, 2001 |title=Crash mouth football: XFL promo blimp in Bay Area deflates |url=http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2001/01/Issue-76/Sponsorships-Advertising-Marketing/Crash-Mouth-Football-XFL-Promo-Blimp-In-Bay-Area-Deflates.aspx |newspaper=Sports Business Daily |access-date=November 23, 2017}}</ref> The blimp was in Oakland as the league had flown it over the [[2000–01 NFL playoffs#AFC: Oakland Raiders 27, Miami Dolphins 0|January 6 playoff game]] between the [[Oakland Raiders]] and [[Miami Dolphins]] and intended to do the same with the following week's AFC Championship, also in Oakland.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Martin J. |last2=Kiger |first2=Patrick J. |date=2006 |title=Oops: 20&nbsp;Life Lessons from the Fiascoes That Shaped America |location=New York |publisher=Collins |page=218 |isbn=0-06-078083-5 }}</ref> The pilots lost control of the airship and were forced to evacuate. The ground crew were unable to secure the vehicle and the "unattended blimp then floated five miles north over the Oakland Estuary, at one point reaching 1,600{{nbs}}feet, or about the height of the [[Central Park Tower]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]] (listed as the [[List of tallest buildings in the United States|second tallest building in the United States]] {{as of|2023|alt=as of 2023}}), until its gondola caught on a sailboat mast in the Central Basin marina. It draped over the roof of the Oyster Reef restaurant—next to where the boat was moored—and a nearby power line."<ref>{{cite news |date=January 31, 2001 |title=Blimp crashes into Oakland restaurant |newspaper=ESPN |publisher=ESPN Inc. |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.espn.com/moresports/news/2001/0110/1005983.html |access-date=November 23, 2017}}</ref> While the pilot was hospitalized, no other major injuries were reported. The blimp needed $2.5{{nbs}}million in repairs (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|2.5|2001|r=2}}{{nbs}}million in {{Inflation/year|US}}), while the sailboat and restaurant had only minor damages.

Before the season started, a fictional XFL game appeared in the 2000 film ''[[The 6th Day]]'', set in 2015.<ref name="ABready">{{cite web |title=XFL Ready To Line It Up |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-miscellaneous/4474381-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206135623/http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-miscellaneous/4474381-1.html |archive-date=December 6, 2007 |date=January 19, 2001 |access-date=January 16, 2017}}</ref>