Editing XFL (2001) (section)

===Off the field===
The opening game ended with a 19–0 victory for the Outlaws, and was watched on NBC by an estimated 14 million viewers. During the telecast, [[NBC]] switched over to the game between the [[Orlando Rage]] and the [[Chicago Enforcers]], which was a closer contest than the blowout taking place in Las Vegas. The opening night drew a 9.5&nbsp;[[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]].{{sfn|Fritz|Murray|2006|page=171}}

The opening-week games actually delivered ratings double those of what NBC had promised advertisers (and more viewers than the [[2001 Pro Bowl]]). The audience declined to a 4.6 in week&nbsp;2,{{sfn|Fritz|Murray|2006|page=172}} still an acceptable rating for NBC, but further ratings declines eventually led to the network abandoning the league after the season.

A further problem was that the XFL itself was the brainchild of Vince McMahon, a man who was ridiculed by mainstream sports journalists due to the stigma attached to [[professional wrestling]] as being "[[Work (professional wrestling)|fake]]"; many journalists even jokingly speculated whether any of the league's games were [[Match fixing|rigged]], although nothing of this sort was ever seriously investigated.

Ebersol was disappointed with the opening game's poor quality of play.<ref name="ap20190213">{{Cite news |url=https://triblive.com/pghtrib/localsports/14610673-94/aafs-officials-pleased-with-opening-weekend-tv-ratings-but-remain-cautious |title=AAF's officials pleased with opening weekend TV ratings but remain cautious |date=February 13, 2019 |work=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review |access-date=February 14, 2019 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Even longtime NBC sportscaster [[Bob Costas]] joined in the mocking of the league. Ebersol purposely allowed Costas and other NBC Sports veterans to opt out of the network's coverage of the league (hence with the exception of former ''[[NFL on NBC]]'' analyst [[Mike Adamle]], its coverage was helmed mostly by younger unknowns and professional wrestling figures), and Costas in particular did not like McMahon's approach to the sport. In an appearance on ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]'' in February 2001, after the league's second week of play, Costas joked: "It has to be at least a decade since I first mused out loud, 'Why doesn't somebody combine mediocre [[high school football]] with a tawdry [[strip club]]?' Finally, somebody takes my idea and runs with it."<ref>FitzGerald, Tom, [http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/TOP-OF-THE-SIXTH-2952184.php Top of the Sixth], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' online edition (SFGate.com), February 15, 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2014.</ref> Costas interviewed a defiant McMahon for an episode of his [[HBO]] show ''[[On the Record with Bob Costas|On the Record]]'' as the league was in decline, an interview that the 2017 documentary ''This Was the XFL'' portrayed as being an omen of the league's collapse.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rueter |first=Sean |date=December 1, 2021 |title=The Vince McMahon/Bob Costas feud enters its third decade |url=https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/12/1/22812876/vince-mcmahon-bob-costas-beat-the-shit-out-of-steroids-insinuation-hbo-xfl-interview |access-date=January 20, 2024 |website=Cageside Seats |language=en}}</ref>