A League of Its Own.

CRUNCH! Just when you thought playing football in the National Football League (NFL) was tough, here comes the XFL. The XFL (according to XFL officials, the X does not stand for anything) was recently launched by the World Wrestling Foundation (WWF) and NBC. According to XFL chairman Vince McMahon, the new league is a throwback to the old days of football, when players pummeled one another in rain and snow and few rules protected them.

The XFL's strategy is to make football more exciting by relaxing or eliminating some of the rules. For example, the XFL will not allow kick returners to call a fair catch when fielding a kicked balk. (In the NFL, a player calls for a fair catch when he decides to catch and not return a punt or a kickoff.) In the XFL, the kick returner must try to nm with the ball, even if an opposing player threatens to tackle him.

In addition to the change in rules, the XFL has added some features to the sport. Some XFL players will wear microphones so fans can hear what happens in huddles and on the sidelines. McMahon also said that players and cheerleaders will participate in scripted skits for the half-time entertainment.

Critics complain that the new league goes too far for the sake of entertainment. They also fear that relaxing football's rules could lead to accidents and serious injuries for the players.

`Smash Mouth Football'

XFL organizers call the new style of football "smash mouth football." They say the new style of play will entice viewers because of the faster pace and more physical action. Drew Pearson, general manager of the New York/New Jersey Hitmen (an XFL team) and a former Dallas Cowboys player, said, "We're going to give football fans a more exciting ... more physical game. It's going to look a lot like the old NFL, when I played."

Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports, agrees with Pearson. "The dull and predictable parts of the game, like the fair catch, like taking a knee on a kickoff, they're all gone," Ebersol said.

Field of Screams?

Critics, however, say the new XFL rules could lead to extra violence. Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, worries that players may risk more injuries in the XFL. "I haven't heard [XFL officials] say a thing about protecting their players," Upshaw said.

Phil Mushnick, a sportswriter for the grew York Post, agrees. "McMahon's football players are not going to be any different from his pro wrestlers. They're going to be stuntmen--disposable, replaceable stuntmen."

Will XFL football be too violent? Why or why not?

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