The third iteration of the XFL kicked off this past February and is going into its seventh week. So far their most popular franchise is arguably the St. Louis Battlehawks as that city has been without a pro football franchise since the Rams relocated to Los Angeles in 2015.



However, the television rating for the league has been considered “disappointing” when compared to the 2020 season when the league was owned by WWE head Vince McMahon. But the current co-CEO, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, assures that they plan to continue past their first season.

But the XFL has more to worry about than ratings and ticket sales as for the first time in a long time there will be two competing league airing games concurrently. The revived United States Football League, which has partnered with both Fox Sports and NBC Sports will begin playing in April. Week 1 of the USFL will air at the same time as the XFL’s Playoffs.

With the USFL’s second season beginning in a few weeks, advertisements have begun to roll out, and one of them took a jab at the competition. The commercial narration makes the comment “This is the USFL, reborn from the OGs. This isn’t some Hollywood knockoff“. The commercial then ends with the line “Accept no substitutes“. 

The Hollywood line is in reference to the XFL owner’s career as a Hollywood actor starring in various films since the 1990s. 



In a recent interview, Dwayne Johnson responded to the commercial:

We’re all in entertainment and all connected to Hollywood, so I thought that ad, we got a big laugh out of that ad. Also, it’s much easier to talk trash when you’re hiding behind the corporate walls and a computer. We’re very forward facing. We’re not hard to find.“

Things are heating up between the two NFL alternatives. The Spring Football Wars are about to begin. Who will come out on top?

Source: USA Today