The XFL Merging With The CFL Could Probably Actually Work

TSN - The Canadian Football League and XFL owners Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, and RedBird Capital announced Wednesday that they have agreed to work together to identify opportunities for the leagues to collaborate and “grow the game of football.”

“Canada has an exciting game and devoted fans, and our discussion with the XFL provides a tremendous opportunity to build on that strong foundation,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement.

"We are honoured and excited to be in discussions with the CFL. It's clear through our early conversations that we share a passion for football, an expansive sense of possibility, and a deep desire to create more opportunity for players and fans across North America and around the world,” said Jeffrey Pollack, XFL president and CEO, in a statement.

Vince McMahon's XFL failed not once but twice because he was crazy enough to believe he could take down the NFL just by adding strippers and additional concussions to the game. Actually, I'll take that back- the 2nd XFL wasn't terrible. They made a good product for TV, and apparently the games were a drunken mess of a fun time to attend. 

XFL. Getty Images.

The play on the field was…tolerable, but it was never going to be the NFL. 

Enter: The Rock. 

Look, The Rock is no fool. He's also not an egomaniac. He knows the world revolves around the NFL, and is not crazy enough to believe he can swoop in and dethrone it. But what he also understands is if done correctly, there could be room for another football league in the USA.

Enter: The CFL.

The Canadian Football League has not only been around forever up North, but they have had teams in the United States as well. In fact, as a young boy, I used to go to Baltimore Stallions games. They were a blast. Real fans remember where they were when the Stallions won the Grey Cup, beating Doug Flutie and his Stampeders. Sadly, the next year the Ravens moved to town and the Stallions moved to Montreal and became the Alouettes.

But I digress- the point here is if done properly, football can exist in the United States outside of the NFL. The Rock being patient and teaming up with the CFL seems like a great idea. Will it work this time? No clue. But if there is one person in the world I trust, it's Dwayne Johnson. And if it fails? Oh well, guess it's back to watching the best football players in the world every Sunday.