Someone should have seen this coming.

NBC has decided to join in with Vince McMahon to launch the Xtreme Football League. They have invested $50 million dollars in the venture and one has to assume that NBC sports will cover the games.

I wonder what Bob Costas thinks of that? I remember listening to his comments during the NBA finals between the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls. At one point Denis Rodman and Karl Malone wrestled for the ball on the ground, and someone made n allusion to their upcoming professional wrsetling bout. Bob Costas was critical of Malone for lowering himself to that level. Well, Bob, it looks like Dick Ebersol just took the liberty of lowering you to that level. Unless, of course, you'd like to leave NBC.

At the time, I thought that Costas was being a bit snooty. After all, there's not much difference between rolling around in tights before a stadium filled with screaming fans, and running around in shorts and a tank top. Now I can take some pleasure in the current irony.

Like I said, though, you should have seen it coming. Not just because "The Rock" appeared on NBC's Saturday Night Live and boosted the shows rating. There is a real connection here between these two.

NBC lost its NFL cotract to CBS. They played it down, but in the States, the NFL is king. The number two and four television markets in the country don't even have teams, but the ratings remain strong. There was some talk of trying to start another league with cable television. Then along came a promoter with a lot more flash than Ted Turner: Vince MacMahon.

Here's the man whose industry thumped Monday Night Football for ratings among males aged 12-24. But this isn't the first time pro wrestling has invaded the network territory. MacMahon did that first, too.

Remember WWF's "Saturday NIght's Main Event"? That was back in the black hat and white hat days of pro wrestling (unlike the black hat versus black hat that is done today), but the larger than life flair was already there. And "Main Event" was a feature on what network? Oh, yeah, NBC.

NBC must figure that if anyone has a shot of producing another football league in the US, it's MacMahon. It still may fail, but it should be entertaining to watch. Which is the whole point after all.

These athletes aren't curing cancer out there: they're entertaining. Don't forget that, Bob Costas. MacMahon hasn't. Neither has NBC.

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Last Updated: 30 March 2000
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