The XFL was supposed to be WWE Chair Vince McMahon’s great challenger to the NFL. But even backing by NBC could not sustain this league for more than one season in '01 after expectations of action on the field and sex appeal off of it were not met. McMahon announced in May ‘01 that the XFL would fold after one year of play. THE DAILY looked back at the timeline of events over the 464 days from when McMahon first announced his plans to launch the league to the league’s demise. However, the XFL was far from the only league that failed to gain traction -- or get off the ground at all -- during the last 20 years. Here is a list of some of those concepts that have come and gone.
A1GP ('05-10): A1 Grand Prix was an open-wheel racing competition, founded by the Sheikh of Dubai, created to run in winter months and avoid competition with F1. The organization lost an estimated $212 million in its first year of operation, then went under in 2010.
ALL AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE (NEVER LAUNCHED): The league had a $30 million shortfall before it began, and canceled its inaugural season, with plans to launch in 2009 -- a beginning that never came.
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AVP went bankrupt in '10, but is attempting a
comeback with Owner Donald Sun
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AF2 ('99-'09): This feeder league for the AFL played in small markets and ran for the better part of a decade. Its death knell was sounded when the AFL canceled its 2009 season.
AVP ('83-PRESENT): Yes, technically, it’s still operating. But the league saw its heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s under Leonard Armato. After that, the tour had cutbacks, cancellations and financial issues until it went bankrupt in 2010. The AVP is attempting another comeback under new owner Donald Sun, who bought the assets and has staged a handful of tournaments in 2012-13.
CART ('79-'08): CART saw its height of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s with a slew of U.S. drivers running a street-course-heavy schedule. Following a split with the owners of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the formation of the IRL in 1996, CART’s trajectory soon headed south. By 2008, a merger with IndyCar was the only move left.
UFL -- UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE ('09-12): Another attempt to create a feeder league for the NFL was short-lived. The UFL lost an estimated $120 million in its first three years and halted operations in 2012.
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WUSA struggled to gain fan, media or corporate
support following the '99 World Cup
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WUSA -- WOMEN'S UNITED SOCCER ASSOCIATION ('01-03): Seeking to capitalize on the success of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the U.S., the WUSA was the first women’s soccer league to pay players as professionals. But fans, media attention and corporate backing never followed. The league failed to control expenses and folded after its third season.
WPS -- WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER (2009-12): The WPS was a second crack at women’s professional soccer in the U.S. There were fewer teams playing in smaller venues. But attendance during the first season was half of what the WUSA drew in its first year, and the league was dissolved in 2012. The verdict on a third women’s league, the NWSL, is still out.
GLOBAL X GAMES ('12-13): ESPN sought to take the popularity of the X Games to a global audience by creating competitions in France, Brazil, Spain and Germany. But the concept lost $30 million in its first year and was swiftly shuttered.
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Red Bull Air Race ended in part due to safety
concerns, but a return is planned for '14
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RED BULL AIR RACE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ('03-10): The Red Bull Air Race featured high-performance aircraft racing in cities throughout the globe. The series began in 2003 and steadily grew in events and pilot participants until 2010, when safety concerns and a need for restructuring ended the series. A return is planned for 2014.
CONTINENTAL INDOOR SOCCER LEAGUE ('89-97): This indoor soccer startup gained some traction about four years into its existence but folded in 1997.
ABL -- AMERICAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE ('96-98): Trying to capitalize immediately after the Atlanta Olympics, the women’s league debuted a full season before the WNBA and made a valiant attempt to secure the best players by paying them almost twice as much as the WNBA. However, the ABL lasted just two years before folding amid an antitrust lawsuit against the WNBA and NBA.
ROCKET RACING LEAGUE ('05): This planned 10-team league aimed to race $1 million rocket planes across two-mile aerial racecourses in deserted areas in the West and Southwest. But the league never got off the ground, and did not stage a race.
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Six of the IHL's teams were absorbed into the AHL
after the league folded
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IHL -- INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE ('45-'01; '07-10): After 56 years of operation, the league folded in 2001 and six of its 11 teams were absorbed by the rival AHL.
REGIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE ('99): This six-team spring developmental football league struggled to play an eight-game regular-season schedule in 1999 and lost more than $6 million during its inaugural -- and only -- season.
U.S. PRO VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE ('02): The team volleyball league began play in 2002 with dreams of a 20-team league by 2006. But the league suspended operations before its second season.
CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE ('03): Launched in 2003, the league optimistically talked of hiring top talent, opened spring training in May with eight teams and had Ferguson Jenkins as its commissioner. But attendance woes caused the league to suspend its season following its all-star game that July.
STRIKEFORCE/PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS/WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING: These are just some of the mixed martial arts outfits that -- through merger or acquisition -- have been folded into the UFC since its first bout in 1993.
