12 Things We Learned From Jim Ross: Under The Black Hat

8. His XFL Experience Was In Memory Of His Father

Jim Ross Under the Black Hat
WWE.com

The first iteration of the XFL - with the current incarnation seemingly following suit right now - ended up being a bust for Vince McMahon. But McMahon wanted a football league, dammit, so McMahon got a football league.

For anybody with even a passing interest in the life and career of Jim Ross, they know that J.R. is a huge football fan. And so for Jim, the launch of the XFL offered him the chance to indulge in one of his other true passions.

To Jim, it was actually football that sprouted the seed for his career in pro wrestling commentary. Most specifically, it was gathering all of the various stats and then sitting down with his father to discuss the game of the day back when he was growing up.

Ross explains, "My true beginning as a commentator came from watching all those football games with my dad and breaking down the pertinent information for his attention. I’d prep and get all the info ready before the game, and then when the action started, I’d give my father the stats and previous scores; I’d tell him what to look out for, including rivalries between players."

In J.R.'s eyes, regardless of the failure of the XFL, it gave this legendary wrestling figure a way to reconnect with his deceased father - and as Jim put it, "that made every second of it a joy."

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.