8 Big Questions About Vince McMahon's XFL Reboot!
7. A New Set Of Teams?
The Fermi paradox stipulates that, just like there's almost certainly someone out there whose favourite wrestler is Big Josh, so too must there be XFL nostalgics. Unlikely as it sounds, there's probably a small group of devoted folk suffering saudade for the loss of such illustrious teams as the Birmingham Thunderbolts or New York/New Jersey Hitmen. News of the league's possible comeback must have their IRC channel pinging like Jan Owe Waldner.
There's just one problem: the team names are dreadful. And in the case of the Memphis Maniax, borderline offensive.
Though few people gave two sh*ts about the XFL, Michael M. Faenza, president of the National Mental Health Association, was not best pleased with the Tennessee team's monikor. "The name and logo is demeaning to the 54 million Americans who are affected by mental illness each year," he observed, and with good reason. Just look at it.
In 2001, we were still a long way from mental health advocacy being taken seriously by the general public. A lot has changed since then. Perhaps the other teams can stay, but Memphis will need a new alliteration, something less degrading. Plus, the logo was pretty crap.