8 Big Questions About Vince McMahon's XFL Reboot!
3. A New Name?
When it comes to branding, Juliet's famous speech on the irrelevance of a name simply doesn't apply. Just as christening a nursery in Jimmy Savile's honour is a terrible idea, so too is relaunching a football league under a banner bearing the stench of failure. XFL was an unmitigated disaster; it's basically what it's remembered for. Trying to revive a product universally known for its terribleness is a preposterous idea from the get go. At the very least, change the name.
As mentioned previously, time nurtures nostalgia, misplaced or otherwise. Perhaps there's an ironic yearning for the XFL brand these days? An entirely redeveloped league with the same title could just work - and don't think for a second Vince won't be desperate to clear up this enormous blemish on his record - though reports of an alleged 'United Football League' trademark seem to point to other plans. UFL's a good idea, but will it'll always be shorthand for 'XFL2'.