The XFL posted solid attendance numbers in their first week of action, and built on that strong showing in their second week.
According to Ben Fischer of Sports Business Daily, the XFL welcomed 76,285 fans to their games this weekend, a 9.5 percent increase from Week 1. Though, the cause for that increase can be attributed to one fan base.
The more than 29,000 fans who showed up to watch the Seattle Dragons home opener, fueled the league’s attendance rise. The rest of the teams fared not so well,
According to Pro Football Talk:
The two teams that hosted games in Week One and Week Two saw lower crowds, with 15,031 showing up for the D.C. Defenders 27-0 win over the New York Guardians, 12.4 percent down from Week One. Also, the Houston Roughnecks had 17,103 witness their 28-24 win over St. Louis, a four-percent dip.
The L.A. Wildcats had 14,979 witness a 25-18 loss to Dallas at Dignity Health Sports Park, the site of L.A. Chargers home games from 2017 through 2019. It was the smallest crowd of the eight games played to date by the resurrected XFL.
The television ratings for the new league will be released on Tuesday. Though, the numbers could be lower than last week given that the early Saturday game between the Defenders and the Guardians was a blowout, and Sunday’s games were up against the Daytona 500. A general lack of offense and good quarterback play is another troubling sign for the league.
However, given the fact that the league had no preseason and the fact that there aren’t 32 good quarterbacks in the NFL, so there’s definitely not going to be an additional eight good ones in the XFL, some early season offensive struggles are to be expected.
Hopefully, the league lasts long enough for the offenses to start to click.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn