Perfectly executed one-two by the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks

If you’re familiar with the XFL, you know that their goal is to differentiate themselves from other professional football leagues. This has been her mission statement from the start. They don’t want to be a copy of the NFL or USFL. They want to stand alone as the first port of call for football fans in the spring.

“We are proud to unveil the new identity of the XFL – a strong, dynamic and modern image that embodies our vision to push football forward and achieve the dreams football makes possible.” said Dany GarciaCo-owner and Chair of the XFL.

When Garcia said so last spring during the unveiling of the league’s brand identity and vision, it was hard to imagine just how different they could be on the pitch. Now that we’re a few weeks into the relaunch campaign, the XFL has not completely separated itself from the “competition”, but some of their players and coaches are trying.

On Saturday, the Houston Roughnecks dug deep into their bag of tricks and pulled out the seemingly impossible play to stop. Regardless of the level, you probably won’t see a match like this in any other football league.

A double forward pass touchdown by the Roughnecks gave them a 20-0 lead over the Orlando Guardians in the first quarter. Talk about going for the gusto. Houston wasted little time pulling out the trick plays en route to blowing out Orlando, 44-16.

While the game was exciting and weird to watch at the same time, it’s fair to say they aren’t at least trying to innovate and stand out in this oversaturated soccer climate. But games like this can be suppressed at some point or certain rules can be changed because it will be extremely difficult to stop games like this. Sure, people want to see points accumulated, but at a certain point it gets a bit ridiculous.