The XFL was the brainchild of seductive advertising – a proposed “eXtra” fun, theatrical alternative to an NFL that had sissified football and drained the excitement from the sport. The league lasted only a year before NBC cancelled the contract and the league folded shortly after. 16 years later, co-creator and NBC Sports head Dick Ebersol’s son recounted the story in the ESPN Films documentary “This Was the XFL”, a thorough examination of the rise and fall of largest failure in sports entertainment.
The concept was doomed from the start: WWE founder Vince McMahon became enamored with the idea after NBC Sports dropped the NFL, failing to reach a 500 million dollar exclusive deal with the league. The proposed alternate in the XFL would air after the Super Bowl – a notorious dry zone without football that stretches until the NFL Draft. The documentary details how unprepared McMahon was, announcing the formation of the league without rules, players and personnel.
Proposed team names were violent in nature – shock value titles meant to sell products and attract attention. Orlando Rage; San Francisco Demons; New Jersey Hitman – teams that seemed more appropriate for little leaguers hyped up on sugar and caffeine than grown men attempting a bid at gridiron glory.
Hype carried the way for a 54 million viewer opener – the most for a sporting event in decades. However, advertising catering to violence, lousy football, and an exploitive and sexist tone of the broadcast doomed the league to limp through the remainder of the year, bogged down by rapidly declining audience and interest.
Just like anything involving football, there were a slew of Texas talent that suited up with the XFL. TexasHSFootball looks back at a selection of athletes that competed locally:
Reggie Durden (Los Angeles Xtreme, DB)
The self-proclaimed “Dirty Durden” was a top ranked quarterback at Sam Houston High School, totaling 6,421 all-purpose yards and 64 touchdowns. Durden initially competed in JUCO, leading both Coplan-Lincoln and Texas A&M Kingsville on offense. As a Seminole, he switched to defensive back in college, assisting an FSU squad that limited opponents to 15.8 points per game. The Houston native had 14 total tackles with the Xtreme and played in the CFL as a punt return specialist.
Toya Jones (Birmingham Bolts, DB)
A graduate of Refugio, Jones primary focus was on track and field, where he set a Texas state record in most gold medals at 14 (17 total). On the football side, he was named to the 1994 Texas Super Team. At Texas A&M, Jones tallied 87 career tackles and won the Big 12 title, adding an undefeated mark of 12-0 while competing for the Aggies’ 4x100m relay squad. During his stint with the Bolts, Jones was credited for five tackles and one interception; he currently lives in Houston and is a government employee.
Eric England (San Francisco Demons, DE)
England graduated from Willowridge High School in Sugar Land, where he posted 162 tackles and 11 sacks during his senior year. With Texas A&M, he was a two-time all-Southwest Conference honoree, boasting 130 tackles over the last two seasons of his collegiate career. As a highly touted graduate, England was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round, competing in 37 games in three seasons. As an XFL player, he contributed to 16 total tackles. His son – Eric England Jr.- currently competes at nose tackle for the Incarnate Word Cardinals.
Sedric Clark (Orlando Rage, LB)
The Missouri City native played a year of high school football at Willowridge, and earned scholarship offers despite only competing in eight games due to knee injury. Clark was fast – accelerating to a 4.8 speed in the 40 – and his quickness benefitted a stellar career at Tulsa, where he holds the program’s all-time sack mark (22). After various unsuccessful stops at NFL teams, he suited up for NFL-Europe affiliates, before totaling 20 tackles with the Rage.
Damon Dunn (Los Angeles Xtreme, WR)
The son of a former Texas fullback, Dunn competed at Arlington Sam Houston High School, where he garnered all-state accolades at the slot position and as a return specialist his senior year. After two years at Stanford, he started his junior and senior campaigns, breaking records as all-time leaders in kick-off returns (1,950 yards) and return touchdowns (3). He spent the majority of his NFL career participating on practice squads, before joining the Los Angeles Xtreme as a free agent, playing as both receiver and special teams. Since retiring from the sport, Dunn began a real estate business and ran for various political offices.
