You have my sympathies.
Actually, I'm a fan of alternative sports leagues. And the American Football League, which merged with the NFL in 1970, looked pretty amateurish when it began (though the AFL had access to top flight college players; the XFL is made up of cast-offs). But I don't see the XFL going that route. It's a consumerist pipe hit, providing the user an immediate sense of violent gratification. I found it to be ditch weed or bad rock, but no matter; the XFL's whole purpose is marketing, and in that sense it is far more honest in its intentions than most pro leagues or college sports programs. It may well turn out to be the first true uber-capitalist sports league. No blather about "role models" and "serving the community" -- just steady action as a backdrop to purchasing tie-in commodities. It might just work.
DP