Dick Ebersol
Himself
Overview
A bold challenge, a fearless experiment and ultimately, a spectacular failure. In 2001, sports entertainment titans Ebersol and McMahon launched the XFL. It was hardly the first time a league had tried to compete with the NFL, but the brash audacity of the bid, combined with the personalities and charisma of Ebersol and McMahon and the marketing behemoths of their respective companies -- NBC and WWE -- captured headlines and a sense of undeniable anticipation about what was to come.
Cast
7 people
Reviews
4 min readThe League That Wasn’t Meant to Be
There’s a moment in This Was the XFL where Vince McMahon, sitting in a dimly lit studio, leans forward and says, “We were either going to be geniuses or idiots.” The camera lingers on his face—equal parts confidence and calculation—as if he’s still weighing the odds. It’s the kind of line that could’ve been written for a wrestling promo, but here, in Charlie Ebersol’s documentary, it lands differently.
This isn’t a scripted feud or a staged spectacle. It’s the raw, unfiltered admission of a man who bet big on a league that was equal parts innovation and gimmick, and lost.
The XFL wasn’t just another failed sports league. It was a cultural artifact of the early 2000s, a time when the lines between sports, entertainment, and sheer audacity were blurring faster than a WWE scriptwriter could type. Ebersol’s film doesn’t just chronicle its rise and fall—it dissects the DNA of a league that was doomed from the start, not because it lacked vision, but because it mistook spectacle for substance.
The XFL promised “real football, real action,” but what it delivered was a carnival masquerading as competition. And yet, watching the documentary, I couldn’t help but feel a strange affection for it. There’s something almost noble in its failure.
It swung for the fences, missed, and in doing so, revealed something about how we consume sports—and why we keep falling for the same tricks.
The XFL’s origin story reads like a pitch meeting gone rogue. In 2000, Vince McMahon, the mastermind behind WWE’s scripted chaos, and Dick Ebersol, the NBC Sports executive who’d helped turn the Olympics into must-see TV, joined forces to create a football league that would out-NFL the NFL. Their plan?
Take the pageantry of wrestling, the production polish of network TV, and the raw physicality of football, then mash them together into something louder, faster, and more unapologetically trashy. No fair catches. Skycams.
Audience Opinions
Audience 7.5/10
"A fascinating deep dive into the XFL's brief, chaotic history, offering sharp insights and entertaining behind-the-scenes stories."
The documentary is praised for its engaging exploration of the XFL's rise and fall, with viewers appreciating the candid interviews and the way it captures the league's ambitious yet flawed vision. Some find the pacing uneven and wish for more in-depth analysis of certain aspects, but overall, it’s seen as a compelling watch for sports and business enthusiasts alike.
What viewers praise
- Engaging storytelling The film effectively balances humor and insight, making the XFL's story entertaining and accessible.
- Candid interviews Key figures like Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura provide unfiltered perspectives on the league's successes and failures.
- Unique subject matter The XFL's brief existence offers a fresh and intriguing look at the intersection of sports, business, and entertainment.
- Nostalgic appeal Fans of early 2000s pop culture and sports history enjoy the trip down memory lane.
Common complaints
- Uneven pacing Some viewers feel the documentary rushes through certain parts while lingering too long on others.
- Lack of depth in places A few key aspects, like the league's financial struggles, could have been explored in more detail.
- Niche appeal Those unfamiliar with or uninterested in the XFL may find the subject matter too specialized.
Recommended for
Sports documentary fans WWE and wrestling enthusiasts Business of sports followers Early 2000s nostalgia seekers Behind-the-scenes story lovers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsThe Wild Behind-the-Scenes Story of This Was the XFL
Charlie Ebersol’s 2017 documentary This Was the XFL isn’t just a postmortem of a failed football league—it’s a front-row seat to one of sports entertainment’s most audacious gambles. The film, part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, digs into the 2001 XFL experiment, a joint venture between WWE’s Vince McMahon and NBC’s Dick Ebersol that promised to revolutionize football. What unfolded was equal parts spectacle, ego, latestnetflix.com contends, and unmitigated disaster. But the making of the documentary itself? That’s where things get even juicier.
A Family Affair with High Stakes
Charlie Ebersol, the director, wasn’t just any filmmaker—he was Dick Ebersol’s son, tasked with chronicling his father’s professional implosion. The XFL’s collapse was a public humiliation for Dick, who had staked his reputation on the league’s success. Charlie’s involvement added a layer of personal tension: how do you make a fair, compelling film when your dad is one of the central figures in the story?
In interviews, Charlie has hinted at the challenges of balancing objectivity with family loyalty. "Making a movie about your dad and your dad’s best friend is… complicated," he told Variety 
. The film doesn’t shy away from Dick’s missteps, but it also humanizes him, framing the XFL as a bold, if flawed, experiment rather than a mere vanity project. Still, the dynamic between father and son behind the camera remains one of the documentary’s most intriguing subplots.
The XFL’s Legacy: More Than Just a Flop
The XFL’s 2001 season was a masterclass in hype and hubris. McMahon and Ebersol sold it as a grittier, more entertaining alternative to the NFL, complete with WWE-style theatrics, player mic’d up during games, and a notorious "no rules" ethos. But the league’s downfall was swift: poor ratings, laughable on-field product, and a reputation as a joke doomed it after just one season.
Yet This Was the XFL argues that the league’s influence wasn’t entirely negative. The documentary highlights how the XFL’s innovations—like skycams and player mics—were later adopted by the NFL 
. It also positions the league as a precursor to modern alternative sports leagues, from the AAF (which Charlie Ebersol co-founded) to the XFL’s own 2020 reboot. The film doesn’t let McMahon and Ebersol off the hook, but it does suggest their failure paved the way for future experiments.
The Cast: Egos, Insiders, and a Few Surprises
The documentary’s talking heads read like a who’s who of early-2000s sports media. Vince McMahon, ever the showman, delivers unfiltered commentary about the league’s ambitions and failures. Bob Costas, who famously mocked the XFL on air, provides a critical outsider’s perspective. Jesse Ventura, then a WWE commentator and former governor, offers a blunt take on the league’s political and cultural missteps.
But the real standout is Dick Ebersol, whose interviews reveal a mix of regret and defiance. He doesn’t sugarcoat the XFL’s flaws, but he also defends its vision—a rare moment of vulnerability from a man known for his media savvy. The film’s other contributors, like NBC executive Ken Schanzer and broadcaster Matt Vasgersian, add depth, painting a picture of a league that was doomed by its own contradictions: part sports, part entertainment, and wholly unprepared for the scrutiny that came with it.
Could the XFL Rise Again?
The documentary’s release in 2017 coincided with whispers of an XFL revival. Charlie Ebersol didn’t just dismiss the idea—he seemed to endorse it. "I think the XFL could absolutely make a comeback," he told Variety, noting that the league’s original sin wasn’t its concept but its execution . Sure enough, McMahon relaunched the XFL in 2020 (before it collapsed again, this time due to the pandemic and financial woes). The film’s timing now feels eerily prescient, a reminder that the XFL’s story is far from over.
The Bottom Line
This Was the XFL is more than a cautionary tale—it’s a time capsule of a moment when sports, entertainment, and ego collided. The documentary’s behind-the-scenes drama, from Charlie Ebersol’s personal conflict to the league’s lasting influence, makes it a must-watch for fans of sports history. And while the XFL’s legacy remains complicated, one thing is clear: its story is far from finished.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.