XFL Providing Solid Offseason Option for NY Sports Fans

The XFL reboot is getting up and running at the perfect time. The NFL season just ended about a week ago, and this is normally where people (myself very much included) get the blues over no football until fall.

This year is different. The XFL started this past weekend, and after watching a few games, I have to say, I'm impressed.

The level of play was solid, most of the rule changes from the NFL seem to be positive ones, and it looked like the fan interest was high judging from what attendance looked like.

If you're looking for a team to root for and are from New York, how about giving the New York Guardians a try?

The Guardians took down the Tampa Bay Vipers 23-3 at MetLife Stadium. So, I guess you could say that this team is the best one that calls MetLife home, seeing that the other two options are the Giants and Jets. Yeesh...

All joking aside, there are some familiar names on this team.

Former Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin is now the starting QB for the Guardians, and head coach Kevin Gilbride has 20 years of NFL coaching experience.

A little bit of back story, this is the second attempt at an alternate league for the XFL.

The XFL is owned by WWE Chairman and CEO Vince MacMahon, MacMahon originally started the XFL in 2001.

This version of the XFL was a very "in your face" and edgy product. There were no kickoffs, but rather a big midfield scrum for possession. Players could put any name they wanted on the back of their jerseys, such as "He Hate Me".

That league folded after a single season. The new XFL is different though.

A lot more serious and buttoned-up than the original, it's the same game of football you're accustomed to, with some tweaks.

Kickoffs are reworked to be safer and to actually facilitate returns. If you've noticed in the NFL, there are not that many actual kickoff returns these days, after the league's move to make the play safer. Here's how the XFL's version looks in action:

Also, there are no PAT kicks after touchdowns. Instead, teams can try one of the following:

• One-point conversion from the two-yard line
• Two-point conversion from the five-yard line
• Three-point conversion from the ten yard line

You can take a full list of the XFL rules and how they are different from the NFL here.