Survey finds 45% of football fans excited over XFL’s return

Football fans are rooting for the arrival of Vince McMahon”™s rebooted XFL, according to a survey conducted by the market research firm Piplsay.

In a nationwide poll of 32,677 conducted earlier this month, 60% of respondents said they were aware of the XFL and 45% said they were excited about the league”™s arrival, with 34% expressing no enthusiasm and 21% stating they were not sure. Millennials were the most excited to see the XFL games (60%), followed by Generation Z (55%).

When it came to awareness of the new XFL teams, 40% of respondents said they were “somewhat aware” and 18% said they were “quite aware,” but 42% said they were unaware of the XFL”™s teams.

The league, owned by McMahon’s Stamford-based Alpha Entertainment, launches on Feb. 8, nearly a week after the NFL”™s Super Bowl LIV. Half of the poll”™s respondents did not believe the XFL would pose a challenge to the NFL, citing the dominant league”™s size and presence, although 20% of respondents said it could pose a challenge “to some extent” and 18% said the challenge would be “to a big extent.” More than 40% of Generation Z and millennial respondents believed the XFL would pose a threat to the NFL, compared with 29% of Generation X respondents.

The XFL’s previous incarnation in 2001 failed to take root. The survey found 41% of respondents believing the second edition will be successful, with 27% believing it will be another failure and 32% being unsure what the future will hold.

(Editor”™s note: The Feb. 3 edition of the Fairfield County Business Journal will be offering an in-depth analysis of the XFL”™s launch and its potential for long-term success.)