Social Media Reacts to New XFL Team Names and Logos

The XFL is one step closer to kickoff the 2020 season as the league announced team names and logos on Wednesday.

“The XFL is about football and fun, and our team identities are intended to signify just that,” said XFL President and COO, Jeffrey Pollack in a press release. “Now it’s up to our fans and players to help write the story. What happens on the field and in the community, in the years ahead, will determine the true spirit of each team.”

The teams in the inaugural XFL are the Dallas Renegades, the Houston Roughnecks, the L.A. Wildcats the New York Guardians, the St. Louis Battle Hawks, the Seattle Dragons, the Tampa Bay Vipers and the D.C. Defenders. The press release also said “The XFL team identities were presented to fans today during a show that was streamed simultaneously across XFL.com, ESPN.com, FOXSports.com, and the league’s social channels. Eight short films were produced to share the origin story of each team name.”

So how does the public feel about the new logos? Scroll down to find out.

Description of Team Names

Not only did the XFL reveal the team names and logos for the 2020 season, but they also gave a description for each team which explains why they received their nickname. 

The one that stands out is the L.A. Wildcats as the description said, “In the land of bright lights. Far from the flash and fame. They’ve already begun to prowl. Enter their den and be dominated. Run away and be ripped apart. This is prime time meets primal instinct. This is showtime with a snarl. This is our time to roar. The L.A. Wildcats. Unleashed.”

Yes, it’s Los Angeles’ time to roar. 

PFT Commenter Chimes in

PFT Commenter of the hit podcast Pardon My Take, is known for having great responses to sports news and it was no different for the XFL team names and logos and he took a shot at Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder. 

“Grit. Valor. Not being owned by Dan Snyder. DC Defenders truly have it all. All in,” PFT wrote. 

He’s known for being a huge Washington D.C. sports fan, so I would think PFT will get a Defenders jersey when they are available. 

XFL Power Rankings

Big Cat of the hit podcast Pardon My Take has already released his XFL Power Rankings in response to the names and logos reveal. And surprisingly, he has Tampa Bay the favorite to win the title while Dallas is at the very bottom. 

If the Vipers were to win the title, it would be the first time since 2002 a team from the city wins a professional title as the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl that year. If that does happen, the Vipers need to play the Bucs to see who really runs the city. 

 

Overwatch Joke

Al Perringen of Mashable has an interesting take on the XFL logos. He said, “You could tell me half of those XFL team names were in the Overwatch League and I would believe you.” 

Overwatch is a first-person, multi-player video game that has become very popular since it was released in 2016. It has gained so much popularity that Overwatch leagues are broadcast on ABC during the weekends. 

Stereotype the Region

Tommy Sledge is wondering how the two teams from Texas earned their nicknames. He said, “Interesting how none of the names for the XFL teams stereotype the region … except for the two in Texas. I’m assuming the runner-up names were the Houston Yee-Haws and the Dallas Tarnation.”

I’m now sure how battle hawks are related to St. Louis or Dragon related to Seattle, but who knows at this point?

Going Old School

This one fan wanted the nicknames from the 2001 XFL to be part of the 2020 edition. The fan said, “Genuinely disappointed that the XFL didn’t bring back the NY/NJ Hitmen or Los Angeles Xtreme as team names.”

Fans of the old XFL would love for the Xtreme to return as they were the league champions with a 7-3 record. That L.A. team featured former NFL quarterback Tommy Maddox who was named league MVP. 

Ranking the Team Names

This fan has already ranked the team names and he believes the D.C Guardians are on top. As for the worst name, the fan has the L.A. Wildcats ranked last. 

The Wildcats is not very original as many high school and college teams have that nickname. But the Guardians nickname is not used too often in sports as well as Roughnecks, so it’s understandable why those two would be on top.

Looking Like Madden

Matt Eurich of CBS Sports thinks the logos are definitely not what you would find in the NFL. He said, “Honestly, the logos and team names fort he XFL just look like the create-a-team options in Madden.”

Who knows, maybe we can find the XFL logos in a future Madden game.