December 17, 2015 was a day that many St. Louis football fans have hopefully forgotten. This was a Thursday in which the St. Louis Rams won against the Tampa Ba y Buccaneers, 31-23. It isn’t the ugly Ketchup vs. Mustard Color Rush jersey game that the fans hopefully forgot, but the fact that this was the last game the Rams played in St. Louis. This was the last win in what would end up being a 7-9 season, much of what Rams fans would come to expect. Over four years have passed and a lot of things have changed. Todd Gurley now has worse knees than a retirement home shuffleboard player, Jeff Fischer is doing other things with mediocrity that isn’t football, but there is one thing that hadn’t changed for a long time: the void in St. Louisans’ hearts for football. For many St. Louis football fans that void existed well before the Rams left. That void couldn’t be filled by Mizzou or Illinois football, but why would it? A Super Bowl win by the team 250 miles away, the Kansas City Chiefs, couldn’t fill the void either! Enter the answer to everyone’s prayers, to everyone’s wishes, to everyone’s loud and echoed “F#*$ Kroenke!” chants, the XFL BattleHawks!
December was the month that the Rams left the city of St. Louis, but that same month would be when the XFL would announce the city of St. Louis will be hosting a new football franchise, as on December 8, 2018 it was announced that St. Louis would be home of the BattleHawks. Unsurprisingly, the league was met with laughter at the beginning due to the 2001 rendition of the league but as it got closer to the beginning of the XFL season a couple weeks ago, the fans have been coming out in droves. The BattleHawks have gotten very strong TV ratings for their first two games, even getting a higher rating than the Blues game locally on Sunday. It is obvious that the city of St. Louis loves football and they are more than ready to cheer on the team when the Hawks come home this Sunday.
As a testament to the amount of love St. Louis fans have for football and the BattleHawks, they have sold out the game this Sunday, and if they would have opened the upper bowl, would have sold out the whole damn stadium. The BattleHawks have proven that the excitement isn’t out of parody, this city loves the XFL product and the team that represents St. Louis. The only thing that is missing is an unexcused use of Nelly in the team’s pregame festivities. It is also an indictment of how poorly Rams ownership delivered the football product before they left. The BattleHawks lead the XFL in social media follows and interactions, have delivered great TV numbers, and have been able to do something that the Rams had a lot of trouble doing: getting people to The Dome. Another glaring difference is the product on the field, that has been efficient and exciting, granted, in a league that is less talented.
Through their first two games, the BattleHawks have had two rather exciting games that have seen them gather a 1-1 record with a win over the Dallas Renegades and a loss to the Houston Roughnecks, but with Jordan Ta’amu under center, this team has strong promise and can win a good amount of games. Ta’amu is one of the league’s most efficient passers and is third in the league in rushing yards. Their RPO (Run-Pass Option) offense should generate a lot of exciting plays and a lot of points. That’s exactly what the home crowd hopes to see when the New York Guardians come to The Dome Sunday afternoon. This is the first inter-divisional game for the BattleHawks and a good chance for them to get back above .500 as the Guardians are coming off a loss in which QB Matt McGloin looked less than great. Things are shaping up to be a great debut for the BattleHawks at home.
Whether you’re at The Dome or at home hungover from Mardi Gras Sunday, put on some blue and mix up a KaKawktail (for me vodka and blue Powerade) in support for the new representatives of St. Louis football, the BattleHawks. This could be the first home game in the new era of St. Louis sports culture. Whether the XFL has longevity or not, St. Louis has proven that football can not only survive in this city but it can thrive. XFL’s slogan is “For the Love of Football”, well St. Louis has made it obvious that it loves football when football loves the city back.
Cracked Pavement Sports 