XFL broadcasts include far more access to coaches and players than NFL broadcasts. One XFL coach who previously worked as an NFL coach apparently wasn’t prepared for the extent to which the XFL takes fans inside the game.
Via Scott Hanson of the Seattle Times, Seattle Dragons coach (and former Washington coach) Jim Zorn was “absolutely shocked” that the TV coverage of Saturday’s game against the D.C. Defenders included audio of Zorn calling plays from the sideline.
“I think it gave a fan a chance to hear and see something they’ve never heard before, but I felt very exposed,” Zorn explained. “Information on a football team has to be guarded a little bit, so we just got it right out there. I know it had to be fun for everybody, but not super fun for me to reveal all that stuff. But I was glad I didn’t stutter or fumble the play calls.”
The games include play calls and interviews with players and locker-room talk before the game and at halftime. It’s stuff that the NFL would never allow, because the NFL doesn’t have to. The XFL wisely chooses to in order to make the overall experience memorable and compelling.