XFL 2nd Debut Game: Chicago Enforcers vs Orlando Rage
Channel: XFL 2001
Date: 06/01/2013

While NBC was televising the NY/NJ Hitmen vs Las Vegas Outlaws nationally, the Chicago Enforcers were taking on the Orlando Rage for the first time ever. This game was a satellite feed which was not shown nationally until NBC decided to go to it in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter due to the Las Vegas game being a blowout.

Note: I edited out the non important stuff. ie: Commentators practicing the promos on air. The game was never seen in its entirety on tv or the internet until now.

The commentators in Orlando were Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler. At the 15:39 minute mark there is no commentary from Ross or Lawler for at least four minutes due to the highlight promo of the first XFL touchdown by Kevin Swayne which was being prepared for the national feed. You could actually hear loud crowd noises while they rewind the promo that is about to run for the Vegas audience.

The Orlando Rage scored a field goal with 1:28 left in the 2nd quarter but while Ross and Lawler were preparing to do another promo on the previous Rage TD for the national audience, the Chicago Enforcers John Avery scores his own touchdown with less than a minute left in the 1st half. This happens AGAIN in the 3rd quarter. In both instances they show a replay of Avery's touchdowns.

Orlando's Hassan Shamsid-Deen was knocked out before the game even started as the XFL quickly proved it is far removed from any football league seen before.

The XFL got off to a ragged, yet successful start on that first Saturday night, as the Rage beat Chicago 33-29 before a crowd of 35,603.

It looked like any other football game during the hours before the XFL began its inaugural season, with tailgate parties, ticket scalpers and traffic jams outside the Citrus Bowl.

But from the opening sprint for the ball --where two players run 20 yards then fight it out for the pigskin instead of the traditional coin toss -- it was clear that the sport had taken a turn for the extreme.

For the record, the Enforcers won the dash and elected to receive. Shamsid-Deen not only suffered the embarrassment of losing badly to Chicago's Troy Saunders, but also separated his left shoulder in the scrum.

The Rage wasted no time giving the crowd something to cheer, scoring on their first play from scrimmage. Orlando lined up in a double-tight end formation on its own 49, then sent receiver Kevin Swayne deep on a post pattern, where Jeff Brohm found him in stride for the XFL's first touchdown. Brohm finished with four TD passes.

The quality of football was spotty, with numerous penalties slowing the game's pace. Also, the fans were largely ignored during the game, other than repeated shots of the cheerleaders on a video screen erected by the XFL.

But the fans seemed not to mind the league's rough beginning.