Tommy Maddox looked back at his trophy case. Through his twenty years in professional football, he had accumulated a multitude of awards. He had been a first-round draft pick. An All-Star. An MVP. A champion. Eventually, he would be a first-ballot hall of famed. He surveyed the inscriptions on those trophies. 6 Pac-10 player of the week awards. Practice squad most improved, 1996. XFL MVP 2001. XFL Champion 2001. XFL MVP 2004. XFL MVP 2005. XFL Western Division Champion 2005. XFL MVP 2008. XFL Champion 2009, 2010. XFL Ambassador award, 2012 ESPYs.
They all meant so much to him. The inaugural championship in 2001, a rout of the hated San Francisco Demons. Beating Las Vegas at the last second to advance to the 2005 Million Dollar Game. Stopping a potential pick-six by all-star cornerback Darrelle Revis at the last second to win the Million-Dollar Game in '09. Defending the title in 2010 against the up-and-coming Omaha Demolition. Then, finally, retiring as the game's greatest player. On the day he retired, his number 8 jersey was retired in every stadium in the league.
What had seemed to be a gimmicky league, a combination of pro wrestling and pro football, had blossomed thanks to its legendary 2002 season. The Memphis-Vegas rivalry had evolved, becoming the most heated in the league. That year, near the end of their first meeting, Memphis' All-Star quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who left the NFL after losing his job to Tom Brady in the 2001 season, was ejected for throwing a punch at the face of Outlaws head coach Jim Criner. That year's MVP Rod "He Hate Me" Smart scored four touchdowns with over 300 yards rushing for the Outlaws. Fights, anger, feuding continued with each continued meeting. The next meeting came in the championship that year, where Memphis got revenge.
In 2003, they were rivaling the NFL in TV Ratings. By 2004, Maddox had become the league's first real superstar. By 2005, they were rivaling the NFL for draft picks. Though underclassman running back and wide receivers Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams had found an alternative in the XFL, the first star rookie came in Oklahoma quarterback Jason White, picked by the expansion New Orleans Crusherz. He was followed in 2006 by Jon Cornish and Tamba Hali. In 2007 came Chris Leak, Calvin Johnson, Ted Ginn, Revis, Posluszny, and Patrick Willis. The floodgates opened up from there. The XFL prospered while the NFL, mired in a controversy over Rich Gannon's book on rampant steroid usage among players, quickly fell in both profitability and popularity.
The NFL is no longer what it once was. The Super Bowl, once a pillar of American decadence and celebration, became shoved to the side, currently broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The Million Dollar Game took its rightful place.
The XFL has grown from its original eight to 18 members, adding the Omaha Demolition and St. Louis Ironmen in 2004, the New Orleans Crusherz and the Portland Hemp in 2005, the Des Moines Corn, Toronto Bullets, Minnesota Knivez, and Boise Murderers in 2009, and the Long Island StallLionz and Virginia Beach Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (sponsorships became legal in team naming due to a loophole in the rule book found that year) in 2011. Expansions to more markets, including Austin, Wichita, Tokyo, Winnipeg, and Santa Fe will take place in 2014.
Maddox has retired as the game's greatest player and ambassador. The XFL opted to set up its own Hall of Fame in Carson City, Nevada in 2009, and he will undoubtedly be the first player on the first ballot.
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