Does Saint Louis Need an XFL Team to replace the Rams?

Does Saint Louis Need an XFL Team?

Two weeks ago the XFL announced the name of their franchises - the Saint Louis BattleHawks are coming to St. Louis.

There's no reason why Saint Louis shouldn't be able to sustain a professional football team. But, can the St. Louis BattleHawks fill the whole the Rams left in the city?

There are dozens of reasons why people will say St. Louis doesn't deserve a football team. Some people might say St. Louis is too small, dangerous, violent, boring, or impoverished. Many of these criticisms come from commentators that have no connection to the community and don't understand the rich culture that St. Louis has built for itself and is exporting across the country. People fail to realize that St. Louis has a booming start-up culture built on the back of Cortex and is an area attracting major companies, such as Square to expand their engineering offices.

St. Louis has been granted one the next Major League Soccer franchises ahead of competitively sized cities such as Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, and Detroit.  Having a football team of any level playing in the city is a great win for the community. St. Louis is a hub of mid-market talent with dozens of STL Natives active in the NFL including the player such as 2017 rookie of the year Ezekiel Elliot. In the future, the BattleHawks might be the bridge plan many players need when their NFL dreams don't come into fruition. The Battlehawks franchise can satisfy the needs of a city that has lost two NFL teams (the Arizona Cardinals & the Los Angeles Rams) under horrific, business-driven circumstances. 

STL boutta have XFL MLS NHL AND MLB???? That’s what I call live action

— bob duncan (@natewhiteshark) August 20, 2019

After losing two NFL teams, St. Louis is hungry for professional football. If St. Louis sports fans want to see professional football they have to drive to Chicago, Kansas City, Nashville or Indianapolis to get a taste of what they used to have. There is not a Division 1 college team in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The closet Division 1 championship football teams are located at the University of Missouri or the University of Illinois, two hours and three hours away by car. Saint Louis is the best community the XFL could have joined.

I hope STL embraces the BattleHawks and the XFL and sell out every game. That would be so fun to see. Same for the other cities. I want it to succeed. I need a BattleHawks jersey. #XFLTeams #BattleHawks

— David Baker Jr. (@davbaker31) August 22, 2019

What's unknown is whether Saint Louisans even want an XFL team. There is a warm reception for the Battlehawks and the XFL from St. Louisans. It's been reported that up to 150 fans attended the Saint Louis XFL Showcase (a mini-combine) at the former Rams Practice Facility in Earth City. If the XFL was able to draw

Pretty cool driving past the dome tonight and seen the signs lit up #XFL & @XFLBattleHawks logo. #STL

— Rudy GIII (@RudyGIII) August 24, 2019

Success for the St. Louis Battlehawks has to be about more about wins during the first critical season. The organization needs to foster a sense of pride within the community. If the BattleHawks want a second season of play in the XFL, they must partner with local organizations to develop the community they're choosing the enter. The XFL needs the city of St. Louis more than the St. Louis needs the XFL. Can the BattleHawks sell tickets? We'll find out soon.

St. Louis BattleHawks Logo. When viewed upside down, the logo spells STL.