The Failed AAF Played More Games Than Failed XFL, Which Means They Actually Won

Football is dead, people. Well, off-brand football that takes place while the NFL is out of season, rather. After the Alliance of American Football quickly folded in March 2019 well before it could crown an inagural champion, the revived XFL has now similarly kicked the bucket, firing all its employees Friday in the midst of the global coronavirus shutdown. It's clear that the gods just don't want any non-NFL professional football in the United States -- but between these two fallen fledgling leagues, who acquitted themselves the best before it all came crashing down?

Well, looking at one particular measure of success, I'm ready to declare that the AAF defeated the XFL.

32 games to 20? That's 60% more! Say what you want about Vince McMahon's XFL dying off due to a global pandemic as opposed to embarrassing financial insolvency; the numbers just don't lie. And that's not all the AAF had.

So, you posit that the XFL was great because it brought Bob Stoops back to coaching with the Dallas Renegades? I see you and raise you Steve Spurrier -- who helped give Stoops his big break on his old staff at Florida -- who led the AAF's Orlando Apollos to a 7-1 record, the best in the league.

And don't you dare mention PJ Walker to me. The XFL Houston Roughnecks quarterback may have signed with the Panthers a couple weeks ago, but he's got nothing on Garrett Gilbert. The AAF's passing leader chucked it for 500 more yards than the next-closest player (!).

Indeed, there's pretty much no argument. The XFL came and went faster than a WWE 24/7 Championship match. The AAF, while worthy of scorn for its utter lack of a long-term financial plan, makes McMahon's twice-dead league look even deader.