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Houston Roughnecks Had Record-Setting Attendance This Week so XFL Haters Need to Chill

By Evan Wolff

PJ Walker and his teammates have been putting on a show in front of healthy crowds, which is a great sign for the XFL.
PJ Walker and his teammates have been putting on a show in front of healthy crowds, which is a great sign for the XFL. / XFL/Getty Images

For the last few weeks, we've seen all manner of negative spins about the viewership numbers and on-field product of the XFL, and to be fair, some of those criticisms are justified. The number of fans tuning in to games has decreased substantially since the opening week of the revived league, and many were right to wonder if the XFL was going to lose all its steam before the season even ended.

Well, the latest show of support by Houston Roughnecks fans will certainly have league executives, most of all league commissioner Oliver Luck, feeling much better about the future of the organization. When the latest attendance figures were revealed, they showed that Roughnecks fans broke the league's attendance record with almost 20,000 in attendance for their Week 5 win over the Tampa Bay Vipers.

It's an awesome display of pride and enthusiasm by fans who are clearly passionate for another professional team in the state of Texas. Houston, along with St. Louis and D.C., have been shining examples of the potential this league possesses.

Players feed off of an electric stadium environment. There's a reason that the Roughnecks are the last undefeated XFL team.

It's nice to see a city's fans buy into something new and really get behind it. Hopefully the support continues to pile on and the league can capitalize on opportunities to grow.