The Los Angeles Wildcats of the new and highly anticipated Xtreme Football League (XFL) are having their practices at Long Beach City College this season.
The XFL is its own football association separate from the NFL and they are currently in week 6 of the football season. The first game was on Feb. 8th.
The Athletic Director of Long Beach City College, William Husak spoke on the privilege of having the L.A. Wildcats practicing at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“It was a wonderful opportunity for the college to go ahead and get exposure, exposure not just in Southern California but, the XFL is a national brand and so, Long Beach City college now gets exposure all across the country that maybe otherwise we wouldn’t have, and that’s really one of the benefits of athletics, and certainly a benefit of being associated with the XFL,” Husak said.
This isn’t the first time the XFL has come around. The league started up in 2001, but unfortunately didn’t last more than just that year.
The unique thing about the XFL is that it starts the weekend after the Superbowl, timed intentionally for the die-hard football fans who are eager to watch more football and don’t want to wait until the NFL season starts back up in Sept.
Former Baylor defensive-end and now Wildcat, Shawn Oakman was upfront in saying he likes the team having their practices at Long Beach City College for the weather purposes.
“The hotter the better, the hotter the heat the hotter the steel, that isn’t going to do nothing other than make you better,” Oakman said.
The Wildcats faced tough opponents in the first five weeks of action, ultimately coming out 2-3.
Following their rough 0-2 start, the Wildcats bounced back and trampled the D.C. Defenders led by former NFL Quarterback Cardale Jones, 39-9 at home to achieve the teams first win of the season.
Two weeks ago they traveled to the East Coast to face the New York Guardians and lost 14-17, leaving the Wildcats with a 1-3 record going into week 5.
The Wildcats came back home to Los Angeles on Sunday to face the Tampa Bay Vipers at Dignity Health Sports Park, in a game where they scored 27 unanswered points to erase a 24-6 deficit and ultimately came out on top with a win 41-34.
“Great complimentary football, we got to go back to work, have another great week of work, have some more fun. …knowing when to work hard, knowing when you’re off the clock, how to have some fun, we’ll be moving forward in a positive direction,” Head Coach Winston Moss said after the game.
The Wildcats will practice this week at Veterans Memorial Stadium to prepare for the Seattle Dragons, as they try to get their first road win of the season.