By Jeremy Gonzalez, Co-Sports Editor
Super Bowl LIV came and passed, with the Kansas City Chiefs being crowned as champs. But just because the NFL season has ended doesn’t mean professional football has stopped as well.
A new professional football league has emerged to fill the void left in the hearts of football fans. No longer do fans have to endure an excruciatingly long off-season with absolutely no football until August.
The XFL, a league revived by billionaire Vince McMahon, is officially underway, kicking off right after the Super Bowl and finishing in May, with new and exciting rules to keep the game as entertaining as possible for the average football fan to enjoy.
In case you’ve been living under a rock like Patrick Star or simply do not keep up with sports, the XFL introduced eight franchises to cities across the country. There are four teams in the eastern and western conference in the league, each made up of former NFL players or college players who did not make an NFL roster or practice squad.
In the east, the four teams are the St. Louis BattleHawks, the D.C. Defenders, the New York Guardians, and the Tampa Bay Vipers. In the west, the Houston Roughnecks, the Dallas Renegades, the Seattle Dragons, and the Los Angeles Wildcats battle for supremacy.
Los Angeles was lucky enough to be one of the eight cities to get a team, and they play right next door to our campus at Dignity Health Sports Park. With the season barely reaching the quarter mark, there is still lots of football left to be played.
The team recently had their second home game on Feb. 23 against the D.C. Defenders, where the Wildcats routed the Defenders 39-9. The Defenders were considered one of the league’s top teams and remained undefeated until they faced the Wildcats.
Los Angeles quarterback Josh Johnson lit up the D.C. defense, completing 72 percent of his passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns in the game. The fans in attendance witnessed history as they saw the Wildcats get the first win in franchise history. Louie G, famous radio personality and in-stadium host for the Wildcats games, constantly had the crowd pumped and told everyone to “put their claws up” for the team.
While the team only has five home games, and two of them have already been played, fellow Toros should attempt to go catch a game at the Dig while they can.
It helps that Toro nation receives FREE TICKETS for every home game. You read that correctly.
According to a campus-wide email sent by University Communications, “Toro students, staff and faculty can pick up two (2) free tickets per game at the Dignity Health Sports Park box office (must show valid CSUDH ID).”
The complimentary tickets will be available on the Tuesday before each home game on a first-come, first basis. Once the comp tickets run out, they will not be available for that week’s game. Even if all the comp tickets are gone, tickets for the Wildcats game against the Defenders were going for as low as nine dollars on Gametime.
The remaining home games at Dignity Health Sports Park will take place on March 8, March 29 and April 5.
Swap those Toro horns for Wildcat claws and go check out a game. Not every school campus can boast that a professional football team plays next door to them.
