Wednesday will see a new chapter in professional football history, when the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) begins its first season. The league’s main goal is to establish an official partnership with the NFL, and essentially serve as a feeder system not just for players, but for officials and proposed rules. Commissioner Brian Woods went on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning in September to discuss the new league (Video uploaded to YouTube by GOFXFL).

Prospective fans will be interested to see how this first season goes for the FXFL; will it develop into a successful minor league, or fold after one season? How many players will end up in the National Football League, and how will the marquee names (like Boyd or former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson) fare?

Many football followers remember the XFL, its attempt to combine wrestling with football, and how it only lasted a season. That league was able to produce players that people would still recognize today, notably Rod Smart (“He Hate Me”), and Tommy Maddox, who was the sole league MVP, and later won the 2002 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

There are four franchises planned for this season: the Boston Brawlers, Brooklyn Bolts, Omaha Mammoths, and the Blacktips (a traveling team). Games will be televised on ESPN3 and other local/regional networks. This should be interesting to watch, as the FXFL looks to begin a new era for professional football.