The XFL announced the names for its eight inaugural teams Wednesday, and Washington’s team is named…the DC Defenders.
One quest. One purpose. One resolve.
Seeking glory through grit. Victory through valor.
Taking their stand February 2020: The DC Defenders. #XFLTeams pic.twitter.com/7Qzrd4hZM9
— XFL (@xfl2020) August 21, 2019
The Defenders, eh? Seeing as we have an NFL team whose name offends a lot of people, maybe that’s pretty good!
DC didn’t have an XFL team in the league’s first and only season in 2001—the closest team to here was the New York/New Jersey Hitmen, who lost their memorably bad opening game 19-0. (The broadcast is worth revisiting, especially its surreal cheerleader sequence, if you’ve got a high pain threshold or happen to be a pro-wrestling completist.)
The XFL season begins in February of next year.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
