The Battlehawks barely missed making the XFL playoffs — it went to the fifth tiebreaker before they were edged by the Seattle Sea Dragons. But there is no mistake that the B-hawkers were the league’s most successful team in terms of attendance and television viewership.
They ended up drawing an average of 35,104 fans to their five home games, more than double the 14,983 that runner-up Seattle attracted. The Battlehawks were so dominate at the gate that their home games ranked No. 1-5 for all contests in the league in attendance. They also far outdistanced any other market it terms of TV viewership for the league.
To put things into perspective:
The B-hawks accounted for 30% of the league’s attendance.
The Battlehawks’ smallest crowd (33,304) was more than the Vegas team drew for all five of its home games combined (30,142).
The seven other teams averaged 11,478 fans per home game — 23,626 fewer than the Battlehawks.
The B-Hawks’ average home attendance (35,104) was more than the combined average of Houston, Orlando and Vegas (32,754).
In television viewership, St. Louis was 36% greater than the nation’s second-ranked market, San Antonio.
Actor and former pro wrestling star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the most high-profile member of the XFL’s ownership group, took to Twitter to express his gratitude to Battlehawks fans.
“Allow me to say ‘thank you St Louis’ for your INCREDIBLE spirit this … season,” he wrote. “As league owners, our intention is to build from the ground up with passionate fans who love their cities as much as we love representing them. We’re in this for the long haul — not one and done.
“League of opportunity,” he added. “League of passion. Grow the game of football. Insane crowds EVERY. WEEK.”
Largest XFL crowds
| Rank | Week | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 | St. Louis | 38,310 |
| 2. | 5 | St. Louis | 35,686 |
| 3. | 8 | St. Louis | 35,166 |
| 4. | 9 | St. Louis | 33,142 |
| 5. | 10 | St. Louis | 33,034 |
| 6. | 1 | San Antonio | 24,245 |
| 7. | 9 | D.C. | 18,684 |
| 8. | 3 | D.C. | 16,201 |
| 9. | 4 | Seattle | 15,103 |
| 10. | 10 | Seattle | 15,046 |
XFL television viewership
The top five cities in terms of TV viewership for XFL games. Figures are from Nielsen and represent the percentage of the market tuning in.
| Rank | Market | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | St. Louis | 1.02 |
| 2. | San Antonio | 0.65 |
| 3. | Houston | 0.46 |
| 4. | Knoxville, Tenn. | 0.45 |
| 4. | Albuquerque, N.M. | 0.45 |
Battlehawks, game by game
Average: 3.4
| Week | Opponent | Channel | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | at San Antonio | KDNL | 5.6 |
| 2. | at Seattle | FX | 3.7 |
| 3. | at D.C. | FX | 3.6 |
| 4. | vs. Arlington | ESPN2 | 4.8 |
| 5. | vs. D.C. | FX | 2.6 |
| 6. | at Vegas | FX | 3.0 |
| 7. | at Houson | ESPN | 2.0 |
| 8. | vs. Vegas | ESPN | 2.7 |
| 9. | vs. Seattle | ESPN | 3.0 |
| 10. | vs. Orlando | ESPN | 3.4 |
