The XFL is Smoking

Jordan Russin
Posted: February 20, 2000

The XFL is Smoking

Posted February 20, 2000, 5 p.m. e.s.t.

It's a blustery midwinter evening, a night when a warm spot on the couch and the company of the remote control will provide the perfect refuge from the howling winds outside. It's a night to curl up, smoke a cigar, and lose yourself in a game. But you fear this won't be possible. It's February.

Then along comes Vince McMahon piloting his golden chariot across the television airwaves to save us all from boredom with the fast-paced brutality of the XFL, his new football league. Freedom from paired figure skating! Emancipation from meaningless midseason basketball! Violence! Action! Cheerleaders! Entertainment, thy name is Vince.

OK, so the new league has its share of problems. It's not exactly NFL-caliber football. The cheerleaders push the boundaries of good taste. The ball is…different. Whatever! It's football.

And the XFL does have one leg up on the NFL -- it has a stadium where you can smoke a cigar in your seat. Enter the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, home of the undefeated Orlando Rage.

Fitting that the only 3-0 team in the XFL allows you to puff away while you watch the action. The Citrus Bowl is the only stadium or arena in American professional sports where you can still enjoy a cigar in your seat -- just the way it was when Lombardi prowled the sidelines. The arenas for National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League games all prohibit in-seat smoking, although some have plush cigar bars.

While Orlando Rage officials admitted to hearing some complaints from frustrated families, no law in Orlando prohibits smoking at outdoor stadiums. Although there is a designated smoke-free, alcohol-free "family section" at the stadium, it's smoke-'em-if-you've-got-'em everywhere else. And, in 2001, that's a good thing to see.

The Rage is the only organization in the eight-team XFL whose stadium has such a liberal smoking policy. While you cannot smoke at all at the homes of the Birmingham Thunderbolts, Las Vegas Outlaws and Los Angeles Xtreme, the other teams allow smoking in designated areas throughout their facilities. What kind of designated areas? Some concourses and ramps, all places where smokers have to duck away from the action to enjoy their cigars. In Chicago, however, where the Enforcers play at Soldier Field, officials pointed out that owners of individual skyboxes can and often do permit smoking. See our table for details.

February will never be the best month for a sports fan. It's freezing in much of the nation, the NFL has hung up its cleats for the season, and the Boys of Summer have only begun to jog off that winter flab. So sit back and enjoy the XFL, and be happy there's something besides synchronized curling to compete for your sports entertainment dollar.

--Jordan Russin

Ball Club/
Stadium Name Cigar Friendly? Where East Conference Birmingham Thunderbolts/
Legion Field No No Smoking New York/New Jersey Hitmen/
Giants Stadium (The Meadowlands) Yes Ramps and councourse Chicago Enforcers/
Soldier Field Yes Ramps and concourses; Individual skybox owners set their own smoking policies Orlando Rage/
Citrus Bowl Yes Smoking is allowed in your seat

West Conference San Francisco Demons/
Pac Bell Park Yes Ramps and concourses Memphis Maniax/
The Liberty Bowl at Memorial Stadium Yes Ramps and concourses Las Vegas Outlaws/
Sam Boyd Stadium No No Smoking Los Angeles Xtreme/
L.A. Coliseum No No Smoking

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