Birmingham Thunderbolts
The Birmingham Thunderbolts were a professional football team as part of the XFL's single season in 2001. Playing their home games in Legion Field, the Bolts missed the playoffs in their lone season with a final record of 2-8.
The XFL
The XFL was developed in a partnership between Vince McMahon's WWF and NBC. The league was formally announced on February 3, 2000, with its partnership with NBC announced on March 29. The league was a spring American football league which had 8 teams playing a 10-game regular season. Teams were aligned into two divisions:
- Eastern Division: Birmingham Thunderbolts, Chicago Enforcers, New York/Mew Jersey Hitmen, Orlando Rage
- Western Division: Las Vegas Outlaws, Los Angeles Xtreme, Memphis Maniax, San Francisco Demons
The regular season began on Saturday, February 21, 2001 and run through Sunday, April 8. The season would be without any bye weeks. On each weekend two games were played on Saturday nights and two again played on Sunday with one in the afternoon and one in the evening.
The playoff format consisted of the top two teams in each division. The semifinal playoff games took place on the weekend of April 14-15. The two teams emerging from the XFL semifinal playoffs met at the end of the season in The Big Game At The End. The lone championship game was held on April 21, 2001, in Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum with the Los Angeles Xtreme defeating the San Francisco Demons for the only XFL championship.
Rules unique to the XFL included no fair catches on punts and kickoffs for the receiving team, no kicking of extra points after touchdowns, allowing a catch to be made with only one foot in-bounds, a shorter, 35 second play clock, and tweaks in overtime rules making them more similar to the college format without sudden-death. Additionally, the XFL was also known for the new camera angles and vantage points seen by television viewers. Some of these new techniques are now used in NFL and college broadcasts.
2001 Game Results
| Date | Result | Score | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 4, 2001 | L | 22-20 | Memphis Maniax | Legion Field |
| February 11, 2001 | W | 19-12 | New York/New Jersey Hitmen | Giants Stadium |
| February 18, 2001 | W | 14-3 | Chicago Enforcers | Legion Field |
| February 24, 2001 | L | 30-6 | Orlando Rage | Citrus Bowl |
| March 3, 2001 | L | 39-10 | San Francisco Demons | Pac Bell Park |
| March 11, 2001 | L | 35-26 | Los Angeles Xtreme | Legion Field |
| March 17, 2001 | L | 34-12 | Las Vegas Outlaws | Sam Boyd Stadium |
| March 25, 2001 | L | 13-0 | Chicago Enforcers | Soldier Field |
| March 31, 2001 | L | 29-24 | Orlando Rage | Legion Field |
| April 8, 2001 | L | 22-0 | New York/New Jersey Hitmen | Legion Field |